 Flahertyc. 1940s | |||||||||
| No. 20, 11, 17, 6, 1 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | End | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1903-09-01)September 1, 1903 Lamont, Washington, U.S. | ||||||||
| Died | July 19, 1994(1994-07-19) (aged 90) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. | ||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Gonzaga(Spokane, Washington) | ||||||||
| College | Washington State (1922) Gonzaga (1923–1925) | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
Playing | |||||||||
Coaching | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career statistics | |||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||
| Regular season | College: 1–7–1 (.167) NFL: 54–21–5 (.706) AAFC: 26–16–2 (.614) Total: 81–44–8 (.639) | ||||||||
| Postseason | NFL: 2–2 (.500) AAFC: 2–4 (.333) Total: 4–6 (.400) | ||||||||
| Career | College: 1–7–1 (.167) NFL: 56–23–5 (.696) AAFC: 28–20–2 (.580) Total: 85–50–8 (.622) | ||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||
Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American professionalfootball player and coach who spent 18 total seasons in theNational Football League (NFL) as both a player and a coach. He playedcollege football for theGonzaga Bulldogs and played for theLos Angeles Wildcats of theAmerican Football League (AFL) and theNew York Yankees andNew York Giants of the NFL. The Giantsretired his jersey number 1, the first in NFL history, upon his playing retirement in 1935.
Flaherty was head coach of Gonzaga'sfootball andbasketball teams in 1930 and 1931, the NFL'sWashington Redskins from 1936 to 1942, and theNew York Yankees andChicago Hornets of theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the latter half of the 1940s. He was a member of threeNFL championship teams, one with the Giants in1934 and two as Redskins head coach in1937 and1942, and was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1976.
Born on a farm nearLamont ineasternWashington,[1] Flaherty grew up inSpokane and was a multi-sport athlete at Gonzaga High School (nowGonzaga Prep) andGonzaga University,[2][3] where he played withHust Stockton under head coachGus Dorais. As a freshman, Flaherty attendedWashington State College inPullman, then transferred to Gonzaga before his sophomore year.[4] Flaherty competed on theGonzaga Bulldogs track and field, baseball, and basketball teams in addition to playing football.[5]
Flaherty began his professional football career in 1926 with theLos Angeles Wildcats of theAmerican Football League, a team ofwestern players based inIllinois.[6] It played all its games on the road in its only season, which ended with a post-season barnstorming tour through theSouth against league rivalNew York Yankees. Flaherty then played in theNational Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, first with the Yankees (1927–1928) withRed Grange, until the franchise folded following the 1928 season. He joined theNew York Giants,1929 through the1935 season, except for 1930, when he returned to Spokane as the head coach at hisalma mater, Gonzaga.[4] He also coached theBulldog basketball team for a season (1930–1931).[7] At the end of the1935 season, Flaherty's jersey number 1 was 'taken out of circulation', thus making Flaherty the first professional football player to have his number retired.[8] In 2024, wide receiverMalik Nabers was given permission by Flaherty's family to wear the number.[9] In 1930, Flaherty playedminor league baseball as asecond baseman with theProvidence Grays of theEastern League.[4]
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Following his playing career, Flaherty was hired byGeorge Preston Marshall, owner of the NFL'sBoston Redskins, as head coach for the1936 season.[10][11] The team won the division title that year, then relocated to Washington, D.C. for the1937 season, and picked up future hall of famequarterbackSammy Baugh in the first round of the1937 NFL draft.[11] In seven seasons at the helm of the Redskins, Flaherty won four division titles (1936,1937,1940,1942) and two NFL Championships (1937,1942). Among his innovations on offense, Flaherty is credited with inventing thescreen pass in 1937.[2][12]
The Redskins held their 1940 training camp in Spokane at Gonzaga;[13] the previous year's camp was also held inSpokane County, atEastern Washington College inCheney.[14][15][16] In 1941 and 1942, the Redskins trained inCalifornia inSan Diego at Brown Military Academy.[17][18]
Flaherty served as anofficer in theU.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to pro football in 1946 as a head coach in the newAll-America Football Conference (AAFC). With theNew York Yankees, he won division titles in each of his two full seasons at the helm, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the title games. After a poor start in 1948, ownerDan Topping relieved Flaherty of his duties in mid-September.[19] Several months later he was hired as head coach of the AAFC'sChicago Hornets, known as theRockets in their three previous seasons.[2][20][21] He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 for his contributions as a coach.[22][23]
After the end of the AAFC in 1949, Flaherty returned to the Spokane area to enter private business as a beverage distributor,[24] and lived in nearbynorthernIdaho. During football season, he was a part-time columnist for theSpokane Daily Chronicle.[6][25][26] A college friend ofBing Crosby, Flaherty participated in the singer's Spokane memorial service in 1977.[27][28]
After an extended illness at the age of 90, Flaherty died on July 19, 1994, inHayden, Idaho.[1]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga Bulldogs(Independent)(1930) | |||||||||
| 1930 | Gonzaga | 1–7–1 | |||||||
| Gonzaga: | 1–7–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 1–7–1 | ||||||||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BOS | 1936 | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | LostNFL Championship toGreen Bay Packers |
| WAS | 1937 | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 1st in Eastern Division | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | WonNFL Championship overChicago Bears |
| WAS | 1938 | 6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 2nd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - |
| WAS | 1939 | 8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 2nd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - |
| WAS | 1940 | 9 | 2 | 0 | .818 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | LostNFL Championship toChicago Bears |
| WAS | 1941 | 6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 3rd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - |
| WAS | 1942 | 10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 1st in Eastern Division | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | WonNFL Championship overChicago Bears |
| WAS/NFL Total | 54 | 21 | 5 | 72.0 | 2 | 2 | .500 | |||
| NYY | 1946 | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost AAFC Championship Game toCleveland Browns |
| NYY | 1947 | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost AAFC Championship Game toCleveland Browns |
| NYY | 1948 | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | fired in mid-season | - | - | - | - |
| NYY AAFC Total | 22 | 8 | 2 | .733 | 0 | 2 | .000 | |||
| CHI | 1949 | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4th in AAFC | - | - | - | - |
| CHI AAFC Total | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | - | - | - | - | ||
| AAFC Total | 26 | 16 | 2 | .619 | 0 | 2 | .000 | - | ||
| Professional Total | 80 | 37 | 5 | .684 | 2 | 4 | .333 | |||
| Source:Pro-Football-Reference.com | ||||||||||
