LEAHY, FRANK

born Aug. 27, 1908, O'Neill, Neb., U.S. died June 21, 1973, Portland, Ore. byname of Francis William Leahy American collegiate-football coach, whose teams at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind., won 87 games, lost 11, and tied 9, a record second only to that of Knute Rockne. Leahy played at Notre Dame under Rockne in 1929, but a knee injury in 1930 ended his playing career. While he was recuperating from a knee operation, he shared a hospital room with Rockne, who was struck with his football acumen and made him informally a coach of the tackles until his graduation in 1931. Leahy began his coaching career in earnest as line coach at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. (1931), and at Michigan State University, East Lansing (1932). He became line coach under Jim Crowley at Fordham University, Bronx, New York City (193338), creating the formidable line called the Seven Blocks of Granite. Leahy became a head coach at Boston College in 1939 and went to Notre Dame in 1941. During his career at Notre Dame (he retired in 1953), his teams won four national championships and Notre Dame remained unbeaten in 39 consecutive games (194650). After his retirement from football, he was a business executive, a sports columnist, and a television commentator.