Bio

Kenneth "Moco" Mercer was a four-sport athlete for Simpson, participating in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Mercer made his biggest impact on the gridiron, becoming Simpson's first, three-time all-conference performer when he took home first team honors in 1923, 1924 and 1925. Mercer led the newly-formed Iowa Conference in scoring in each of those three seasons, scoring 80 points in 1923 (10 TD, 17 PATs, 1 FG), a then-IIAC record 94 points in 1924 (10 TD, 19 PATs, 5 FG) and 64 points in 1925 (8 TD, 7 PATs, 3 FG). An accomplished field goal kicker, Mercer was considered a "drop-kicking artist," hitting a season-long 47-yarder against Nebraska Wesleyan in 1924.

Behind the star-power of Mercer and head coach Noel Workman, Simpson won the first three titles in Iowa Conference history, going 23-3-2 from 1923-25. Mercer later went on to serve as a head coach at the University of Dubuque, winning 16 conference titles across a number of sports.

Following graduation, Mercer played professionally for four years with the Frankford Yellow Jackets, one season with the Chicago Cardinals and one year with the New York Giants.

A native of Albia, Iowa, Mercer is also a member of the Des Moines Sunday Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 1964), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Football Hall of Fame, and the University of Dubuque Athletic Hall of Fame.