No. 51: Ken Bahnsen Named All-American

No. 51- Ken Bahnsen Named All-American

From Billy Dinkle to Lance Dunbar, North Texas boasts a history of great running backs dating back to World War II. But perhaps no season can claim a more potent backfield than the 1951 tandem of Ray Renfro and Ken Bahnsen.

Renfro, apart of the inaugural North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1981, led NT with 959 yards and nine touchdowns in 1951. After earning First Team Associated Press All-America honors he went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns.

The other member of the combo, Bahnsen, is the only two-time All-American in school history. The bruising fullback set the school career rushing and scoring records while in the Eagles' backfield, and even scored the first touchdown in Fouts Field history.

He played one season for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers before becoming a longtime North Texas assistant football coach, even coaching Abner Haynes and Leon King's freshman squad.

Bahnsen also coached the Eagles' tennis team to consecutive Missouri Valley Conference championships in 1966 and 1967, and was inducted into the NT Hall of Fame in 1991.

In 2008, the University renamed the Men's Gymnasium in honor of Bahnsen's contributions to the school and its athletics department.

100	100-yd fumble return for TD	75-	"Mean Joe" Greene	50-	Friday, July 22	25-	Tuesday, August 16
99	Fitzgerald Goes The Distance	74-	NT Downs No. 20 SDSU	49-	Saturday, July 23	24-	Wednesday, August 17
98	Sears Woods' Stuns Knoxville	73-	Fry & the new Mean Green	48-	Sunday, July 24	23-	Thursday, August 18
97-	NT Blows Out Decatur Baptist	72-	Yaege's Stellar Season	47-	Monday, July 25	22-	Friday, August 19
96-	96 Years Of Football	71-	Steve Ramsey's TDs	46-	Tuesday, July 26	21-	Saturday, August 20
95-	The Jump To Division I-A	70-	Little's 1970 Season	45-	Wednesday, July 27	20-	Sunday, August 21
94-	Optimist Bowl Offense	69-	7 All-Conference in '69	44-	Thursday, July 28	19-	Monday, August 22
93-	Michael High KR Yards	68-	A Consensus All-American	43-	Friday, July 29	18-	Tuesday, August 23
92-	Gowin 92-Yard Punt	67-	Armour Anchors NT Offense	42-	Saturday, July 30	17-	Wednesday, August 24
91-	Chancellor Saves The MGRN	66-	Love Tops 1,000 Yds	41-	Sunday, July 31	16-	Thursday, August 25
90-	Renfro/Haynes Tally 90 pts.	65-	St. Clair's Win Pct	40-	Monday, August 1	15-	Friday, August 26
89-	Redwine Bursts Onto Scene	64-	Spider's Special Season	39-	Tuesday, August 2	14-	Saturday, August 27
88-	Mean Green Robbed	63-	NT & Navy Light Up The Scoreboard	38-	Wednesday, August 3	13-	Sunday, August 28
87-	Fitzgerald Fries Competition	62-	Khoury's 62-yd FG	37-	Thursday, August 4	12-	Monday, August 29
86-	Mean Green 86 The Toads	61-	Kennedy's 61 TFL	36-	Friday, August 5	11-	Tuesday, August 30
85-	Adrian Awasom	60-	Fouts Field	35-	Saturday, August 6	10-	Wednesday, August 31
84-	Brown Delivers For NT	59-	The '59 Sun Bowl Squad	34-	Sunday, August 7	9-	Thursday, September 1
83-	83 All-Conference Selections	58-	Mitchell Claims COY	33-	Monday, August 8	8-	Friday, September 2
82-	Corky Nelson	57-	Thomas Scampers For 57	32-	Tuesday, August 9	7-	Saturday, September 3
81-	One Of The Greats	56-	Scott Davis Completion Pct	31-	Wednesday, August 10	6-	Sunday, September 4
80-	Cedric The Sack- Getter	55-	Gill, NT's First Retired Number	30-	Thursday, August 11	5-	Monday, September 5
79-	"Blow George, Blow!"	54-	Pair's Punts	29-	Friday, August 12	4	Tuesday, September 6
78-	J.T. Smith Joins the NFL	53-	OSU's 53 Passing Yards	28-	Saturday, August 13	3-	Wednesday, September 7
77-	North Texas Goes 10- 1	52-	Fouts Field Opens	27-	Sunday, August 14	2-	Thursday, September 8
76-	Blizzard Battle With FSU	51-	Bahnsen Named All-American	26-	Monday, August 15	1-	Friday, September 9

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No. 51: Ken Bahnsen Named All-American

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