| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1909-10-28)October 28, 1909 Ironton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 29, 1995(1995-03-29) (aged 85) Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1929 | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 1930 | Ironton Tanks |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1931–1932 | Pedro HS (OH) |
| 1933–1939 | Ironton HS (OH) |
| 1940–1942 | William & Mary (assistant) |
| 1946–1947 | William & Mary (assistant) |
| 1947–1949 | Cleveland Browns (ends) |
| 1950–1952 | Santa Clara |
| 1953 | Chicago Cardinals (assistant) |
| Basketball | |
| 1933–1940 | Ironton HS (OH) |
| 1946–1947 | William & Mary |
| Baseball | |
| 1947 | William & Mary |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1954–1959 | Cleveland Browns (scout) |
| 1967 | San Francisco 49ers (scout) |
| 1960–1966 | Buffalo Bills (GM) |
| 1968–1976 | Pro Football Hall of Fame (director) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 8–18–2 (college football) 14–12 (college basketball) 14–12 (college baseball) |
Richard F. Gallagher (October 28, 1909 – March 29, 1995) was abaseball,basketball andAmerican football coach and administrator who served as an assistant with theCleveland Browns andChicago Cardinals of theNational Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s. Gallagher also coached at high schools in his nativeOhio and was the head baseball and basketball coach at theCollege of William & Mary inVirginia from 1946 to 1947. He spent three years as head football coach atSanta Clara University inCalifornia in the early 1950s, and ended his career by becoming the general manager of theBuffalo Bills and later the director of thePro Football Hall of Fame.
Gallagher grew up inIronton, Ohio and was a star athlete in high school. He attendedKentucky Wesleyan College, where he continued to play sports. After graduation, he played briefly for the semi-professionalIronton Tanks in 1930 before starting a coaching career. He first coached inPedro, Ohio and then atIronton High School before getting his first college coaching job in 1940 as an assistant at William & Mary. Gallagher served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War II, 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 theWilliam & Mary Tribe men's basketball team to a 14–12win–loss record 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 theSan Francisco 49ers. 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 ofesophageal cancer in 1995.
Gallagher was born and grew up inIronton, Ohio, a town on the state's border withKentucky along theOhio River.[1] He played three sports at his localIronton High School.[2] After graduating, he attendedKentucky Wesleyan College and played on the school's football team.[1]
Gallagher got his first coaching job atPedro High School inPedro, Ohio near his hometown of Ironton after playing briefly for theIronton Tanks, a semi-professional football team, in 1930.[2][3] He spent two years there before becoming the head football and basketball coach at Ironton High School in 1933.[3] While at Ironton, he coached futureChicago Bears starhalfbackGeorge McAfee as the team won the state football championship in 1935.[2][4] Gallagher left Ironton in 1940 to take a job as an assistant coach for the football, basketball and baseball teams at theCollege of William & Mary inVirginia.[1][3]
After two years at William & Mary, Gallagher enlisted in theU.S. Navy in 1942 duringWorld War II.[1] He rose to the rank oflieutenant commander before his discharge in 1945, when he returned to the college and became head baseball and basketball coach in 1946–47.[1] His basketball team had a 14–12 win–loss record that year, and his baseball team was 9–9.[5][6] He was hired later in 1947 byPaul Brown, the head coach of theCleveland Browns in theAll-America Football Conference (AAFC), as anends coach.[3] Gallagher replacedRed Conkright, who had taken a job as an assistant with theBuffalo Bills.[3] He spent three seasons in Cleveland, tutoring receivers includingMac Speedie andDante Lavelli, who was later inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame.[1][2] He also served as a scout for Cleveland.[4] The Browns won the AAFC championship in each of Gallagher's years with the team.[7]
Gallagher took a job in 1950 as head football coach atSanta Clara University inCalifornia.[4] He had previously turned down a head coaching job at theUniversity of Pittsburgh, and took over at Santa Clara forLen Casanova when Casanova accepted the Pittsburgh position instead.[4] "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."[4] He was given a three-year contract paying a $12,500 salary.[4]
At Santa Clara, Gallagher brought inMike Scarry, a former Brownscenter andWestern Reserve University coach, as an assistant.[8] He also hiredEd Ulinski, another former Browns player, as an assistant coach.[9] TheSanta Clara Broncos football team had an 8–18–2 record in three seasons under Gallagher.[10]
Gallagher resigned in late 1952 and was expected to rejoin the Browns to do scouting and personnel work.[11] He was hired on a temporary basis to help Cleveland assistantWeeb Ewbank prepare for theNFL draft.[12] In February 1953, however, he signed as an end coach for the NFL'sChicago Cardinals after considering a competing offer to assistPappy Waldorf at theUniversity of California.[12] Gallagher spent just one season in Chicago, returning to the Browns in 1954 as a part-time scout and personnel expert.[13] He spent the rest of his time working in the sales department of Luria Brothers, a steel dealer.[14] The Browns hired him full-time the following season, promoting him to head the team's scouting department.[14] The Cleveland won the NFL championship in 1954 and 1955.[15]
Gallagher remained with the Browns until 1960, when he was appointed the general manager of theBuffalo Bills, a team in the newAmerican Football League.[2][16] He was given a $25,000 salary.[16] 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 theCincinnati Bengals.[17] He instead took a job as a scout and personnel executive for theSan Francisco 49ers that August.[18]
Gallagher stayed in San Francisco for less than a year, taking over in 1968 as director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame inCanton, Ohio after the death of its first director,Dick McCann.[2] He retired in 1976 and said he would spend winters inFlorida and the summers in Canton.[19] He died ofesophageal cancer in 1995.[20]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara Broncos(Independent)(1950–1952) | |||||||||
| 1950 | Santa Clara | 3–7 | |||||||
| 1951 | Santa Clara | 3–5–1 | |||||||
| 1952 | Santa Clara | 2–6–1 | |||||||
| Santa Clara: | 8–18–2 | ||||||||
| Total: | 8–18–2 | ||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William & Mary Indians[5](Southern Conference)(1946–1947) | |||||||||
| 1946–47 | William & Mary | 14–12 | 6–6 | 9th | |||||
| William & Mary: | 14–12 (.538) | 6–6 (.500) | |||||||
| Total: | 14–12 (.538) | ||||||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William & Mary Indians[6](Southern Conference)(1947) | |||||||||
| 1947 | William & Mary | 9–9 | 4–5 | ||||||
| William & Mary: | 9–9 | 4–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 9–9 | ||||||||
Center Moe Scarry, who quit to accept the job as head coach at Western Reserve and who is now assisting Dick Gallagher at Santa Clara ...
Ulinski quit as a player in 1949 to join another Browns coach – Dick Gallagher – as assistant at Santa Clara, a West Coast school.
Coaching changes have Ed Ulinski and Paul Bixler replacing Weeb Ewbank and Blanton Collier with Dick Gallagher also added to the Cleveland staff as a scout and personnel man.