Paul Johannes Amen (July 6, 1916 – June 4, 2005) was a prominent

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

n with notable accomplishments in both athletics and banking. He served as the head football coach at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

from 1956 to 1959, compiling a record of 11–26–3. Amen was also the head baseball coach at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

from 1943 to 1954, tallying a mark of 133–76–7.

Playing career

Amen lettered in football, basketball, and baseball at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He was a member of the first U.S. Olympic baseball team at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

in Berlin and played in the minor leagues in 1938 and 1939 before ending his athletic playing career.

Coaching career

Amen earned a master's degree in education from the

in 1940 while an assistant football coach there under

Biff Jones Lawrence McCeney "Biff" Jones (October 8, 1895 – February 12, 1980) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as a head coach at the United States Military Academy, Louisiana State University (LSU), ...

. From 1943 to 1955, he was an assistant football coach and head baseball coach at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. He was a founding member of the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest amateur baseball coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coaches. Now, the ABCA is composed of over 13,000 baseball coac ...

in 1945, serving as its president in 1952. Amen then became head football coach at

in 1956, where he was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1956 and 1959.

Banking career and death

After leaving Wake Forest, Amen retired from sports and begin a career at

Wachovia Bank Wachovia was a diversified financial services company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before its acquisition by Wells Fargo and Company in 2008, Wachovia was the fourth-largest bank holding company in the United States, based on total asse ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, where he rose to the rank of vice president. He then moved back to his birthplace to become president of the National Bank of Commerce in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. In 1979, Amen was appointed Director of the Nebraska Department of Banking and Finance by Governor

Charles Thone Charles Thone (January 4, 1924 – March 7, 2018) was an American Republican politician. He was the 34th Governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representi ...

. He submitted his resignation as State banking director in 1983 to Governor

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietna ...

within weeks of the collapse of Commonwealth Savings Company in Lincoln. Investigations showed that he had borne no responsibility for its failure. Amen died on June 4, 2005.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

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Obituary at the Lincoln Journal Star
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amen, Paul 1916 births 2005 deaths American football ends American men's basketball players Army Black Knights baseball coaches Army Black Knights football coaches Dallas Steers players Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball players Nebraska Cornhuskers football coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers football players Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball coaches Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball players Olympic baseball players of the United States Wake Forest Demon Deacons football coaches Youngstown Browns players Baseball players at the 1936 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Lincoln, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska Baseball coaches from Nebraska Baseball players from Nebraska Basketball coaches from Nebraska Basketball players from Nebraska United States Army personnel of World War II