Edwin R. "Eddie" Kimball (October 25, 1903 – December 26, 1990) was a head coach of the Brigham Young University college football program from 1937-1948. He was a former player at BYU, and earned team captain status in 1925. He later on served as the school's athletic director.
History[]
Eddie Kimball was inducted into the Utah Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, after forty-five years of athletic involvement. He has also been installed in the National Association of Directors of Athletics Hall of Fame in Miami Beach, Florida.
As a BYU athlete, Eddie weighed 150 pounds and played every minute of every football game for over two and a half years. He was captain of the team in 1925. He gained his degree in 1926 and began coaching at Millard High School in Fillmore. Later he coached at Jordan High School, where his 1931 football team won both the state and Southwest championships. His Jordan High teams lost only four games in three years.
In 1935 Eddie served as freshman coach at BYU and later became head coach and athletic director. He helped organize the Mountain States Conference and was named the conference’s Coach of the Year in 1938 and 1941. During World War II, Commander Edwin Kimball was in charge of all physical and survival training for all naval units between San Diego and the Aleutian Islands.
Coach Kimball returned to BYU after the war. His contributions to athletics were recognized in 1953 when he received the Dale Rex Memorial Award, as well as by later Hall of Fame elections.
Eddie married Althea Ashby in 1927, and they became parents of two sons and three daughters. Althea passed away in 1973, and Eddie married Marjorie Ellsworth Gillespi in 1974.
Head Coaching Record[]
- 1937 Brigham Young University 6–3
- 1938 Brigham Young University 4–3–1
- 1939 Brigham Young University 5–2–2
- 1940 Brigham Young University 2–4–2
- 1941 Brigham Young University 4–3–2
- 1946 Brigham Young University 5–4–1
- 1947 Brigham Young University 3–7
- 1948 Brigham Young University 5–6
- Total: 34–32–8