Spec Keene

Roy Servais "Spec" Keene (July 1, 1894 – August 24, 1977) was an American football, baseball, and basketball coach at Willamette University and an athletic director at Oregon State University.

"Roy Keene" redirects here. For the Irish football player and manager, see Roy Keane.
Spec Keene
Keene in 1928
Biographical details
Born(1894-07-01)July 1, 1894
DiedAugust 24, 1977(1977-08-24) (aged 83)
Corvallis, Oregon
Playing career
Baseball
c. 1920Oregon State
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1926–1942Willamette
Basketball
1926–1937Willamette
1942–1943Willamette
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1947–1964Oregon State
Head coaching record
Overall84–51–6 (football)
159–100 (basketball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
9 NWC (1929, 1934–1938, 1940–1942)

Basketball
7 NWC (1927, 1929–1931, 1933, 1937, 1943)

Playing career

Keene graduated from Oregon State University in 1921, where he was a pitcher on the baseball team, and was chosen as team captain in his junior year.[1]

Coaching career

After graduating from Oregon State, Keene signed on with Willamette University's athletic department, where he coached three sports: football for 17 years, baseball for 16 years, and basketball for 11 years.[2] Combined, Keene's teams won or shared 19 Northwest Conference championships, and in the 1929–30 academic year, each of his three teams were undefeated and won conference championships.[2] Keene is considered the "father of Willamette athletics" and was a charter member of the University's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991.[2]

Attack on Pearl Harbor

On December 6, 1941, Keene's Willamette football team was in Honolulu, Hawaii, where they lost a game to Hawaii, 20–6. The following day, the players and fans had intended to do some sightseeing around Hawaii, but instead, were witness to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.[3] The players, now stranded in Hawaii, were enlisted to string barbed wire on Waikiki Beach and were given rifles and assigned to protect the beach and later the hills above Honolulu.[3] Keene, along with future Oregon governor Douglas McKay, who had traveled with the football team, finally arranged passage home for the players on December 19 on an overloaded luxury liner, the SS President Coolidge.[3] The team arrived in San Francisco on Christmas Day after taking a circuitous route to avoid Japanese submarines. In 1997, the entire team was inducted into Willamette's Athletic Hall of Fame.[4]

Return to Oregon State

Following World War II, in 1947, Keene returned to Oregon State to serve as athletic director. He served in that post for 26 years, the longest tenure of any Oregon State athletic director.[5] During his term, he oversaw construction of the University's two major sports facilities: Gill Coliseum in 1949 and Parker Stadium (later renamed Reser Stadium) in 1953.[5] Keene was President of the Pacific Coast Conference Athletics Directors Association and served on the executive committee of the NCAA.[5]

Legacy

In 1989, Willamette University built a new baseball stadium, which they named Roy S. "Spec" Keene Stadium. In addition to the Willamette University Athletic Hall of Fame, Keene was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1982 for his coaching,[6] and the Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame in 1991 for his service as athletic director. He died in Corvallis on August 24, 1977.

Head coaching record

Football
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Willamette Bearcats (Northwest Conference) (1926–1942)
1926 Willamette 2–41–24th
1927 Willamette 3–3–22–2–13rd
1928 Willamette 3–52–3T–4th
1929 Willamette 6–25–01st
1930 Willamette 5–34–12nd
1931 Willamette 5–43–2T–2nd
1932 Willamette 4–4–14–1–12nd
1933 Willamette 6–34–12nd
1934 Willamette 8–15–0T–1st
1935 Willamette 5–24–01st
1936 Willamette 7–2–16–01st
1937 Willamette 6–35–01st
1938 Willamette 5–34–1T–1st
1939 Willamette 3–4–23–1–12nd
1940 Willamette 4–54–01st
1941 Willamette 8–25–01st
1942 Willamette 4–14–01st
Willamette: 84–51–665–14–3
Total:84–51–6
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Basketball
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Willamette Bearcats (Northwest Conference) (1926–1937)
1926–27 Willamette 14–610–2T–1st
1927–28 Willamette 13–77–22nd
1928–29 Willamette 10–47–1T–1st
1929–30 Willamette 14–48–01st
1930–31 Willamette 15–310–11st
1931–32 Willamette 16–127–33rd
1932–33 Willamette 18–39–11st
1933–34 Willamette 9–136–43rd
1934–35 Willamette 7–174–55th
1935–36 Willamette 10–163–55th
1936–37 Willamette 22–610–01st
Willamette Bearcats (Northwest Conference) (1942–1943)
1942–43 Willamette 11–95–1T–1st
Willamette: 159–10086–25
Total:159–100

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "Beaver eClips: Amazing Beavers, 1900–1930". OSU Alumni Association. February 22, 2002. Archived from the original on June 8, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  2. "Willamette Athletics Hall of Fame". Willamette University. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  3. "Shock and Resolve: Oregon Reacts to Pearl Harbor". Oregon State Archives. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  4. "Willamette Athletics Hall of Fame". Willamette University. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  5. "Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame". OSUBeavers.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
  6. "Coaching". Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved September 14, 2007.
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