Edmond Hoffman Coady (May 29, 1867 in

Pana, Illinois Pana is a small town in Christian County, Illinois, United States. A small portion is in Shelby County. The population was 5,199 at the 2020 census. History The area around Pana was first organized as Stone Coal Precinct in 1845. The county's ...

– April 5, 1890 in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

) 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 a starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

, holding the distinction of having presided over the first two wins in Notre Dame football history. Following the first three games ever played by the team, quarterback Joe Cusack moved to left halfback in 1888, and Ed Coady assumed the position. His first start would also be the first victory for the program—a 20–0 win over Harvard Prep Chicago, who had previously been deemed champions of the state of Illinois. By virtue of their win, Notre Dame declared themselves champions of both Illinois and Indiana. In 1889, Coady's team played their first true away game at Northwestern and won 9–0. During the game, Coady performed what was likely the team's first play-action fake: He simulated a handoff to end Steve Fleming, and hid the ball as he ran into the endzone for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. Ed died in South Bend the following spring. Ed was one of three Coady brothers to play for Notre Dame. His brother Tom Coady was the backup quarterback in 1888, and then

Pat Coady Patrick Hoffman Coady (July 11, 1871 in Pana, Illinois – June 18, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) was an American football player and a starting quarterback for the University of Notre Dame. Unable to sustain the momentum built up by the team' ...

would succeed his brothers as the starting quarterback in 1892.

References

American football quarterbacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players 1867 births 1890 deaths People from Pana, Illinois {{quarterback-stub