James Marcellus Kendrick (August 22, 1893 – November 17, 1941) was a professional
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player during the early years of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL) with the
Toledo Maroons
The Toledo Maroons were a professional American football team based in Toledo, Ohio in the National Football League in 1922 and 1923. Prior to joining the NFL, the Maroons played in the unofficial "Ohio League" from 1902 until 1921.
History
Or ...
,
Canton Bulldogs,
Louisville Brecks
Louisville, Kentucky had two professional American football teams in the National Football League: the Louisville Breckenridges (or Brecks for short) from 1921 to 1924 and the Louisville Colonels in 1926.
The NFL intended for the Brecks to be ...
,
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
,
Hammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.
History
The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner of ...
,
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
,
Rochester Jeffersons
The Rochester Jeffersons from Rochester, New York played from 1898 to 1925, including play in the National Football League from 1920 to 1925.
History
Formed as an amateur outfit by a rag-tag group of Rochester-area teenagers after the turn of t ...
,
Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated ...
,
Buffalo Rangers and the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
. Kendrick was a part of the Bulldogs'
1922 NFL championship team and the Giants'
1927 NFL Championship team.
Early life
Jim, born in
Hillside, Texas,
on August 22, 1893, was the youngest of nine children to J. M. and Lura Kendrick. In 1904 his family relocated to
Waco, Texas
Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the ...
where Jim attended Douglas Select School. The school did not have a football team at the time, however Jim did excel on the school's
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
team. In 1911, he was elected 'president of his senior class.
College
Jim did not play organized football until he entered
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
. There he earned All-Conference honors as an
end
End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to:
End
*In mathematics:
** End (category theory)
** End (topology)
**End (graph theory)
** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous)
**End (endomorphism)
*In sports and games
**End (gridiron footbal ...
in 1915. During the 1915 season, Kendrick and the
Aggies defeated their rival
Texas Longhorns
The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...
13–0. Jim also played baseball and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
for the Aggies.
Military service
In 1916, Jim was a
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
in the
Texas National Guard
The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States, and the 9th-largest eco ...
. He was part of the Second Texas Infantry Regiment. That year, he was part of a force called up to track down the
Mexican bandit (or revolutionary)
. Jim served in the US forces under the legendary General
Jack Pershing. Jim joined the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1917 and was in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
During this era, many military units created football teams. Jim's team, the Texas 2nd Infantry, won the U.S. National Guard Championship in 1917. The team won eight games and was only scored on once. Kendrick also played for the 36th Division in the 1919
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...
championship game in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
Professional football
When the war ended, Jim became an assistant football coach at
Baylor. In 1922, Jim played professional football and signed with Canton Bulldogs of the National Football League. Jim played for the Bulldogs however he would occasionally sneak into the line-up for the Toledo Maroons for a few games. That year the Bulldogs won the 1922 NFL Championship.
In 1923, Jim accepted an assistant coaching position at
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...
in
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...
. He also coached the school's baseball and basketball teams. On Sundays, he played for the Louisville Brecks. The team was 0–3 in NFL competition. In 1924 Jim played for the Chicago Bears and still kept his coaching position at Centre and during the off-season, Jim managed and played for the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
affiliate in
Bradenton, Florida
Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698.
History
Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...
. In 1925, Jim began playing for the Hammond Pros. However, the Buffalo Bisons wrestled him away from his contract to play football for them in 1925. He also played for the Rochester Jeffersons and Rock Island Independents in 1925
In 1926 Jim was chosen to form a team for the Buffalo Bisons, composed only of players from
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
. The team was renamed the Rangers, after Texas' legendary peacekeeping force. The team ended the season with a final record of 4–4–2. However, the Bisons only won two games overall in the three other seasons without Hughitt (1925, 1927, 1929), each year with a different head coach. Kendrick played in 8 games for the New York Giants in 1927. The Giants won the 1927 NFL Championship, Jim's second title.
After football
In 1928, Jim was named the head football coach at
St. Mary's University in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
. He coached the Rattlers for just one season. In 1933 Jim was coaching the Blanco Tree Army Reserve football team for the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
. That year a traffic accident occurred as the team was en route to a playoff game. Two players were killed and others wounded. Jim suffered severe injuries to his right arm, but selflessly insisted that doctors attend to his men first. As a result, the arm became infected and had to be amputated two inches above the elbow. For this act of heroism, Jim Kendrick was awarded the Soldier's Medal, awarded to army personnel for heroic deeds performed during peacetime, by the
United States War Department
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...
.
Kendrick later became a college game official, presiding over several major games during the mid-to-late 1930s. He also was active in the
oil industry
The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larges ...
and remained working there until his death.
Death
At age 48, Jim died in his hometown of Waco, Texas on November 17, 1941, as the result of a stroke. He was survived by his wife Lucile and four sons (James M. Kendrick, Jr., Charles E. Kendrick, Jack I. Kendrick and Gardner S. Kendrick).
Head coaching record
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendrick, Jim
1893 births
1941 deaths
American football ends
American men's basketball players
Player-coaches
Buffalo Bisons (NFL) coaches
Buffalo Bisons (NFL) players
Buffalo Rangers players
Canton Bulldogs players
Chicago Bears players
Hammond Pros players
Louisville Brecks and Colonels (NFL) coaches
Louisville Brecks players
New York Giants players
Rochester Jeffersons players
Rock Island Independents players
Toledo Maroons players
Texas A&M Aggies baseball players
Texas A&M Aggies football players
Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball players
United States Army personnel of World War I
Sportspeople from Waco, Texas
Players of American football from Texas