Albert Peter Kawal (July 4, 1912 – January 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 wi ...

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 ...

player and coach of football, basketball, 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 t ...

. He served as the head football coach 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. Hist ...

(1947–1948),

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then calle ...

(1949–1954), and

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...

(1960–1961), 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

record of 52–53–6. Kawal was also the head baseball coach at the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

in 1964, tallying a mark of 10–12. He played football and basketball at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Coaching career

Drake

Kawal got his first head coaching job as the 16th head football coach at

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 Moine ...

and he held that position for two seasons, from 1947 until 1948. His record at Drake was 8–10–1.

Temple

Kawal he was the 15th head football coach at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

and he held that position for six seasons, from 1949 until 1954. His record at Temple was 24–28–3.

Southern Illinois

Kawal was the eighth head football coach at

and served there four seasons, from 1955 until 1958. His record at Southern Illinois was 20–15–2.Southern Illinois Coaching Records

Personal life

Kawal was born on July 4, 1912, in

Cicero, Illinois Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Ci ...

, to Peter and Martha (Yuknis) Kawal. On April 28, 1936, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, he married Almyra P Wilcox (died August 26, 1951). On January 1, 1937, their daughter, Martha Allison Kawal (died September 9, 2011), was born in Boston. In 1952 he married Mary Louise Clifford (died July 30, 1999). He and Mary retired to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

in the early 1970s. Kawal died on January 1, 1990, in Safety Harbor, Florida.

Head coaching record

Football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kawal, Albert 1912 births 1990 deaths American football guards American men's basketball players Guards (basketball) Boston University Terriers football coaches Drake Bulldogs football coaches Lafayette Leopards football coaches Michigan State Spartans football coaches Michigan State Spartans men's basketball coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Southern Illinois Salukis football coaches Temple Owls football coaches Tulane Green Wave football coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane baseball coaches Tulsa Golden Hurricane football coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers People from Cicero, Illinois Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Coaches of American football from Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Baseball coaches from Illinois Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Military personnel from Illinois