Mort Kaer

Who was Mort Kaer?

Morton "Mort" Armour Kaer, nicknamed "Devil May," was a world-famous athlete, as a track star and All-American collegiate and professional American football player.

He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and died in Mount Shasta, California.

At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, he placed fifth in the Olympic pentathlon competition. The pentathlon, a track and field event comprising five events: the 200 metres, 1500 metres, discus, javelin, and long jump.

Then came three great years as a halfback for the University of Southern California Trojans, 1924-1926. In 1925, he set a school record by scoring 19 touchdowns, which led the nation that year. The record lasted 43 years, broken in 1968 by O.J. Simpson. In Kaer's three years he had 36 touchdowns, a career record for the school, tied by Simpson in 1967-68. He was elected All-American in 1926.

Five years after his college career, Kaer played one year of professional football, 1931, with the Frankford Yellow Jackets of the National Football League. He became coach at Weed, California High School, where he accumulated a record of 187-47-7 over 28 years in which his teams won 17 conference championships.