Kenneth William Kavanaugh (1916–2007)

Kenneth Kavanaugh was an outstanding all-around athlete at Little Rock High School (now Central High School) and Louisiana State University (LSU) who became an All-Pro receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.

Kenneth William Kavanaugh was born in Little Rock (Pulaski County) on November 23, 1916. He was one of seven children born to Methodist minister Charles Wesley Kavanaugh and Lilie Odel McElroy Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh was an outstanding athlete in basketball, baseball, football, and track at Little Rock High School and was named All-State in baseball and football. Upon his graduation in 1936, the 6’3″, over 200-pound athlete accepted a scholarship to play football for LSU in Baton Rouge. He not only excelled in football at LSU but was also a star hitter for the university baseball team.

During his three years of playing football for LSU (freshmen were not allowed to participate) as a left end, he developed into one of the school’s all-time best receivers. (In those playing days, receivers were classified as linemen.) He also played defense. During his sophomore season, he was selected Second Team All Southeastern Conference (SEC), and as a junior, he was selected to the first team. During his senior season in 1939, he led the nation in receptions and receiving yards and was named the SEC Co–Most Valuable Player and a consensus All-American. He was honored as the Touchdown Club’s Lineman of the Year, as well as the most valuable player (MVP) of the Blue-Gray Classic all-star game; he also finished seventh in balloting for the Heisman Trophy and won the Knute Rockne Memorial Award.

After completing his athletic eligibility at LSU, he signed to play baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals organization and was assigned to the East Texas League team in Kilgore. After playing sixty games, Kavanaugh learned that he had been drafted by the NFL Chicago Bears in the second round. After negotiating his release from his baseball contract, he reported to the Bears for the 1940 season. He caught twenty-three passes as a rookie, scoring nine touchdowns. The next year, he led the league in yards per catch.

When the United States entered World War II in December 1941, he left the Bears for a three-year tour of duty, serving as a bomber pilot with the Eighth Air Force, 490th Bombardment Group and 851st Bombardment Squadron. As a captain, he flew thirty missions over Germany. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters.

On October 24, 1942, in the middle of his military training, Kavanaugh married Ann Porter of Little Rock. The couple had a son and a daughter. Their son Ken played football for LSU and was drafted by the NFL Giants but did not play in the pros. Their daughter Kristy was a schoolteacher.

At the conclusion of the war in 1945, he returned to the Bears. Over the next six years, he had a stellar career, setting several Bears records for scoring and receiving. His 25.6 yards per catch in 1947 and his 22.4 career yards per catch remain franchise records. At one point in his career, he caught a touchdown in seven consecutive games. One sports reporter said Kavanaugh could “catch a pass three feet below his shoe laces and any reasonable number of dozen yards above his head.” He completed his career in 1950 with 162 receptions, 3,626 yards, and fifty-two touchdowns; he was named All-Pro in 1946, 1947 and 1948 and played on NFL championship teams in 1940, 1941, and 1946.

Upon his retirement, Kavanaugh stayed with the Bears for the next season as an ends coach. In 1952, he entered the college ranks as ends coach for Boston College. He stayed at Boston College for two seasons before moving to Villanova for the 1954 season. In 1955, he returned to the NFL as ends coach for the New York Giants. He left the field as a coach in 1971 to become a talent scout for the Giants. He remained in that position until he retired in 1999.

In 1963, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and in 1966 to the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. Kavanaugh received many honors after leaving football, including being named to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team, the 100 Greatest Bears of All Time, and the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good Class in 2009.

Kavanaugh died on January 25, 2007.

For additional information:
“Hall of Fame Banquet Tonight.” Camden News, January 20, 1966, p. 6.

Kavanaugh, Ken, Jr. The Humility of Greatness: The Adventures of a WWII Hero and NFL Legend. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2002.

“Kenneth William Kavanaugh.” Bradenton Herald, February 4, 2007, p. 2C.

“Ken Kavanaugh May Aid Kilgore Team Is Belief.” Shreveport Times, June 14, 1940, p. 14.

“LSU, NFL Hall of Famer Ken Kavanaugh, 90, Dies.” LSUSports.net, January 26, 2007. https://lsusports.net/news/2007/01/26/775731/ (accessed December 11, 2024).

Mike Polston
CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas