Howard Donald McLeary (born January 2, 1948) is an American politician and former

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and coach. He was a member of the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue rega ...

representing the 27th district, which is composed of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

Gibson Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

, and Carroll counties.

Early life and education

Born in

Humboldt, Tennessee Humboldt is a city in Gibson and Madison counties, Tennessee. The population was 8,452 at the 2010 census, a decline of 1,015 from 2000. It is the principal city of and is included in the Humboldt, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area, which i ...

, McLeary attended North Side High School in nearby

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Q ...

. McLeary then attended the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

and played on the

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...

team at

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

from 1968 to 1970. At Tennessee, McLeary rushed for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns and added 198 yards and one touchdown on receiving. McLeary graduated from Tennessee with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

in physical education in 1970 and

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in educational administration in 1972.

Coaching career

McLeary's first coaching job was as head coach at

White Station High School White Station High School is a four-year public high school located in Memphis, Tennessee. White Station High is a member of the Shelby County Schools system and is recognized as one of the best high schools in the state of Tennessee. U.S. New ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

in 1972. In 1973, McLeary became linebackers coach at

Morehead State Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ea ...

. McLeary was head coach at

Ottawa University Ottawa University (OU) is a private Baptist university with its main campus in Ottawa, Kansas, a second residential campus in Surprise, Arizona, and adult campuses in the Kansas City, Phoenix and Milwaukee metropolitan areas. It was founded in ...

Ottawa, Kansas Ottawa (pronounced ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Franklin County, Kansas, United States. It is located on both banks of the Marais des Cygnes River near the center of Franklin County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the c ...

from 1976 to 1977.http://www.ottawabraves.com/d/2016-17/OU_All_Time_Coaching_Records_2016.pdf http://archive.ottawa.edu/exhibit4/e40038a.htm He was then an assistant coach at

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 ...

from 1978 to 1982. From 1984 to 1985, McLeary was special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Los Angeles Express of the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

. From 1986 to 1996, Don McLeary was the head football coach for the University of Tennessee at Martin. He is the third winningest coach in UT Martin history, leading UT Martin to a shared Gulf South Conference Championship and the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals. He was inducted into the UT Martin Athletics Hall of Fame in October 2006.

Head coaching record

Business career

After leaving coaching, McLeary became an investment executive and has served on the boards of both the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

and the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and death ...

Political career

Don McLeary won the 2002 general election as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Speaker of the Senate carries the additional title ...

for a four-year term over Republican incumbent Bobby Carter. In February 2006, McLeary switched his party affiliation to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. Don McLeary served as the vice chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. He was also a member of the Senate State and Local Government Committee as well as the Lottery Information and Recommendation Committee, Select Committee on Education, and Government Operations Committee. In the 2006 general election, Don McLeary was defeated by 477 votes in a huge upset by Democratic opponent

Lowe Finney Lowe Finney (born November 1, 1975 in Dresden, Weakley County, Tennessee) is an American politician and a Democratic former member of the Tennessee Senate for the 27th district, which is composed of Madison, Gibson, and Carroll counties. Edu ...

. In 2010, McLeary lost to Finney again, receiving 24,563 votes to Finney's 25,774.

Political views

McLeary co-sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 31 in 2005 to put on the November 2006 gubernatorial election ballot a proposed amendment to the

Constitution of Tennessee The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules (and means for changing them) of the U.S. State of Tennessee. The original constitution of Tennessee came into effect on June 1, ...

to ban gay marriage. He was also one of 24 state senators to favor putting on the ballot a proposal to remove any guarantees to the right to an abortion from the state constitution. The proposal later failed to pass a panel in

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. After holding a town hall meeting, McLeary proposed legislation that would direct the Tennessee Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance to develop a proposal to create an insurance pool to provide full coverage to residential and commercial property owners that are unable to obtain insurance coverage following widespread cancellation after a natural disaster. The bill, passed in April 2004, was co-sponsored by

Roscoe Dixon Roscoe Dixon (September 20, 1949 – April 15, 2021) was an American politician in the state of Tennessee. Dixon lived in Memphis, Tennessee and was involved with the public relations business. He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives ...

in the state senate and by Johnny Shaw and

Jimmy Eldridge Jimmy A. Eldridge (born April 1, 1948 in Jackson, Tennessee) is an American politician and a former Republican member of the Tennessee House of Representatives who represented District 73 from 2003 until 2019. Education Eldridge earned his BS ...

in the House.Tennessee Department of State, Division of Publications
"Chapter No. 470."
Public Acts, 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLeary, Don 1948 births Living people American football running backs High school football coaches in Tennessee Kansas Jayhawks football coaches Morehead State Eagles football coaches Ottawa Braves football coaches Tennessee state senators Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Tennessee Volunteers football players UT Martin Skyhawks football coaches United States Football League coaches Tennessee Democrats Tennessee Republicans People from Humboldt, Tennessee People from Jackson, Tennessee Players of American football from Tennessee