Oliver Kuhn

Oliver Wall Kuhn (August 14, 1898 – October 8, 1968), nicknamed "Doc Kuhn", was an American football, baseball and basketball player for the Vanderbilt University Commodores and later a prominent businessman of Tampa, Florida. As a college football quarterback, Kuhn led Vanderbilt to three consecutive Southern titles in 1921, 1922, and 1923 – the most-recent conference titles for Vanderbilt football. In 1922, Vanderbilt tied Michigan at the dedication of Dudley Field, and Kuhn was picked for Walter Camp's list of names worthy of mention and Billy Evans' All-America "National Honor Roll."

During his senior year, Kuhn was the captain of Vanderbilt's football and basketball teams and received the Porter Cup, awarded to Vanderbilt's best all-around athlete. Kuhn played guard on the basketball team and was a shortstop on the baseball team which won a 1921 conference championship. He was selected All-Southern in baseball in 1921 and 1922.

Kuhn moved to Tampa after graduation, where he helped start the athletics program at the University of Tampa, and later notably led an effort to plant podocarpus trees in downtown Tampa.

Kuhn was born on August 14, 1898, in Nashville, Tennessee, the seventh child of Katherine Wall of Springfield, Kentucky and Ferdinand E. Kuhn, a secretary for the local board of public works. "Doc", who played old cat as a child, attended preparatory school at Cathedral High School and Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA). At MBA, he won two state football titles, first in 1915 as a sub and then in 1917 as a starter. Kuhn lost just a single game as MBA's starting quarterback. According to Kuhn's World War I draft registration, he worked for DuPont as a civil engineer in Jacksonville, Tennessee. He also spent time at Camp Taylor.

In 1918, Kuhn played as an end on the freshman team at Notre Dame. George Gipp and Curly Lambeau were on the varsity, and it was Knute Rockne's first year as head coach.

Kuhn attended Vanderbilt University from 1919 to 1923. He was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and chaired the Vanderbilt University dances.

Kuhn quarterbacked Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt football teams from 1920 to 1923, after a year on the scrub team in 1919. His Commodores compiled an overall win–loss–tie record of 24–5–4 (.788) during his four years on the team, and a 15–2–3 (.825) record while he was a starter, including three consecutive conference titles, the most recent to date for Vanderbilt.

During Kuhn's first year playing varsity football for Vanderbilt, the Commodores scored 47 points in the first half of a season-opening win against Birmingham–Southern due to the backfield of "Berryhill, Kuhn, Latham and Company". After two crushing defeats to Georgia Tech and Auburn, Vanderbilt played Kentucky State and won 20–0; Kuhn subbed for Latham so the starter could rest up for the next week's game against the Alabama Crimson Tide.