Ken Kavanaugh

Ken Kavanaugh (November 23, 1916 – January 25, 2007) was an American football player, coach and scout. He played college football at LSU, where he was named Most Valuable Player of the Southeastern Conference and won the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy in 1939. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1963.

After college, Kavanaugh played in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears. His career was interrupted by World War II where he was a pilot in the European theater. He flew 30 missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters. After the war, he continued his career with the Bears. Kavanaugh spent a total of eight seasons in Chicago.

Kavanaugh was hired by the New York Giants in 1955 as an assistant coach. He continued in that position until 1971 when he became a scout for the Giants. He retired from football in 1999.

Kavanaugh died of complications from pneumonia on January 25, 2007 in Sarasota, Florida.