Gerry Gerard

Kenneth Carlyle "Gerry" Gerard (July 14, 1903 – January 17, 1951) was an American basketball and soccer coach. He served as the head basketball coach at Duke University from 1943 to 1950, compiling a record of 131–78. Gerard first arrived at Duke to serve as the director of intramural sports in 1931. He helped form the Duke Blue Devils men's soccer program in 1935, coaching the team for 11 seasons.

A native of Mishawaka, Indiana, Gerard attended the University of Illinois, where played basketball and football as an end and quarterback. He also threw the javelin on Illinois track team. He graduated from Illinois in June 1928 with a Bachelor of Science degree and began his career that fall as a teacher and head football coach at the high school in Athens, Pennsylvania.

Gerard joined the Duke basketball coaching staff in 1941, acting as an assistant coach under Eddie Cameron for two seasons, prior to being named head coach in 1943. He coached Duke for eight seasons (1943–1950), winning the Southern Conference tournament and Coach of the Year honors in 1944 and 1946.

Gerard's health began to decline in 1949 and he took a leave of absence in November 1950. He died on January 17, 1951, at Duke University Hospital, in Durham, North Carolina after a serious injury lasting several months.