 Lahar at Houston, circa 1957 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1919-07-14)July 14, 1919 Durant, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | October 20, 2003(2003-10-20) (aged 84) Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1938–1940 | Oklahoma |
| 1941 | Chicago Bears |
| 1946–1948 | Buffalo Bills |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1950–1951 | Arkansas (assistant) |
| 1952–1956 | Colgate |
| 1957–1961 | Houston |
| 1962–1967 | Colgate |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1967–1973 | Colgate |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 77–63–10 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
Harold Wade Lahar (July 14, 1919 – October 20, 2003) was an Americanfootball player and coach. He served as the head football coach atColgate University (1952–1956, 1962–1967) and theUniversity of Houston (1957–1961).
Lahar was born inDurant, Oklahoma and attendedCentral High School inOklahoma City. He later was an All-Big Six Conferenceguard for theOklahoma Sooners under coachTom Stidham.[1] Lahar was selected 79th overall in the1941 NFL draft by theChicago Bears,[2] where he spent the1941 NFL season before serving in theUnited States Navy in theSouth Pacific duringWorld War II.
After leaving the service as a Lieutenant (junior grade) in 1945, Lahar played for theBuffalo Bills of theAll-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948[3] before beginning his college coaching career as an assistant underOtis Douglas at theUniversity of Arkansas in 1950. In 1952, he became the 25th head coach atColgate University inHamilton, New York. In 1957, he succeededBill Meek at theUniversity of Houston, where he spent five years, before returning to Colgate in 1962, making him the first man to return to aDivision I head-coaching job after leaving for another school.[4] Following the 1967 season, Lahar retired from coaching and served asathletic director at Colgate. His overall coaching record at Colgate was 53–40–8.
Lahar was also assistant commissioner of theSouthwest Conference. He worked at the now-defunct SWC from 1973 until his retirement in 1983. Upon his death in 2003, Lahar was buried in theDallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colgate Red Raiders(Independent)(1952–1956) | |||||||||
| 1952 | Colgate | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1953 | Colgate | 3–4–2 | |||||||
| 1954 | Colgate | 5–2–2 | |||||||
| 1955 | Colgate | 6–3 | |||||||
| 1956 | Colgate | 4–5 | |||||||
| Colgate: | 24–17–4 | ||||||||
| Houston Cougars(Missouri Valley Conference)(1957–1959) | |||||||||
| 1957 | Houston | 5–4–1 | 3–0 | 1st | |||||
| 1958 | Houston | 5–4 | 2–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1959 | Houston | 3–7 | 3–1 | 1st | |||||
| Houston Cougars(Independent)(1960–1961) | |||||||||
| 1960 | Houston | 6–4 | |||||||
| 1961 | Houston | 5–4–1 | |||||||
| Houston: | 24–23–2 | 8–3 | |||||||
| Colgate Red Raiders(NCAA University Division independent)(1962–1967) | |||||||||
| 1962 | Colgate | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| 1963 | Colgate | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| 1964 | Colgate | 7–2 | |||||||
| 1965 | Colgate | 6–3–1 | |||||||
| 1966 | Colgate | 8–1–1 | |||||||
| 1967 | Colgate | 2–8 | |||||||
| Colgate: | 29–23–4 | ||||||||
| Total: | 77–63–10 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
