Hal Pennington

Hal Pennington was a former American athletics coach. He was the founder and first head coach of the AFL II Cincinnati Bengals.[1] He also had a 33-year career in amateur baseball, winning four National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series titles.

Hal Pennington
Alma materXavier University
OccupationAthletics coach
Years active1934–1988

Early life and education

Pennington attended St. Xavier High School where he was a three-sport athlete, graduating in 1930.[2] He was an all-city first baseman in baseball and played halfback and fullback in football. In basketball, he led the team in scoring his junior and senior years.[2] Pennington attended Xavier University where he served as co-captain of the basketball team his senior year. He went on to play professional basketball prior to the NBA.[2]

Career

Pennington was the head coach of the Midwest Football League Cincinnati Model Shoes.[3] He left after one season to form the Cincinnati Bengals of the second American Football League.[3]

Pennington became a legendary amateur baseball coach in Cincinnati, winning four NABF World Series titles.[4] He retired from baseball with 1,392 wins and .862 winning percentage.[5] He coached 60 players that went on to play professional baseball, 11 who went on to the major leagues including Dave Parker, Buddy Bell, Ron Oester, and Len Matuszek.[5]

Pennington retired from coaching in 1988. Throughout his sports career, he recorded 1,577 wins and 246 losses among all sports.[5]

Recognition

In 1987, Pennington was inducted into the St. Xavier High School hall of fame.[2] He is also a member of the Hamilton County Sports Hall of Fame, Buddy La-Rosa High School Hall of Fame, and Xavier University Basketball Hall of Fame.[5]

References
  1. McDonnell, Jay (20 June 2010). "The origin of the Cincinnati Bengals". Cincy Jungle. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  2. "1987 Inductees". St. Xavier High School. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  3. Schmidt, Neil (22 December 1993). "Coaching legend gets his due Tuesday dinner honors Pennington". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  4. Suess, Jeff (2016). Hidden History of Cincinnati. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781625857750. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
  5. Hoffman, Steve (26 April 1988). "Pennington has decided to go out while he is on top". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
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