Hall of Fame
Dr. Benjamin A. Kammer, Class of 1937, retired in 1978 after serving as superintendent of schools in Fort Morgan, Colorado, for 16 years. That position of prominent public school leadership completed a career spanning 41 years as a school superintendent, principal, teacher and coach. Ben Kammer was a teacher and administrator in five different Iowa school systems. But, today we honor him particularly for his long career in coaching basketball at McGregor, Elwood, and Lost Nation in this state. His high school teams at McGregor qualified for the State Basketball Tournament in both 1939 and 1940. He was a native of Lost Nation and he returned to his hometown to coach from 1944 through 1956. There his 1951 team went to the State Tournament and finished the season 31-1. His career coaching record over 19 years was 325 wins and 136 losses. While a student-athlete at Coe, Ben Kammer was on the basketball team all four years. He captained the 1936-37 team and won the coveted Courtney Award for the graduating athlete with the best academic grade average. His degrees earned after Coe included a master's degree from Drake University and a doctorate from the University of Northern Colorado. In 1978 his long-term contribution to sports and educational administration in our state was recognized by his election to the Iowa High School Basketball Hall of Fame. On this day his fellow Coe alumni honor him for a lifetime effort directed at educating and coaching generations of young people. His skill and dedication merit his induction into the Kohawk Athletic Hall of Fame at this time.
