Grover Klemmer

American athlete (1921–2015)

Grover Klemmer

Klemmer, c. 1943

Biographical details
Born| (1921-03-16)March 16, 1921
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died| August 23, 2015(2015-08-23) (aged 94)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1942| California
1945| Great Lakes Navy
Basketball
1942–1943| California
Track and field
c. 1941| California
Position(s)| Halfback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1946–1961| CC of San Francisco
Head coaching record
Bowls| 1–0
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 junior college national (1946, 1948)
2 NCJCC (1946, 1948)
2 Big Seven/Eight (CA) (1951, 1957)

Grover Haines Klemmer Jr. (March 16, 1921 – August 23, 2015) was an American sprinter, college football player and coach, and National Football League (NFL) official. At the University of California, he lettered in football, basketball and track. He was called the "golden boy" for the Golden Bears.[1]

In 1941, Klemmer set the world record for the 400 metres, running 46.0 around a single turn[2] at the University of Pennsylvania Franklin Field on June 29, 1941.[3] Two weeks earlier, he anchored the Bears mile relay team to a world record in 3:09.4, edging out the University of Southern California team anchored by Hubie Kerns (who also was second in Philadelphia) by reportedly 4 inches (10 cm). Five minutes later, he was informed of the death of his father, Grover Klemmer, Sr. earlier that day.[1] Klemmer was the USA National Champion at 440 yards in 1940 at age 19 and again in 1941, representing the San Francisco Olympic Club.[4]

Klemmer played for the 1945 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team as a halfback under head coach Paul Brown.[5] He served as the head football coach at City College of San Francisco (CCSF) from 1946 to 1961.[6] He was an official in the NFL from 1963 to 1981, working mainly as a back judge and side judge, wearing uniform number 8.

Klemmer was born and raised in San Francisco, where he graduated from Galileo High School in 1939. He died on August 23, 2015, in Oakland, California.[7]

## Head coaching record

[edit]

### Junior college

[edit]

Year  | Team  | Overall  | Conference | Standing  | Bowl/playoffs

|
|
|
|
|

San Francisco Junior College / City College of San Francisco Rams (Northern California Junior College Conference) (1946–1950)
1946 | San Francisco Junior College | 8–1 | 7–0 | 1st |
1947 | San Francisco Junior College  |  |  |  |
1948 | City College of San Francisco | 12–0 | 8–0 | 1st (A Division) | W Gold Dust Bowl
1949 | City College of San Francisco  | 4–4–1 | 3–2–1 | 3rd (Southern) |
1950 | City College of San Francisco  | 2–6 | 1–4 | 6th (Southern) |
City College of San Francisco Rams (Big Seven/Eight Conference) (1951–1961)
1951 | City College of San Francisco  | 7–2 | 6–0 | 1st |
1952 | City College of San Francisco  | 3–6 | 2–4 | 5th |
1953 | City College of San Francisco  | 4–3–2 | 4–1–1 | 2nd |
1954 | City College of San Francisco  | 6–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 3rd |
1955 | City College of San Francisco  | 9–1 | 6–1 | 2nd |
1956 | City College of San Francisco  | 6–2 | 6–1 | 2nd |
1957 | City College of San Francisco  | 6–3 | 5–2 | T–1st |
1958 | City College of San Francisco  | 4–5 | 3–4 | T–5th |
1959 | City College of San Francisco  | 3–4 | 3–4 | T–5th |
1960 | City College of San Francisco  | 6–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 3rd |
1961 | City College of San Francisco  | 7–3 | 5–2 | T–2nd |
City College of San Francisco: |  |  |
Total: |  |
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "1.html". Trackandfieldnews.com. February 27, 1954. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
2. ^ "Stock Footage - Track and Field events at Franklin Field in Philadelphia". Criticalpast.com. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
3. ^ "Track and Field Statistics". Trackfield.brinkster.net. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
4. ^ [1] Archived September 18, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
5. ^ "Grover Klemmer Stars On Grid". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. Associated Press. October 24, 1945. p. 10, part I. Retrieved May 15, 2024 - via Newspapers.com .
6. ^ "New Coach For CCSF". Stockton Record. Stockton, California. June 5, 1962. p. 23. Retrieved May 15, 2024 - via Newspapers.com .
7. ^ Lerseth, Michael (August 26, 2015). "Grover Klemmer, Cal track star and longtime CCSF coach, dies at 94". SFGate. San Francisco, California. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

City College of San Francisco Rams head football coaches

* Russell Sweet (1935–?)
* Grover Klemmer (1946–1961)
* Dutch Elston (1962–1976)
* George Rush (1977–2014)
* Jimmy Collins (2015–2019)
* No team (2020)
* Jimmy Collins (2021–2023)
* Eduardo Yagües Nuño # (2024– )

# denotes interim head coach

* v
* t
* e

US National Championship winners in men's 400-meter dash

1876-1979
Amateur Athletic Union|

* 1876-77: Edward Merritt
* 1878: Frank Brown
* 1879-84: Lon Myers
* 1885: H. Mason Raborg
* 1886: John Robertson
* 1887: Harvey Banks
* 1888: Walter Dohm
* 1888: T.J. Mahoney
* 1889: Walter Dohm
* 1890-92: William Downs
* 1893: Edward Allen
* 1894: Tom Keane
* 1895-97: Thomas Burke
* 1898-1900: Maxie Long
* 1901: Howard Hayes
* 1902: Fay Moulton
* 1903: Harry Hillman
* 1904: D.H. Meyer
* 1905-06: Frank Waller
* 1907: John Taylor
* 1908: Harry Hillman
* 1909: Edward Lindberg
* 1910: William Hayes
* 1911: Edward Lindberg
* 1912: Thomas Halpin
* 1913: Carroll Haff
* 1914-15: Ted Meredith
* 1916: Thomas Halpin
* 1917: Frank Shea
* 1918: Cornelius Shaughnessy
* 1919-20: Frank Shea
* 1921: William Stevenson
* 1922: James Driscoll
* 1923: Horatio Fitch
* 1924: James Burgess
* 1925: Cecil Cooke
* 1926: Ken Kennedy
* 1927: Hermon Phillips
* 1928: Ray Barbuti
* 1929: Reggie Bowen
* 1930-31: Vic Williams
* 1932: Bill Carr
* 1933-34: Ivan Fuqua
* 1935: Eddie O'Brien
* 1936: Harold Smallwood
* 1937-38: Ray Malott
* 1939: Erwin Miller
* 1940-41: Grover Klemmer
* 1942-43: Cliff Bourland
* 1944: Elmore Harris
* 1945: Herb McKenley (JAM) * James Herbert
* 1946: Elmore Harris
* 1947: Herb McKenley (JAM) * Dave Bolen
* 1948: Herb McKenley (JAM) * Mal Whitfield
* 1949: George Rhoden (JAM) * Hugh Maiocco (3)
* 1950: George Rhoden (JAM) * Tom Cox (3)
* 1951: George Rhoden (JAM) * Dick Maiocco (3)
* 1952: Mal Whitfield
* 1953: Jesse Mashburn
* 1954: Jim Lea
* 1955: Charles Jenkins
* 1956: Tom Courtney
* 1957: Reggie Pearman
* 1958-59: Eddie Southern
* 1960-61: Otis Davis
* 1962-63: Ulis Williams
* 1964: Mike Larrabee
* 1965: Ollan Cassell
* 1966-69: Lee Evans
* 1970-71: John Smith
* 1972: Lee Evans
* 1973-74: Maurice Peoples
* 1975: Dave Jenkins (GBR) * Fred Newhouse
* 1976: Maxie Parks
* 1977: Robert Taylor
* 1978: Maxie Parks
* 1979: Willie Smith

1980-1992
The Athletics Congress|

* 1980: Willie Smith
* 1981-82: Cliff Wiley
* 1983: Sunder Nix
* 1984-85: Mark Rowe
* 1986: Darrell Robinson
* 1987: Butch Reynolds
* 1988: Tim Simon
* 1989: Antonio Pettigrew
* 1990: Steve Lewis
* 1991: Antonio Pettigrew
* 1992OT: Danny Everett

1992 onwards
USA Track & Field|

* 1993: Michael Johnson
* 1994: Antonio Pettigrew
* 1995-96OT: Michael Johnson
* 1997: Antonio Pettigrew
* 1998-99: Jerome Young
* 2000OT: Michael Johnson
* 2001: Derrick Brew
* 2002: Angelo Taylor
* 2003: Tyree Washington
* 2004OT-05: Jeremy Wariner
* 2006: Andrew Rock
* 2007: Angelo Taylor
* 2008OT-09: LaShawn Merritt
* 2010: Greg Nixon
* 2011: Tony McQuay
* 2012OT-13: LaShawn Merritt
* 2014: Gil Roberts
* 2015: David Verburg
* 2016OT: LaShawn Merritt
* 2017: Fred Kerley
* 2018: Kahmari Montgomery
* 2019: Fred Kerley
* 20212020 OT-22: Michael Norman
* 2023: Bryce Deadmon

Notes|

* Note 1: In 1888 both the NAAAA and the AAU held championships

* OT: The 1920, 1928, 1932, and since 1992, championships incorporated the Olympic Trials, otherwise held as a discrete event.

* 2020 OT: The 2020 Olympic Trials were delayed and held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

*[c.]: circa
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