Vernon Kennedy
Football, Track Student-Athlete
Central Missouri (1926-29)
Kennedy was a football and track standout from 1926-29. He was a three-time All-MIAA selection in football and helped the Mules to four straight MIAA track and field championships. He set school records in the javelin, shot put, and discus. In 1927, he won the decathlon at the prestigious Penn Relays.
Following his Central Missouri athletic career, Kennedy played professional baseball for over 20 years, including 12 seasons playing Major League Baseball. He won 21 games for the White Sox in 1936, pitched the first-ever no-hitter at Comiskey Park in 1935, and made the American League All-Star Team in 1936 and 1938. After leaving organized baseball, he spent a number of years scouting and teaching at baseball camps. He then used his teaching degree for 12 years at Brookfield, Missouri High School before retiring in 1972.
An avid railroad buff his entire life, after retirement he and his wife began to collect railroad memorabilia as well as other antiques. This hobby gave them many years of activities and pleasure. Also a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 1955), he competed in the Senior Olympics and Missouri Show-Me State Games each summer into his mid-80's before his death in 1993. He was the oldest participant in the Show-Me State games at that time. He borrowed a discus, shot put and javelin from his alma mater for practice and during the games.
The University of Central Missouri football field bears his name, and the award for the most outstanding athlete of the year at UCM is in his honor. He was honored as a UCM Distinguished Alumnus in 1983, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the University of Central Missouri Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992. Also in 1992, Kennedy received the American Legion Department of Missouri Distinguished Service Award. Kennedy passed away in 1993 at the age of 85.