Richard F. Gallagher (October 28, 1909 – March 29, 1995) was a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and administrator who served as an assistant with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

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 ...

of 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) in the 1940s and 1950s. Gallagher also coached at high schools in his native

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and was the head baseball and basketball coach at the

College of William & Mary The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from 1946 to 1947. He spent three years as head football coach at

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the early 1950s, and ended his career by becoming the general manager of the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

and later the director of the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

. Gallagher grew up in

Ironton, Ohio Ironton is a city in Lawrence County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 10,571 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in southern Ohio, southernmost Ohio along the Ohio River, it is northwest of Huntingt ...

and was a star athlete in high school. He attended

Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kentucky Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It ...

, where he continued to play sports. After graduation, he played briefly for the semi-professional

Ironton Tanks The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio. Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians. ...

in 1930 before starting a coaching career. He first coached in

Pedro, Ohio Pedro is an unincorporated community in central Elizabeth Township, Lawrence County, Ohio, United States. It has a post office with ZIP code 45659. Public services The residents of Pedro are served by the Rock Hill Local School District ...

and then at

Ironton High School Ironton High School (IHS) is a public high school in Ironton, Ohio, United States. It is the only public high school in the Ironton City School District. Athletics The Ironton Fighting Tigers are a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (excluding ...

before getting his first college coaching job in 1940 as an assistant at William & Mary. Gallagher served in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and returned to William & Mary after his discharge in 1945. He was promoted to head coach of the school's baseball and basketball programs the following year, and led the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team to a 14–12

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

in the 1946–47 season. Gallagher then joined the Browns, where he stayed for three seasons before resigning to take the head coaching job at Santa Clara. He compiled a record of 8–18–2 in three years at Santa Clara. Gallagher subsequently returned to the Browns as a scout, and remained with the team until 1960, when he became the Bills' general manager. After six years in Buffalo, he resigned to become a scout for the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

. He stayed in that job for one season before joining the Hall of Fame as the second director in its history. Gallagher retired in 1976. He died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

in 1995.

Early life and college

Gallagher was born and grew up in

, a town on the state's border with

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. He played three sports at his local

. After graduating, he attended

and played on the school's football team.

Coaching career

Gallagher got his first coaching job at Pedro High School in

near his hometown of Ironton after playing briefly for the

, a semi-professional football team, in 1930. He spent two years there before becoming the head football and basketball coach at Ironton High School in 1933. While at Ironton, he coached future

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

star halfback George McAfee as the team won the state football championship in 1935. Gallagher left Ironton in 1940 to take a job as an assistant coach for the football, basketball and baseball teams at the

. After two years at William & Mary, Gallagher enlisted in the

in 1942 during

. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander before his discharge in 1945, when he returned to the college and became head baseball and basketball coach in 1946–47. His basketball team had a 14–12 win–loss record that year, and his baseball team was 9–9. He was hired later in 1947 by

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...

, the head coach of the

in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a major professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many ...

(AAFC), as an

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coach. Gallagher replaced

Red Conkright William Franklin Conkright (April 17, 1914 – October 27, 1980), known more commonly by the nickname "Red", was an American football center and end who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and was later the head coach of ...

, who had taken a job as an assistant with the

. He spent three seasons in Cleveland, tutoring receivers including

Mac Speedie Mac Curtis Speedie (January 12, 1920 – March 5, 1993) was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football League (NFL) for seven years before ...

and

Dante Lavelli Dante Bert Joseph Lavelli (February 23, 1923 – January 20, 2009), nicknamed "Gluefingers", was an American professional football end who played for the Cleveland Browns in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) and the National Football ...

, who was later inducted into the

. He also served as a scout for Cleveland. The Browns won the AAFC championship in each of Gallagher's years with the team. Gallagher took a job in 1950 as head football coach at

. He had previously turned down a head coaching job at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and took over at Santa Clara for

Len Casanova Leonard Joseph Casanova (June 12, 1905 – September 30, 2002) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Santa Clara University (1946–1949), the University ...

when Casanova accepted the Pittsburgh position instead. "Naturally I regret leaving the Browns," Gallagher said at the time. "I realize it is because of my association with Paul Brown that I am getting this opportunity. It looks like an interesting year in professional football coming up and I'd like to be part of it. But everyone has ambitions to become a head coach and this looks like a good opportunity." He was given a three-year contract paying a $12,500 salary. At Santa Clara, Gallagher brought in

Mike Scarry Michael Joseph "Mo" Scarry (February 1, 1920 – September 9, 2012) was an American football player and coach. He grew up in Pennsylvania, and played football in college at Waynesburg University, Waynesburg College in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania a ...

, a former Browns

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and

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

coach, as an assistant. He also hired Ed Ulinski, another former Browns player, as an assistant coach. The

Santa Clara Broncos football The Santa Clara Broncos football program was the intercollegiate American football team for Santa Clara University located in Santa Clara, California. Santa Clara played its first football game against St. Mary's College in San Francisco in 1896 ...

team had an 8–18–2 record in three seasons under Gallagher. Gallagher resigned in late 1952 and was expected to rejoin the Browns to do scouting and personnel work. He was hired on a temporary basis to help Cleveland assistant

Weeb Ewbank Wilbur Charles "Weeb" Ewbank ( ; May 6, 1907 – November 17, 1998) was an American professional football coach. He led the Baltimore Colts to consecutive NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 and the New York Jets to victory in Super Bowl III in J ...

prepare for the

NFL Draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. In February 1953, however, he signed as an end coach for the NFL's

after considering a competing offer to assist

Pappy Waldorf Lynn Osbert "Pappy" Waldorf (October 3, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American college football player and coach. He received the first national collegiate football coach of the year award in 1935. Waldorf became known for his motivational coa ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. Gallagher spent just one season in Chicago, returning to the Browns in 1954 as a part-time scout and personnel expert. He spent the rest of his time working in the sales department of Luria Brothers, a steel dealer. The Browns hired him full-time the following season, promoting him to head the team's scouting department. The Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1954 and 1955.

Administrative career and hall of fame

Gallagher remained with the Browns until 1960, when he was appointed the general manager of the

, a team in the new

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

. He was given a $25,000 salary. In 1967, Gallagher was expected to rejoin Brown, who had been fired as Cleveland's coach in 1963 and was starting a new team called the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He instead took a job as a scout and personnel executive for the

that August. Gallagher stayed in San Francisco for less than a year, taking over in 1968 as director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...

after the death of its first director, Dick McCann. He retired in 1976 and said he would spend winters in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the summers in Canton. He died of

in 1995.

Head coaching record

College football

College basketball

College baseball

References

Bibliography

External links

Richard Gallagher coaching record at Sports-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Richard F. 1909 births 1995 deaths American men's basketball coaches Buffalo Bills executives Cleveland Browns coaches Cleveland Browns scouts Ironton Tanks players Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers football players San Francisco 49ers scouts Santa Clara Broncos football coaches William & Mary Tribe baseball coaches William & Mary Tribe men's basketball coaches William & Mary Tribe football coaches NFL general managers United States Navy personnel of World War II High school basketball coaches in Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio People from Ironton, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Basketball coaches from Ohio United States Navy officers