Clarence A. Clingenpeel (December 12, 1886 – December 2, 1975) was an American athlete and sports coach. He was best known for his time at Central College (now known as Central Methodist University), where he played several sports and later coached from 1914 to 1917, and again from 1925 to 1941. Clingenpeel also coached football at Austin College for one year and for seven years he coached football and basketball at Kemper Military School. He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1958 and later into the Central Methodist Hall of Fame in 1983. Early life and education Clingenpeel was born on December 12, 1886, in Delphos, Kansas. He attended Central College (now known as Central Methodist University) in Fayette, Missouri, and played several sports there for four years, including football, baseball, and basketball, being a "splendid athlete." He led the football team to a championship in 1911 while playing quarterback and was described in a 1925 article as being widely regarded as the "greatest catcher Central ever had." Prior to his coaching career, Clingenpeel worked for seven years as a journalist for The Kansas City Star. Coaching career In 1914, Clingenpeel was hired as the new athletic director at his alma mater. Among his duties in this position were head football coach, basketball coach, track and field coach, and baseball coach. In his first season as football coach, Clingenpeel led the team to "distinct success" after they had gone through "disappointment" in the past several years, compiling an overall record of 4–3, with wins over Tarkio (21–3), William Jewell (7–0), Kirksville (12–0), and Westminster (53–0), along with losses against Warrensburg (20–7), Drury (35–0), and Missouri Wesleyan (20–7), good enough for a second-place finish in the conference. The Kansas City Star described the team as the best Central had had in years. In the 1914–15 basketball season, Clingenpeel led his team to an overall record of 3–7, and in baseball, his team compiled the same mark. The following year, he led the football team to a 2–5 record, the men's basketball team to a record of 5–7, the baseball team to a 6–7 mark, and also coached the women's basketball team, which won once in three matches. After the 1916–17 sports season, Clingenpeel left Central to become the athletic director at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. The Kansas City Star recapped his three-year stint at the school: Clingenpeel