Francis W. Leahy

(1908-1973) born at O'Neill, Holt County, lived in Omaha. College football coach, achieved in 13 seasons a winning percentage of .864, ranking behind Knute Rockne among college football coaches with ten or more years in coaching; his Notre Dame teams earned national championships in 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1949, and four consecutive seasons of undefeated teams from 1946 to 1949, appeared on cover of Time, October 14, 1946; voted Man of the Year in 1949 by Football Writers Association of America. Consult American National Biography, Vol 13 (1999) 326-327 and Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Vol 2 (2002) 23-24.

Back to Sports
Back to Categories