Albert Joseph Onofrio (March 15, 1921 – November 5, 2004) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

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

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

from 1971 to 1977, compiling a record of 38–41. He spent 13 years, from 1958 to 1970, as an assistant coach at Missouri under

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Universi ...

. His Missouri football teams upset the

Notre Dame Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

on October 21, 1972, at

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

, the

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I as a me ...

on September 8, 1975, at

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

on September 11, 1976, the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

two weeks later, and the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member ...

at Tempe on October 1, 1977, during his final season at Missouri. In his seven years at Mizzou, Onofrio compiled a 1–6 record against arch-rival

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, which contributed to his dismissal. Onofrio coached four

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

and 30 future

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

players. He led Missouri to two

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

s, the

1972 Fiesta Bowl The 1972 Fiesta Bowl was the second edition of the college football bowl game, played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on Saturday, December 23. Part of the 1972–73 bowl game season, it matched the unranked Missouri Tigers of ...

, a loss to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, and the

1973 Sun Bowl The 1973 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game that featured the Missouri Tigers and the Auburn Tigers. Background Missouri finished fourth in the Big Eight Conference. Auburn lost their final two games to #20 Georgia and #1 Alabama to finis ...

, a win over Auburn. Onofrio was a 1993 inductee to the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame. He died on November 5, 2004, in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

Head coaching record

Early life and education

Onofrio received a bachelor and masters degree from

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

where he was the president of the student body and named all conference halfback in football. Onofrio served in the Navy from 1943–46 during

World war II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was a gunnery and executive officer on the LCTR-464 and participated in the bombardment of Omaha Beach on D-Day during the invasion of Normandy.Mann, Dinn
"Leading a Winner"
''

The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...

'', 105th year, number 19, June 6, 1994, pp. D1 and D7.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Onofrio, Al 1921 births 2004 deaths American football halfbacks Arizona State Sun Devils football players Arizona State Sun Devils football coaches Missouri Tigers football coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers People from Culver City, California Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Players of American football from California Military personnel from California