Vern Hickey
American-football player (1900-1987)

Vernard Benton Hickey (November 11, 1900 – July 14, 1987) was an American football, baseball, and golf coach, college athletics administrator, and local politician. He served as the head football coach at the Northern Branch of the College of Agriculture—now known as the University of California, Davis (UC Davis)—from 1947 to 1948, compiling a record of 24–42–8. Hickey was the head baseball coach at the school, serving from 1938 to 1948 and tallying a mark of 49–87–1. He also coached golf, swimming , and water polo at UC Davis. Hickey succeeded Crip Toomey unofficially as the athletic director at UC Davis following Toomey's death in the June 1961 and was officially appointed to the position in September 1963. Hickey also served as the mayor of Davis, California.
A native of Everett, Washington, Hickey graduated from the State College of Washington—now known as Washington State University in 1924. He died on July 14, 1987, in Davis.
The public source identifies “Vern Hickey” as american-football player (1900-1987). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Vern, Hickey and American-football.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Vern Hickey”, the useful work is to connect “american-football player (1900-1987)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 27, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q28935689. The first chronological checks are 1900, 1987, 1947 and 1948.
Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.
- Establishing names and roles
- Building a first chronology
- Locating cited institutions
Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Vern Hickey”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Vern Hickey primary sources, Vern Hickey archive and Vern research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Vern Hickey”?
- Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
- Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Vern Hickey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.