Leonard David Sachs (August 7, 1897 – October 27, 1942) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

coach and player. In 1961, he was posthumously enshrined as a coach in the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

. He was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on August 7, 1897. Sachs attended Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, where he earned 11 varsity letters before his graduation in 1914. Upon graduation from high school, Sachs joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he continued playing sports, earning an All-Service team honorable mention in football in 1918 while playing on the

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

Naval Reserves football team. After the war, Sachs enrolled at Chicago's American College of Physical Education—which later merged with

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

—and graduated in 1923. While at college, Sachs played for the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ca ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) from 1920 to 1922. Sachs was hired as basketball coach in 1923 at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

, even while continuing his NFL career. From 1923 to 1926 Sachs played for the

Milwaukee Badgers The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football team, based in Milwaukee, that played in the National Football League from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field, on Milwaukee ...

, Hammond Pros, and

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

, ending his career as a player-coach for the 1926 Louisville Colonels, a road-only team based in Chicago. Sachs was also an assistant football coach at Loyola on the staff of head coach Roger Kiley.Loyola Varsity Seeks Big Score Against Lewis
, ''The Chicago Tribune'', October 26, 1923. After abandoning his NFL career, Sachs began to flourish as a basketball coach. In the 1926–27 season, the Loyola basketball team improved to 13–4. In 1927–28, the team set a new Loyola record for wins in a season by earning a record of 16–4. And in 1928–29, Loyola was a perfect 16-0 under Sachs' guidance. Loyola recorded 31 consecutive victories between 1928 and 1930. In the 1930s, Sachs developed an innovative fast-break offense and a 2–2–1 zone defense that prompted a rule change in 1937 to prevent goaltending. His 1938–39 team was 21–0 before losing to 44–32 to

Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...

in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

final at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

. On October 27, 1942, Sachs suffered a fatal heart attack while advising the Wendell Phillips High School football team for their appearance in the Chicago Public League championship. He was 45 years old. Sachs amassed a record of 224–129 as a college basketball coach. In 1935 he earned a graduate degree from Loyola.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sachs, Lenny 1897 births 1942 deaths American football ends American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Illinois Chicago Cardinals players College men's basketball head coaches in the United States DePaul University alumni High school basketball coaches in the United States Louisville Brecks and Colonels (NFL) coaches Loyola Ramblers athletic directors Loyola Ramblers football coaches Loyola Ramblers men's basketball coaches Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees Players of American football from Chicago Carl Schurz High School alumni