Bert Coan

Who is Bert Coan?

Elroy Bert Coan III is a former American football player. He is most notable because of his extraordinary speed and size and because he was the central figure in a dispute over the 1960 college football game between the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the University of Missouri Tigers, the second-longest-running rivalry in college football. Coan played for Kansas - and helped the Jayhawks win the 1960 game by a score of 23-7 over Missouri, then-ranked #1. But later, the NCAA declared Coan ineligible, due to a recruiting violation by Bud Adams while Coan was still at Texas Christian University and the game was forfeited. Missouri considers the 1960 game a victory for Missouri, while Kansas argues otherwise. Ever since, the two universities have disputed the overall win-loss record in the long-running series.

Coan went on to play in 72 games in seven seasons in the American Football League; the first season with the San Diego Chargers, and the rest with the Kansas City Chiefs.