Nation's Youngest Coach DIXON KAPPLE Cage Mentor Celebrates He Is A Leap Year Baby Dixon Kapple, director of athletics at Ogden High school, is celebrating his ninth birthday today. But the nationally known mentor, who has a habit of turning out spendid athletic teams, in reality is 40. Kapple is said to be the youngest coach in the state and perhaps the nation. He was a leap year baby. Every 400 years leap year is skipped. Prom 1896 until 1904 Kapple had only one birthday anniversary. The present Ogden High mentor sparkled in football, track, basket¬ball and baseball for four years at Payson Hig school. He later en¬rolled at Utah State. Kapple graduated from Utah State with honors in 1917. He rated all-conference in both football and basketball and was a sprinter and broad jumper in track. Kapple served in the army during the World war. He played on the 362 officers football team and the Ninety-first division team in foot¬ball. Kapple played quarterback and halfback and starred against the Mare Island Marines in one of the Rose Bowl games at Pasadena in 1913. Following the World war Kapple served as regimental athletic officer in France after the armistice was signed. Upon his return from France, Kapple enrolled at Payson High as athletic coach. He served at Payson in 1919-20. Kapple coached at Logan High in 1920-21, 1921-22. His grid team finished second in the state in football both years. Logan, under Kapple, competed in the state tournament twice, winning the state championship in 1921. Kapple assumed the athletic posi¬ tion at Ogden High in the fall of 1922. The "Orange Streaks" finished second to L. D. S. in the state tournament in 1926, losing by one point, and finished as runner-up in 1935. In 1932 the Tigers captured the state championship in the cage sport. The present Ogden team stands out as one of the outstanding con¬tenders for the state title. In 1927 the Orange Streaks cap¬tured the Independent league championship and also won the Rocky Mountain title at Boulder. Ogden, East and West withdrew from the state association and performed in a "big three league." Kapple's athletes have capture the state track and field champion¬ship oh two occasions. Since 1920 Kapple-coached scholastic basketball teams have played 115 league games. They have won 91 and lost 24. His cagers have played 48 games in state tournaments and the na¬tional tournament with a record of 30 victories and 18 defeats. Considering his "age," Kapple has made a great record in athletics and is rated with leading cage coaches of the nation in scholastic competition. Some of the outstanding athletes in state competition were developed by Kapple. The list includes the following: Bill Kinner, Bob Gibbons, Daryal Clark, Howard Woodside, Ray Price, Bill Cox, Ross Cox, Fred Gentsch, Phil Revell, Frog Clark, Harry Clark, Cliff Crowther, the late Rudy Lyons and many others. Eight of Kapple's former athletes are now successful coaches in various parts of the nation. For a "youngster," we'd say Kapple has made a mervelous record in athletics in the Bee Hive state.