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Frank Cavanaugh (American football)

American football player and coach (1876–1933)

Summary

American football player and coach (1876–1933)

Field	Value
name	Frank Cavanaugh
image	Frank Cavanaugh at New Ram Field in 1931 (cropped).jpg
alt	Cavanaugh in 1931
caption	Cavanaugh in 1931
birth_date
birth_place	Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
death_date
death_place	Marshfield, Massachusetts, U.S.
player_years1	1896–1897
player_team1	Dartmouth
player_positions	End
coach_years1	1898
coach_team1	Cincinnati
coach_years2	1898–1902
coach_team2	Denver Athletic Club
coach_years3	1903–1905
coach_team3	Holy Cross
coach_years4	1907–1910
coach_team4	Worcester Academy
coach_years5	1911–1916
coach_team5	Dartmouth
coach_years6	1919–1926
coach_team6	Boston College
coach_years7	1927–1932
coach_team7	Fordham
overall_record	146–47–17 (college)
CFBHOF_year	1954
CFBHOF_id	1407

Francis William Cavanaugh (April 28, 1876 – August 29, 1933) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at University of Cincinnati in 1898, the College of the Holy Cross from 1903 to 1905, Dartmouth College from 1911 to 1916, Boston College from 1919 to 1926, and Fordham University from 1927 to 1932, compiling a career college football coaching record of 146–47–17. Cavanaugh played football at Dartmouth as an end from 1896 to 1897. Nicknamed "Cav" and "The Iron Major," he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.

Early life and playing career

Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, Cavanaugh played college football as an end at Dartmouth College from 1896 to 1897, under coach William Wurtenburg.

Coaching career and military service

Cavanaugh served as the head football coach at the University of Cincinnati in 1898, followed with a stint coaching at the Denver Athletic Club from 1898 to 1903. He then returned to his native Worcester to coach at the College of the Holy Cross from 1903 to 1905, followed by high school coaching at Worcester Academy from 1907 to 1910.

Cavanaugh left Worcester to return to college football at his alma mater, Dartmouth from 1911 to 1916. There, he coached Lawrence Whitney, who also attended Worcester Academy when Cavanaugh coached there. Cavanaugh left Dartmouth in 1917 to return to Holy Cross. However, before the football season began, Cavanaugh entered the United States Army to serve during World War I. He rose to the rank of major and was seriously wounded during the Meuse–Argonne offensive on October 23, 1918. Shellfire broke his cheek, nose, and skull, all of which contributed to later blindness.

In 1919, Cavanaugh published a book entitled Inside Football.

Cavanaugh's final two coaching stints were at Boston College from 1919 to 1926 and Fordham University from 1927 to 1932. At Fordham, he implemented the T formation on offense.

Death and honors

At the time of his death in 1933, Cavanaugh was bankrupt. He was survived by his widow, Florence Ayres, and their seven children.

On October 25, 1943, a biographical film about Cavanaugh's life was released by RKO Pictures titled The Iron Major, based on his wife's recollections. The actor Pat O'Brien portrayed Cavanaugh in the main role. In 1954, Cavanaugh was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach.

Head coaching record

College

References

(March 22, 1907). "Cavanaugh Selected". The Boston Globe.
(September 22, 1917). "Kelly Returns". Youngstown Vindicator.
(1919). "Inside football". Boston, Small, Maynard.
(August 30, 1933). "Death Claims Major Frank Cavanaugh After Lingering Illness". The Waterbury Democrat.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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