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Posted on Mon, Jul. 06, 2009 10:52 PM
Former KU football coach Jack Mitchell dies at 85
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The man who coached John Hadl and Gale Sayers at Kansas is dead.
Former Kansas football coach Jack Mitchell died Sunday in Sun City, Ariz., at the age of 85.
Hadl, now an associate athletic director at Kansas, confirmed that Mitchell had died after a bout with cancer.
Mitchell, who coached the Jayhawks for nine seasons from 1958 to 1966, guided Kansas to its second-ever bowl appearance and first bowl victory in 1961.
KU routed Rice 33-7 in the 1961 Bluebonnet Bowl, capping a 7-3-1 season. Mitchell led KU to .500 or better records in six straight seasons, only the third time that occurred in school history.
He coached two All-Americans — Hadl and Sayers — and his legacy included an overall record of 44-42-5.
Mitchell’s nine seasons remain tied with Glen Mason — who coached KU during 1988-96 — for the most years coached at the school. His 44 victories rank fourth all-time at Kansas behind A.R. Kennedy’s 52 wins, Mason’s 47, and current KU coach Mark Mangino’s 45.
He was fired after the Jayhawks compiled records of 2-8 in 1965 and 2-7-1 in 1966.
A native of Arkansas City, Kan., he attended the University of Texas and Arkansas City Junior College before entering military service during World War II.
Mitchell was an All-American quarterback at Oklahoma after the war and graduated in 1949.
Mitchell’s first coaching job was at Blackwell (Okla.) High School. He worked as an assistant at Tulsa in 1950 and Texas Tech in 1951-52 before becoming a head coach at Wichita State in 1953-54. He was the head coach at Arkansas for three seasons before taking over at Kansas before the 1958 season.
After leaving coaching, Mitchell bought the Wellington Daily News in Wellington, Kan., and served as publisher for 20 years until he retired to Arizona.
Mitchell was known for his ability to make quick personnel decisions and tactical innovations, but his most memorable day at Kansas came at the Bluebonnet Bowl on a rainy day in Houston in 1961. Hadl threw for 64 yards and had a crucial 41-yard run on a fake punt in the first half.
Then, Mitchell watched as Hadl and former Chiefs running back Curtis McClinton signed professional contracts on the field after the game. It was KU’s last bowl victory until the Aloha Bowl in 1992.
Posted on Mon, Jul. 06, 2009 10:52 PM
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