Ken Ormiston Explained

Ken Ormiston
Birth Date:1 September 1911
Birth Place:Pennsylvania, U.S.
Death Place:London Bridge, Virginia, U.S.
Player Years1:1932–1934
Player Team1:Pittsburgh
Player Positions:Guard
Coach Years1:1938
Coach Team1:Miami (FL) (freshmen)
Coach Years2:1941
Coach Team2:Western Reserve (assistant)
Coach Years3:1945
Coach Team3:Third Air Force (line)
Coach Years4:1946–1947
Coach Team4:Amherst (line)
Coach Years5:1948–1950
Coach Team5:Pittsburgh Steelers (line)
Awards:

Kenneth L. Ormiston (September 1, 1911 – September 2, 1951) was an American football player and coach.

Ormiston attended Westinghouse High School in Pittsburgh where he played football, baseball and volleyball.[1] He then enrolled at The Kiski School and then at the University of Pittsburgh where he played college football at the guard position for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team from 1932 to 1934.[2] He was selected by the International News Service and the New York Sun as a first-team guard on the 1934 College Football All-America Team. He was also selected as a second-team All-American by the Associated Press.[3]

After graduating from Pitt, Ormiston began a career in coaching. In 1938, he was the "frosh coach" for the Miami Hurricanes football team.[4] In 1941, he was an assistant coach for the Western Reserve Red Cats football team in Cleveland, present-day Case Western Reserve University. During World War II, Ormiston served as an athletic director and special service officer with the United States Army Air Forces. In 1945, he was the line coach for the Third Air Force Gremlins in Tampa, Florida. In 1946, he was hired as the line coach at Amherst College,[5] a position he held for three years. He also served as the line coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1948 to 1950.[6]

Ormiston retired from coaching after suffering a heart attack and moved to Norfolk, Virginia. He died in Virginia in 1951 at age 42.[7]

Notes and References

  1. 1929 Westinghouse High School yearbook (The Sketch Book), p. 34.
  2. News: Believe It Or Not -- It Really Happened. The Pittsburgh Press. January 20, 1937. 27.
  3. News: Alan Gould. HUND, LARSON ON ASSOCIATED PRESS STAR TEAM: ALABAMA GETS TWO POSITIONS ON FIRST TEAM. Rhinelander Daily News. 1934-12-01.
  4. Web site: University of Miami yearbook. 1939. University of Miami. 94.
  5. News: Ken Ormiston Gets Air Force Line Job: Former Pitt Star to Aid Jordan. The Pittsburgh Press. August 9, 1946.
  6. Web site: Ken Ormiston. The Pro Football Archive. January 16, 2015.
  7. News: Final Rites Today for Ken Ormiston. The Charleroi Mail (Penn.). September 4, 1951. 7.