Thomas John Lieb (October 28, 1899 – April 30, 1962) was an American

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete, an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

college

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 ...

player and a multi-sport collegiate coach. Lieb was a

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

native and an

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

, where he played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

. He was best known as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

of the

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

and

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

football teams.

College sports career

Tom Lieb was born in

Faribault, Minnesota Faribault ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 24,453 at the 2020 census. Faribault is approximately south of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highwa ...

in 1899. In high school, Lieb excelled at

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 ...

, football,

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and

. He attended the University of Notre Dame in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, where he lettered in all four sports and twice received All-American football honors. During the 1922 season, Lieb broke his leg in the game against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. While doing his graduate studies at the university, he coached the Notre Dame hockey and track & field teams, and also coached the linemen for the Fighting Irish football team under head coach

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

. Lieb was a two-time

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) national collegiate champion in the discus in 1922 and 1923, and the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) national open champion in 1923 and 1924. He is widely credited with introducing the modern spin delivery that is still used today. At the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

held in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Lieb competed for the United States in the

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

and won the bronze medal, but did not equal the distance of his qualifying throw.Sports Reference, Olympic Sports
Tom Lieb
Retrieved March 18, 2010. Several weeks after the Olympics ended, Lieb broke the discus world record with a throw of 47.61 meters (156 feet 2½ inches).

Coaching career

Following his graduation, Lieb accepted an offer to coach the linemen for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the College athletics in the United States, athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I ...

.Associated Press,
Lieb Named Florida Grid Mentor: Former Irish Coach Signs For 3 Years
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 1 (April 1, 1940). Retrieved March 18, 2010. In 1929, Lieb returned to Notre Dame as the assistant football coach, and was instrumental in directing the Irish to a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

spent most of the season recovering from complications due to

thrombophlebitis Thrombophlebitis is a phlebitis (inflammation of a vein) related to a thrombus (blood clot). When it occurs repeatedly in different locations, it is known as thrombophlebitis migrans (migratory thrombophlebitis). Signs and symptoms The following ...

, a crippling infection of Rockne's leg.United Press International,
Thomas J. Lieb Dead; Ex-Football Coach, 62
" ''The New York Times'', p. 38 (May 1, 1962). Retrieved March 18, 2010. Lieb's coaching success was recognized when he was offered the head coaching position at

Loyola University Loyola University is one of several Jesuit Universities named for St. Ignatius of Loyola. Loyola University may refer to: Democratic Republic of the Congo *Loyola University of Congo, Kinshasa, Congo Spain * Loyola University Andalusia, Sevilla ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he remained from 1930 to 1938. Lieb relished his role as the Loyola Lions head football coach, posing with lion cubs in publicity photographs, and posted an overall record of 47–33–4.College Football Data Warehouse, All-Time Coaching Records
Thomas J. "Tom" Lieb Records by Year
. Retrieved March 2, 2010. Lieb also started Loyola's ice hockey program as an off-season conditioning program for his football players, but quickly built the team into a powerhouse with an annual rivalry with the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

.Chris Warner,
Hockey Goes Hollywood:L.A.'s hottest ice show in the 1930s was USC vs. Loyola
" ''Sports Illustrated'' (November 9, 1987). Retrieved March 18, 2010. From 1935 to 1938, Lieb's hockey Lions won four consecutive Pacific Coast Intercollegiate League titles and compiled a 38–3–2 record.Alan Drooz,

" ''Los Angeles Times'' (March 26, 1987). Retrieved March 18, 2010. Lieb quit his coaching job at Loyola during his wife's illness in 1939, and then decided to leave California after she died. In 1940, Lieb succeeded

Josh Cody Joshua Crittenden Cody (June 11, 1892 – June 17, 1961) was an American college athlete, head coach, and athletics director. "Josh" Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he earned 13 letters playing sev ...

as the head football coach at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, with high expectations based on his prior successes with Notre Dame and Loyola. He also served as Florida's athletic director.Associated Press,
Tom Lieb Takes Job At Alabama
" ''St. Petersburg Times'', p. 13 (May 8, 1946). Retrieved March 18, 2010. Lieb, however, was unable to duplicate the same level of success with the Gators that he had at Notre Dame and Loyola. In his five seasons of coaching the

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

, Lieb compiled a 20–26–1 record,
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 109, 115, 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012. and his contract was not renewed after the 1945 season. Thereafter, Lieb worked as the assistant Crimson Tide football coach and head track & field coach at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

, where his old Notre Dame teammate

Frank Thomas Frank Edward Thomas Jr. (born May 27, 1968), nicknamed "the Big Hurt," is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to ...

was the head football coach, from 1946 to 1951.

Life after football

When Lieb retired in 1951, he returned to Los Angeles, where he became a public speaker. He died of an apparent heart attack in 1962 at age 62. He was elected to the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987.LMULions.com, Traditions
Loyola Marymount Athletics Hall of Fame
Retrieved March 18, 2010.

Head coaching record

Football

Ice hockey

References

Bibliography

*
2012 Florida Football Media Guide
', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2012). * Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.
''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football''
Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . * McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . * Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . * Proctor, Samuel, & Wright Langley, ''Gator History: A Pictorial History of the University of Florida'', South Star Publishing Company, Gainesville, Florida (1986). .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lieb, Thomas 1899 births 1962 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches All-American college football players American male discus throwers American football tackles Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Florida Gators athletic directors Florida Gators football coaches Loyola Lions football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish ice hockey coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's track and field athletes Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Sportspeople from Faribault, Minnesota Coaches of American football from Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota Medalists at the 1924 Summer Olympics Alabama Crimson Tide track and field coaches NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners 20th-century American sportsmen