Kerr was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming to Andrew and Mary Elizabeth Kerr. His family moved east to Carlisle, Pennsylvania where Kerr attended secondary school. He attended Dickinson College, where he played baseball, and track. He then moved on to the University of Pittsburgh, where he served as the head track and field coach from 1913 until 1922, as an assistant football coach, and for one season, the head basketball coach, leading that squad to a 12–8 record in 1921–22. While at Pitt as an assistant football coach also in charge of the freshman football squad, he served as a member of the staff of legendary head coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner.