Ward H. Haylett (September 20, 1895 – November 1, 1990) 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 ...

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 ...

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

coach. Haylett served as the head football coach at Doane College—now known as

Doane University Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burlingt ...

—in

Crete, Nebraska Crete is a city in Saline County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 7,099 at the 2020 census. History The railroad was extended to the area in 1870, bringing settlers. In 1871, two rival towns merged to form a new town, which was name ...

from 1924 to 1927 and Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science—now known as

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

compiling a career

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 ...

coaching record of 23–32–6. He was enshrined in the

National Track and Field Hall of Fame The National Track and Field Hall of Fame is a museum operated by The Armory Foundation in conjunction with USA Track & Field. It is located within the Armory Foundation (the former Fort Washington Avenue Armory) at 216 Fort Washington Avenue, b ...

in 1979.

Early life and playing career

Haylett was born in

Willow Springs, Missouri Willow Springs is a city in Howell County, Missouri, Howell County, Missouri, in the Ozark Mountains of the United States. The population was 2,184 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Willow Springs was so named from its posit ...

, and graduated from Doane College—now known as

—in

, in 1918. He earned 16

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

s in several sports at Doane. He was the center on the basketball team, the quarterback on the football team, a pitcher for the baseball team and a quarter-mile and half-mile sprinter for the track team.

Track coaching career

After graduating from college, Ward Haylett coached track and field at the high school level in

Clay Center, Nebraska Clay Center is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Hastings, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 760 at the 2010 census. Geography Clay Center is located at (40.522291, ...

, for five years. He then coached track for the next five years at Doane College. In 1928, Haylett moved to Kansas State University, in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...

, where he coached track for the next 35 years, from 1928 to 1963. His Kansas State teams won seven conference championships. One of his top athletes at Kansas State was sprinter

Thane Baker Walter Thane Baker (born October 4, 1931) is an American former sprinter and winner of the gold medal in the 4x100 m relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, with a new world record of 39.5 seconds. At those Olympics Baker a ...

, who captured three medals, including one gold, at the 1956 Olympics. Another notable athlete was

Elmer Hackney Elmer Loyd Hackney (July 8, 1916May 30, 1969) was a professional American football running back in the National Football League (NFL). Hackney was an 11th-round selection (92nd overall pick) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1940 NFL Draft out o ...

, who was the national collegiate shot put champion in 1938 and 1939. Haylett highlighted his coaching career by serving as an assistant coach on the 1948 Olympic team. Haylett was also head coach of the U.S. track and field team for the test Pan-American Games in 1937,Pan Am Games Shrine
/ref> and a three-time member of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee and the National Paralympic Committee for the United States. It was founded in 1895 as the United States Olympic Committee, and is headquartered in Col ...

. Track and field meets are named in his honor at both Doane College and Kansas State University. Haylett was inducted into the

and the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

Hall of Fame.

Football coaching career

Doane

Haylett was the 20th head football coach at

Doane College Doane University is a private university in Crete, Nebraska. It has additional campuses in Lincoln and Omaha, as well as online programs. History Doane College was founded on July 11, 1872, by Thomas Doane, chief civil engineer for the Burling ...

. He held that position for four seasons, from 1924 until 1927. His coaching record at Doane was 17–12–4.

Kansas State

Fifteen years after coaching his last college football game at Doane, Haylett returned to the sidelines during a manpower shortage in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, becoming the 19th head football coach for the

Kansas State Wildcats The Kansas State Wildcats (variously "Kansas State", "K-State", or "KSU") are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Kansas State University. The official color of the teams is Royal Purple; white and silver are generally used as c ...

from 1942 until 1944. His overall coaching record at Kansas State was 6–20–2.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haylett, Ward 1895 births 1990 deaths American track and field coaches Baseball pitchers Basketball coaches from Missouri Basketball players from Missouri American football quarterbacks Centers (basketball) Doane Tigers baseball players Doane Tigers football coaches Doane Tigers football players Doane Tigers men's basketball coaches Doane Tigers men's basketball players Kansas State Wildcats football coaches College men's track and field athletes in the United States College track and field coaches in the United States People from Willow Springs, Missouri Track and field athletes from Missouri American men's basketball players