Larner Somers Gardner Conover (May 21, 1894 – August 4, 1945) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player during the early years 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). After attending high school in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, Conover attended

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, where he served as the team's captain in 1917. Conover was the head basketball and baseball coach and an assistant football coach at Clemson for the 1920–21 seasons. Nicknamed "The Atlantic City Airedale", Conovar made his professional debut in the NFL in 1921 with the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

. Conover played in the league for four years, playing for the

Cleveland Bulldogs The Cleveland Bulldogs were a team that played in Cleveland, Ohio in the National Football League. They were originally called the Indians in 1923, not to be confused with the Cleveland Indians NFL franchise in 1922. However, after team owner ...

Frankford Yellow Jackets The Frankford Yellow Jackets were a professional American football team, part of the National Football League from 1924 to 1931, although its origin dates back to as early as 1899 with the Frankford Athletic Association. The Yellow Jackets wo ...

and Canton. In 1922, Conover signed on to play with the then-independent,

Pottsville Maroons The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bost ...

. There he helped the Maroons become the top team in the

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

coal region. In 1924, the Maroons won the

Anthracite League The Anthracite League, also referred to as the Anthracite Association, was a short-lived American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league comprising teams based in coal-mining towns in eastern Pennsylvania (hence the league name' ...

championship. The following year, the Maroons joined the NFL. Conover later served as a line coach at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

and as an assistant football coach his alma mater, Penn State, from 1926 to 1932. He died on August 4, 1945, in

, from a heart attack after attempting to revive a drowned swimmer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conover, Larry 1894 births 1945 deaths American football centers Basketball coaches from New Jersey Canton Bulldogs players Clemson Tigers football coaches Clemson Tigers men's basketball coaches Cleveland Bulldogs players Frankford Yellow Jackets players Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players Pottsville Maroons (Anthracite League) players Sportspeople from Atlantic City, New Jersey Players of American football from Atlantic County, New Jersey Deaths by drowning in New Jersey