Joseph Bailey Keeble (August 29, 1909 – April 27, 1984) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

who played one season with the Cleveland Rams of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

. He was also a member of the Westwood Cubs,

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

and

Pittsburgh Americans The Pittsburgh Americans or Pittsburgh Amerks were a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1936 until 1937. The team was a member of the major-league American Football League and participated in the league's 1 ...

Early life and college

Joseph Bailey Keeble was born on August 29, 1909, in

Cleburne, Texas Cleburne ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 31,352. The city is named in honor of Patrick Cleburne, a Confederate general. Lake Pat Cleburne, the reservoir that ...

. He first enrolled at Holtville High School in

Holtville, California Holtville (formerly, Holton) is a city in Imperial County, California. Holtville is located east of El Centro. The population was 5,939 at the 2010 census, up from 5,612 in 2000. History The city was founded in the 1880s by Swiss- German ...

before transferring to Oneonta Military Academy in

South Pasadena, California South Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 26,943, up from 25,619 at the 2020 census. It is located in the Western San Gabriel Valley. It is in area and lies betwe ...

. Keeble joined the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

in 1930 and played football and basketball for them. He was on the freshman football team in 1930 and a

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

from 1931 to 1933. He earned first-team All- PCC honors as a fullback in 1932.

Professional career

Keeble played for the Westwood Cubs from 1934 to 1936. He signed with the Chicago Cardinals in 1935 but did not appear in a game for the team. He played for the Pittsburgh Americans of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

in 1936. Keeble played in seven games, starting two, for the Cleveland Rams during the 1937 season.

Coaching career

Keeble was later head coach at Madera High School in

Madera, California Madera (Spanish language, Spanish for "Lumber") is a city in and the county seat of Madera County, California, Madera County, located in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Founded in 1876 as a timber town at the terminus of a major logging f ...

Personal life

Keeble died on April 27, 1984, in

San Luis Obispo County, California San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a County (United States), county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeble, Joe 1909 births 1984 deaths American football fullbacks American football halfbacks American men's basketball players Cleveland Rams players Pittsburgh Americans players UCLA Bruins football players UCLA Bruins men's basketball players High school football coaches in California Sportspeople from Cleburne, Texas Players of American football from Texas Basketball players from Texas Coaches of American football from Texas