John D. Kenerson (March 18, 1938 – December 6, 1995) was an

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 ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

who played in 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),

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) and

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) from 1960 to 1965. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Kentucky State Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second ...

Early years and college career

Kenerson attended Crane High School in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He played college football for the

Kentucky State Thorobreds The Kentucky State Thorobreds and Thorobrettes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kentucky State University, located in Frankfort, Kentucky, in intercollegiate sports at the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athleti ...

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU and KYSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons ...

Professional career

Kenerson played in seven games for the NFL's

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

in 1960. He was released by the Rams in late August 1962. Shortly thereafter, he was signed by the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

of the NFL. He was released by the 49ers on September 4, 1962. He played in one game for the NFL's

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in 1962. He was released by the Steelers on September 27. He had earlier been added to the team's active roster on September 21. He later joined the taxi squad of the New York Titans of the AFL. He was promoted to the Titans' active roster in late October 1962. He played in eight games for the Titans in 1962. Kenerson signed with the CFL's

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

on September 5, 1963, after having recently been released by the NFL's

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 ...

. He played in nine games for the Rough Riders in 1963 and played in 13 games for the team in 1964. In July 1965, following the Rough Riders' final exhibition game, Kenerson was released by the team. He then signed with the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the CFL on August 3, 1956 and played in four games for the team during the 1965 season. He was released by the Alouettes in late August 1965 due to poor play. He signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL on August 31, 1965 and played in one game for the team that season.

References

External links

Just Sports Stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenerson, John 1938 births 1995 deaths American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Canadian football defensive linemen Kentucky State Thorobreds football players Los Angeles Rams players San Francisco 49ers players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Titans (AFL) players Chicago Bears players Ottawa Rough Riders players Montreal Alouettes players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Players of American football from Chicago Players of Canadian football from Chicago 20th-century African-American sportspeople Crane High School (Chicago) alumni