Leonard Alonzo Younce (January 8, 1917 – March 26, 2000) 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 Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Playing career

Born in

Dayton, Oregon Dayton is a city in Yamhill County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History The city was founded in 1850 by Andrew Smith and Joel Palmer. Palmer, who also served as Oregon Superintend ...

, Younce attended Roosevelt High School in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

and then played

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 ...

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. He was selected in the eighth round (67th overall) by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the

1941 NFL Draft The 1941 National Football League Draft was held on December 10, 1940, at the Willard InterContinental Washington, Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. With the List of first overall National Football League Draft picks, first overall pick of the draf ...

, and played a variety of positions, including

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

offensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

, and punter.

Coaching career

After retiring from playing, Younce was an assistant coach at

from 1949 to 1954, and with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

and

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

. He served as the

linebackers coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, assistant coach, and the offensive and defensive coordinators. Common ...

for the Portland Loggers of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

in 1969.

Later years

Younce was coaxed out of retirement to coach

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

for one year at

Joseph High School Joseph High School is a public high school in Joseph, Oregon, United States. Academics In 2008, 100% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qu ...

in Joseph, Wallowa County, Oregon, in 1992. He intended to continue, but health problems prevented his return. Younce was an inaugural inductee of the

Oregon Sports Hall of Fame The Oregon Sports Hall of Fame honors Oregon athletes, teams, coaches, and others who have made a significant contribution to sports in Oregon. The first class was inducted in 1980, with new inductees added in the fall. Operated by the Oregon Sports ...

in 1980, and was inducted into the OSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. He died in Portland, Oregon on March 26, 2000.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Younce, Len 1917 births 2000 deaths American football linebackers American football offensive guards American football punters Edmonton Elks coaches New York Giants players Oregon State Beavers football coaches Oregon State Beavers football players People from Dayton, Oregon Players of American football from Portland, Oregon Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Roosevelt High School (Oregon) alumni