Michael Francis Ahearn (November 28, 1878 – February 5, 1948) was a British-American athlete and college athletics administrator. Ahearn played and coached American football, basketball, and baseball, and was a college professor and athletic director at Kansas State Agricultural College—now known as Kansas State University.[1] He also helped guide the evolution of the rules of modern football, serving ten years on the college football rules committee (1922–1931), initially under Secretary Walter Camp and alongside Amos Alonzo Stagg.[1]
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 28, 1878 Rotherham, England |
| Died | February 5, 1948 (aged 69) Manhattan, Kansas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1900 | Massachusetts Agricultural |
| Basketball | |
| 1902–1904 | Massachusetts Agricultural |
| Baseball | |
| 1898 | Massachusetts Agricultural |
| 1901–1904 | Massachusetts Agricultural |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1905–1910 | Kansas State |
| Basketball | |
| 1906–1911 | Kansas State |
| Baseball | |
| 1904–1910 | Kansas State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1920–1947 | Kansas State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 39–12 (football) 28–27 (basketball) 90–35–12 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football: 2 KCAC (1909–1910) Basketball: 1 KCAC (1910) Baseball: 2 KCAC (1907–1908) | |
He was selected as a charter member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Career
editOver the years, Ahearn served Kansas State in a variety of roles that included coach, professor, head of the Department of Physical Education, and director of athletics. He is considered the "Father of Kansas State athletics."
In 1905, he officially became the tenth head football coach at Kansas State, but was the first to hold the position for more than one year. He was coach from 1905 until 1910, compiling a record of 39–12. His 39 wins were the most in the history of Kansas State Wildcats football until Bill Snyder passed him in 1995. His winning percentage of .765 is still the highest of any coach in program history.
Ahearn was also the head basketball coach at Kansas State from 1906 to 1911, tallying a mark of 28–27, and the head baseball coach at the school from 1904 to 1910, amassing a record of 90–35–12.
From 1920 until 1947, Ahearn was the athletic director at Kansas State, during which time the school built Memorial Stadium, the Wildcats home football venue from 1922 until 1967.
Personal life
editAhearn was born on November 28, 1878, in Rotherham, England. He attended Massachusetts Agricultural College, now the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball, and ice hockey.[2] Ahearn died on February 5, 1948, in Manhattan, Kansas.[1]
Legacy
editKansas State honored Ahearn's coaching success in 1911 by naming its first on-campus athletic field Ahearn Field. The location is the current site of Memorial Stadium. The school further honored his memory in 1950 with the opening of Ahearn Field House, which used to house the school's volleyball and indoor track and field teams, and was home to the Kansas State basketball teams from 1950 to 1988.
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State Aggies (Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1905–1910) | |||||||||
| 1905 | Kansas State | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1906 | Kansas State | 5–2 | |||||||
| 1907 | Kansas State | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1908 | Kansas State | 6–2 | |||||||
| 1909 | Kansas State | 7–2 | 1st | ||||||
| 1910 | Kansas State | 10–1 | 1st | ||||||
| Kansas State: | 39–12 | ||||||||
| Total: | 39–12 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Basketball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas State Aggies (Kansas Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1906–1911) | |||||||||
| 1906–07 | Kansas State | 5–6 | |||||||
| 1907–08 | Kansas State | 1–12 | |||||||
| 1908–09 | Kansas State | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1909–10 | Kansas State | 11–3 | 1st | ||||||
| 1910–11 | Kansas State | 5–3 | |||||||
| Kansas State: | 28–27 | ||||||||
| Total: | 28–27 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "Michael Ahearn Dies in Kansas". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. February 6, 1948. Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- ^ "Gardner May Be New K-State Man; Mike Ahearn Is Nearing End of K-State Athletic Trail". Lawrence Journal-World. Associated Press. September 19, 1944. Retrieved March 29, 2011.