Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an

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 ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at

Western Illinois University Western Illinois University (WIU) is a public university in Macomb, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. As the normal school grew, it became Western Illinois State Teachers College. Once West ...

from 1949 to 1953, at

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll College—now known as

Carroll University Carroll University is a private university in Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States. It was established in 1846 as Wisconsin's first four-year institution of higher learning. The university is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History ...

—in

Waukesha, Wisconsin Waukesha ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 71,158 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Fox River (Illinois River tributary), Fox River adjacent to th ...

from 1959 to 1971, compiling a career

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 ...

coaching record of 106–71–7.

Playing career

DiFrancesca was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

in the 31st round of the

1947 NFL draft The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946, at the Commodore Hotel in New York City, New York. The National Football League in this draft made the first overall pick, a bonus pick determined by lottery. The Chicago Bears won the first lo ...

Coaching career

Western Illinois

DiFrancesca was the head football coach at

Western Illinois Leathernecks The Western Illinois Leathernecks are the teams and athletes that represent Western Illinois University, located in Macomb, Illinois, in NCAA Division I sports. The school is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference. Its football team is a member ...

Macomb, Illinois Macomb () is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, about southwest of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the c ...

and he held that position for five seasons, from 1949 until 1953. His career coaching record at Western Illinois was 38–7–1. Under DiFrancesca's leadership, Western's team was ranked among the best offensive and defensive teams in the nation for five years.

Iowa State

DiFrancesca was also the head coach at

from 1954 to 1956. He was the 21st head coach for the Cyclones. His coaching record at Iowa State was 6–21–1.

Carroll

DiFrancesca's final head coaching job was as the 22nd head football coach at

Carroll College Carroll College is a private Catholic college in Helena, Montana. The college has 21 buildings on a 63-acre campus, has over 35 academic majors, participates in 15 NAIA athletic sports, and is home to All Saints Chapel. The college motto, in L ...

and he held that position for 13 seasons, from 1959 until 1971. His record at Carroll was 62–43–5. DiFrancesca also served as athletic director while he was head football coach. He was inducted into the Carroll College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.

Personal life

DiFrancesca died in May 2007 and was the father of both national radio talkshow host

Janet Parshall Janet Parshall (born 1950) is an American nationally syndicated radio talk show host known for the Christian program ''In the Market with Janet Parshall'', which is broadcast on the Moody Radio network on over 700 stations. She was also the host fo ...

of Janet Parshall's America and the late Charlie DiFrancesca, the subject of the book "Charlie Di: The Story of The Legendary Bond Trader", by William D. Fallon.In Memoriam, Spring 2008, Northwestern University
/ref> And, his youngest son John Di Francesca. DiFrancesca also had a wife Margret, who was a proud Icelandic, Baptist, Republican who converted Vince to her beliefs. The Di Francesca family came from Italy, lived in Evanston, Illinois on Ashland Ave. Raised Roman Catholic, mother Elizabeth Farina Di Francesca and father Salvatore, "Sam". Vince had two older brothers, Pete and Sam. All are deceased now.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Difrancesca, Vince 1922 births 2007 deaths American football guards Carroll Pioneers athletic directors Carroll Pioneers football coaches Galveston Army Air Field Islanders football players Iowa State Cyclones football coaches Northwestern Wildcats football players Western Illinois Leathernecks football coaches Sportspeople from Melrose Park, Illinois Players of American football from Cook County, Illinois