Hal Pennington
{{Short description|American athletics coach}}
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| name = Hal Pennington
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| alma_mater = Xavier University
| occupation = Athletics coach
| years_active = 1934–1988
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Hal Pennington was a former American athletics coach. He was the founder and first head coach of the AFL II Cincinnati Bengals.{{cite news|last1=McDonnell|first1=Jay|title=The origin of the Cincinnati Bengals|url=http://www.cincyjungle.com/2010/6/20/1526407/the-origin-of-the-cincinnati|accessdate=30 March 2017|publisher=Cincy Jungle|date=20 June 2010}} He also had a 33-year career in amateur baseball, winning four National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series titles.
Early life and education
Pennington attended St. Xavier High School where he was a three-sport athlete, graduating in 1930.{{cite news|title=1987 Inductees|url=http://www.stxavier.org/page.cfm?p=2505|accessdate=30 March 2017|publisher=St. Xavier High School}} He was an all-city first baseman in baseball and played halfback and fullback in football. In basketball, he led the team in scoring his junior and senior years. Pennington attended Xavier University where he served as co-captain of the basketball team his senior year. He went on to play professional basketball prior to the NBA.
Career
Pennington was the head coach of the Midwest Football League Cincinnati Model Shoes.{{cite news|last1=Schmidt|first1=Neil|title=Coaching legend gets his due Tuesday dinner honors Pennington|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/102124848/|accessdate=30 March 2017|publisher=The Cincinnati Enquirer|date=22 December 1993}} He left after one season to form the Cincinnati Bengals of the second American Football League.
Pennington became a legendary amateur baseball coach in Cincinnati, winning four NABF World Series titles.{{cite book|last1=Suess|first1=Jeff|title=Hidden History of Cincinnati|date=2016|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9781625857750|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6XZmDQAAQBAJ&dq=%22Hal+Pennington%22+baseball&pg=PT145|accessdate=30 March 2017}} He retired from baseball with 1,392 wins and .862 winning percentage.{{cite news|last1=Hoffman|first1=Steve|title=Pennington has decided to go out while he is on top|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/102148297/|accessdate=30 March 2017|publisher=The Cincinnati Enquirer|date=26 April 1988}} He coached 60 players that went on to play professional baseball, 11 who went on to the major leagues including Dave Parker, Buddy Bell, Ron Oester, and Len Matuszek.
Pennington retired from coaching in 1988. Throughout his sports career, he recorded 1,577 wins and 246 losses among all sports.