Vivian Julius "Vee" Green (October 9, 1900 – May 12, 1967) 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 ...

player, coach of football,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma City University from 1928 to 1932 and at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

from 1933 to 1946. Green was also the head basketball coach at Oklahoma City from 1930 to 1933 and at Drake from 1944 to 1946, tallying a career

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

mark of 32–41. A native of

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

, Green 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 ...

at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Universit ...

from 1922 to 1923. He played as a center and was a teammate of Red Grange. Later in his life, Green did color commentary and football analysis for the AM station WHO in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, including broadcasts alongside

Jim Zabel Jim Zabel (September 5, 1921 – May 23, 2013) was an American radio and television broadcaster best known for serving as the play-by-play announcer for Iowa Hawkeyes football and men's basketball games for 48 years on WHO (AM) Radio. A native of ...

. In the fall of 1966, Green was diagnosed with

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

. Green died on May 12, 1967, from brain cancer. Newspaper Clipping Vee Green WHO

Head coaching record

College football

Personal life

Green married Iowan Lois Hardaway on February 5, 1954. They had 3 children.

References

External links

* 1900 births 1967 deaths American football centers Basketball coaches from Illinois Drake Bulldogs athletic directors Drake Bulldogs baseball coaches Drake Bulldogs football coaches Drake Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players Louisville Colonels (NFL) players Oklahoma City Stars athletic directors Oklahoma City Chiefs football coaches Oklahoma City Stars men's basketball coaches High school football coaches in Illinois People from Urbana, Illinois {{1930s-collegefootball-coach-stub