Mr. Kennedy died Thursday, January 28, 1993, when a shed he was tearing down near his home collapsed and he was struck by falling timbers. Chariton County Coroner W. W. Leatherwood, Salisbury, said death was instantaneous.
He was born March 20, 1907 in Kansas City, the son of James N. and Bess McPherson Kennedy, but lived most of his life in Mendon. He and Maud McClellan were married February 13, 1931 in Colorado.
Mr. Kennedy attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg where he was an outstanding athlete, competing in football and track and field events. As a tackle for the Mules, he was a three-time All-MIAA selection. In track and field, he helped the Mules to four straight MIAA track and field titles, and set school records in the Javelin, shot put and discus. Capping his college years was a national title in the 1927 decathlon at the prestigious Penn Relays on Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In 1951, Central Missouri State established the Vernon Kennedy Award, which is presented to the school's outstanding male athlete each year.
In 1954, CMSU renamed its football field, Vernon Kennedy Field. The school's annual heptathlon and decathlon, held in the spring, also is named for Kennedy. In February 1992, he was included in the first class of inductees into the Hall of Fame at CMSU.
He received the CMSU Distinguished Alumni Award and the American Legion Distinguished Citizen Award.
In 1955, he became the seventh person inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, in its fifth year.
After graduating from college Mr. Kennedy got his first job carrying bricks in Mendon where he pitched for the town baseball team on Sundays. Pittsburg offered him a contract in 1930, and he reported to Burlington, Iowa, in the Mississippi Valley League. That started his 24-year stint in professional baseball, 12 of which were in the major leagues and included a no-hit game and two All Star appearances.
After his retirement from the diamond, he taught and coached in Brookfield for 10 years, and more recently had competed annually in the Missouri's Senior Olympics and the Show-Me Games, where he was the oldest entrant and consistent medal winner. He held records in all age groups.
Surviving are his wife, Maud, of the home; a son, Patrick Lynn Kennedy, Lathrop; a daughter, Carole Lucille Kennedy, Columbia; three brothers, Ralph Kennedy, Brunswick, Bill Kennedy, Mendon, and Donald Kennedy, Marshall; a sister, Marjorie Morgan, Columbus, Georgia; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother.
Services: Sunday, January 31, 1993, Northwestern R-I High School auditorium in Mendon.
Burial: Old Mendon Cemetery, Mendon, MO.
He was born March 20, 1907 in Kansas City, the son of James N. and Bess McPherson Kennedy, but lived most of his life in Mendon. He and Maud McClellan were married February 13, 1931 in Colorado.
Mr. Kennedy attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg where he was an outstanding athlete, competing in football and track and field events. As a tackle for the Mules, he was a three-time All-MIAA selection. In track and field, he helped the Mules to four straight MIAA track and field titles, and set school records in the Javelin, shot put and discus. Capping his college years was a national title in the 1927 decathlon at the prestigious Penn Relays on Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In 1951, Central Missouri State established the Vernon Kennedy Award, which is presented to the school's outstanding male athlete each year.
In 1954, CMSU renamed its football field, Vernon Kennedy Field. The school's annual heptathlon and decathlon, held in the spring, also is named for Kennedy. In February 1992, he was included in the first class of inductees into the Hall of Fame at CMSU.
He received the CMSU Distinguished Alumni Award and the American Legion Distinguished Citizen Award.
In 1955, he became the seventh person inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, in its fifth year.
After graduating from college Mr. Kennedy got his first job carrying bricks in Mendon where he pitched for the town baseball team on Sundays. Pittsburg offered him a contract in 1930, and he reported to Burlington, Iowa, in the Mississippi Valley League. That started his 24-year stint in professional baseball, 12 of which were in the major leagues and included a no-hit game and two All Star appearances.
After his retirement from the diamond, he taught and coached in Brookfield for 10 years, and more recently had competed annually in the Missouri's Senior Olympics and the Show-Me Games, where he was the oldest entrant and consistent medal winner. He held records in all age groups.
Surviving are his wife, Maud, of the home; a son, Patrick Lynn Kennedy, Lathrop; a daughter, Carole Lucille Kennedy, Columbia; three brothers, Ralph Kennedy, Brunswick, Bill Kennedy, Mendon, and Donald Kennedy, Marshall; a sister, Marjorie Morgan, Columbus, Georgia; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother.
Services: Sunday, January 31, 1993, Northwestern R-I High School auditorium in Mendon.
Burial: Old Mendon Cemetery, Mendon, MO.
Mr. Kennedy died Thursday, January 28, 1993, when a shed he was tearing down near his home collapsed and he was struck by falling timbers. Chariton County Coroner W. W. Leatherwood, Salisbury, said death was instantaneous.
He was born March 20, 1907 in Kansas City, the son of James N. and Bess McPherson Kennedy, but lived most of his life in Mendon. He and Maud McClellan were married February 13, 1931 in Colorado.
Mr. Kennedy attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg where he was an outstanding athlete, competing in football and track and field events. As a tackle for the Mules, he was a three-time All-MIAA selection. In track and field, he helped the Mules to four straight MIAA track and field titles, and set school records in the Javelin, shot put and discus. Capping his college years was a national title in the 1927 decathlon at the prestigious Penn Relays on Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In 1951, Central Missouri State established the Vernon Kennedy Award, which is presented to the school's outstanding male athlete each year.
In 1954, CMSU renamed its football field, Vernon Kennedy Field. The school's annual heptathlon and decathlon, held in the spring, also is named for Kennedy. In February 1992, he was included in the first class of inductees into the Hall of Fame at CMSU.
He received the CMSU Distinguished Alumni Award and the American Legion Distinguished Citizen Award.
In 1955, he became the seventh person inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, in its fifth year.
After graduating from college Mr. Kennedy got his first job carrying bricks in Mendon where he pitched for the town baseball team on Sundays. Pittsburg offered him a contract in 1930, and he reported to Burlington, Iowa, in the Mississippi Valley League. That started his 24-year stint in professional baseball, 12 of which were in the major leagues and included a no-hit game and two All Star appearances.
After his retirement from the diamond, he taught and coached in Brookfield for 10 years, and more recently had competed annually in the Missouri's Senior Olympics and the Show-Me Games, where he was the oldest entrant and consistent medal winner. He held records in all age groups.
Surviving are his wife, Maud, of the home; a son, Patrick Lynn Kennedy, Lathrop; a daughter, Carole Lucille Kennedy, Columbia; three brothers, Ralph Kennedy, Brunswick, Bill Kennedy, Mendon, and Donald Kennedy, Marshall; a sister, Marjorie Morgan, Columbus, Georgia; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother.
Services: Sunday, January 31, 1993, Northwestern R-I High School auditorium in Mendon.
Burial: Old Mendon Cemetery, Mendon, MO.
He was born March 20, 1907 in Kansas City, the son of James N. and Bess McPherson Kennedy, but lived most of his life in Mendon. He and Maud McClellan were married February 13, 1931 in Colorado.
Mr. Kennedy attended Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg where he was an outstanding athlete, competing in football and track and field events. As a tackle for the Mules, he was a three-time All-MIAA selection. In track and field, he helped the Mules to four straight MIAA track and field titles, and set school records in the Javelin, shot put and discus. Capping his college years was a national title in the 1927 decathlon at the prestigious Penn Relays on Franklin Field in Philadelphia.
In 1951, Central Missouri State established the Vernon Kennedy Award, which is presented to the school's outstanding male athlete each year.
In 1954, CMSU renamed its football field, Vernon Kennedy Field. The school's annual heptathlon and decathlon, held in the spring, also is named for Kennedy. In February 1992, he was included in the first class of inductees into the Hall of Fame at CMSU.
He received the CMSU Distinguished Alumni Award and the American Legion Distinguished Citizen Award.
In 1955, he became the seventh person inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, in its fifth year.
After graduating from college Mr. Kennedy got his first job carrying bricks in Mendon where he pitched for the town baseball team on Sundays. Pittsburg offered him a contract in 1930, and he reported to Burlington, Iowa, in the Mississippi Valley League. That started his 24-year stint in professional baseball, 12 of which were in the major leagues and included a no-hit game and two All Star appearances.
After his retirement from the diamond, he taught and coached in Brookfield for 10 years, and more recently had competed annually in the Missouri's Senior Olympics and the Show-Me Games, where he was the oldest entrant and consistent medal winner. He held records in all age groups.
Surviving are his wife, Maud, of the home; a son, Patrick Lynn Kennedy, Lathrop; a daughter, Carole Lucille Kennedy, Columbia; three brothers, Ralph Kennedy, Brunswick, Bill Kennedy, Mendon, and Donald Kennedy, Marshall; a sister, Marjorie Morgan, Columbus, Georgia; three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents and an infant brother.
Services: Sunday, January 31, 1993, Northwestern R-I High School auditorium in Mendon.
Burial: Old Mendon Cemetery, Mendon, MO.
