James Fred "Pop" McKale was an American football and baseball player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, and track, and college athletics administrator.
17 Facts About Pop McKale
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Pop McKale is best known for his four-decade association with the University of Arizona.
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Pop McKale served as athletic director at U of A from 1914 to 1957.
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Pop McKale was inducted into the Arizona Sportsmen Hall of Fame in 1959 and was a charter member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, inducted in 1976.
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Pop McKale was named a two-time All-State athlete in both football and baseball at Albion College.
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Pop McKale helped the football team win a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1908 and served as the team's captain in 1908 and 1909.
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Pop McKale graduated with a degree in history and chemistry in 1910.
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Pop McKale instead decided to become a teacher and accepted a position in Superior, Wisconsin.
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The next year, Pop McKale saw an advertisement for a teaching position at Tucson High School in Tucson, Arizona.
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Pop McKale completed a Master of Education with a minor in law in 1919.
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Pop McKale coached the track and basketball teams for 7 seasons.
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Pop McKale coached baseball from 1915 to 1949, achieving a record of 302 wins and 102 losses.
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Pop McKale retired in 1957 due to the school's then mandatory retirement age of 70.
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Pop McKale founded the university's Sigma Nu chapter in 1918.
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Pop McKale was interested in history, with his primary focus upon George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
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Pop McKale received a number of honors for his athletic accomplishments.
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Pop McKale was inducted into the Arizona Sportsmen Hall of Fame in 1959, became a charter member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame in 1976, and was inducted into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.