MERCER, Kenneth E.

Kenneth E. "Moco" Mercer. Photo courtesy: Melinda Blok

MERCER, Kenneth E. (Albia, IA--Dubuque, IA, 1970). Coach. In 1960 Mercer, acclaimed coach at the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Football Hall of Fame. In 1964 he was inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame. Mercer was a charter member of the University of Dubuque Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mercer came to Dubuque with a sterling background. During his college career at Simpson in Indianola, he was on sthe all-state football team three of his four years. (1) Following his graduation he moved to professional football playing four years with the Frankford Yellow Jackets, one season with the Chicago Cardinals and one year with the New York Giants. (2) He was named to the All-America professional team in 1928. (3)

In November, 1942 newspapers were announcing the the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE with only 172 male students had won its second Iowa football conference title in three years. (4) The Spartans had amassed 257 points while limiting their opponents to 25 in seven conference games. (5) Between 1939 and 1959 Mercer, who coached every sport, never had a year without a conference championship in some sport. By the age of fifty-nine, with only 36 years of coaching experience, Mercer had accumulated an unprecedented 100 seasons of coaching. This included 31 years as a football coach, 27 years coaching track, 23 years in basketball, 14 years in wrestling, 4 in tennis, and 1 in cross country. His football and basketball teams had a combined record of 282-90-6 during his career.

Spartan's football team compiled a record of 94 wins, 65 loses and six ties including seventeen straight homecoming victories. (6) Basketball teams under Mercer's guidance won 121 games with 37 losses and enjoyed a winning streak of 29 straight games. (7) Mercer's track teams through 1962 lost only five regular season dual meets in fourteen years. His wrestling teams won five Iowa Conference titles. (8) Five of the six sports he coached saw undefeated seasons. Mercer's cross-country team, although defeated during its 1962 season, went on to win the Iowa Conference the same year.

Mercer was himself an outstanding athlete who earned sixteen letters in five sports at Simpson College. He acquired his nickname "Moco" from his basketball coach who compared Mercer's combative nature to "Moco, the Battling Eskimo," a cartoon character in the Des Moines Register. He once won $1000 by kicking a football from the 50-yard line and hitting a clock set behind the end zone.

In 1962 Mercer was named the best of Simpson College's backfield stars in a nationwide poll of the school's alumni. (9) In 2005 Mercer was the the fiftieth Iowan elected to The Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame by the committee of seven staff members. (10)

His son, Michael MERCER kicked the first field goal in Super Bowl history while a member of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Photo Courtesy: Melinda Blok)

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Source:

1. "Former Simpson Star Chosen By Dubuque U," Telegraph Herald, Aug. 2, 1939, p. 9. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t-xBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IaoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4592,6462465&dq=kenneth+mercer+dubuque&hl=en

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. "Dubuque Wins Second Title in Three Years," Gettysburg Times, Nov. 12, 1942, p. 3. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y6MlAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VPwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6805,2490087&dq=kenneth+mercer+dubuque&hl=en

5. Ibid.

6. Housh, Leighton. "Kenneth E. "Moco" Mercer," Des Moines Register, July 2, 2005. Online: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19640405/SPORTS11/50702011/Kenneth-E-Moco-Mercer-Albia-1964

7. "Moco Mercer is Dead at 66," Telegraph Herald, Feb. 19, 1970. p. 1. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vOtFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vb0MAAAAIBAJ&pg=2591,465889&dq=kenneth+mercer+dubuque&hl=en

8. Ibid

9. "Mercer Named the Best of Simpson's Backs," Telegraph Herald, May 12, 1962, p. 5. Online: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CIVFAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qbwMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1688,1446323&dq=kenneth+mercer+dubuque&hl=en

10. Housh.