Leo Cahill (July 30, 1928 – February 15, 2018) was an American head coach and general manager in the Canadian Football League, much of it spent with the Toronto Argonauts.

Early life

Cahill was born on July 30, 1928 in Utica, Illinois and later attended the University of Illinois on a football scholarship. He appeared as a player in the

1947 Rose Bowl The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 33rd Rose Bowl Game. The Illinois Fighting Illini defeated the UCLA Bruins, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Buddy Young and Jules Rykovich shared the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game awa ...

. After leaving college, Cahill served in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Career

Following his honourable discharge from the U.S. Army, Cahill ascended the coaching ranks through various colleges, including his alma mater. He began his Canadian Football League career in the 1960s as an assistant coach with the Montreal Alouettes before moving to Toronto with the then Toronto Rifles 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 ...

. He was appointed head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in 1967, retaining the position until 1972, returning again in the 1977 and 1978 seasons. He would later serve as General Manager for the team from 1986 to 1988. In his time with the Argonauts he was credited with bringing in such greats such as Mel Profit, Jim Stillwagon,

Jim Corrigall Jim Corrigall (born May 7, 1946) is a Canadian former gridiron football player and coach. He was all-star defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League. High school and college Corrigall played football in high school at Scollard Hall, a pr ...

, Leon McQuay and Joe Theismann. Cahill was also the general manager for the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded in 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup championship nine ...

in 1996; he was the team's last GM in their 120-year history as they folded at the end of the season. From 2004 onward, Cahill served as goodwill ambassador for the Argonauts. He also served as a

colour commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for CFL telecasts on CBC between 1981 and 1985. Cahill was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2013 in recognition of his contributions to the Argonauts franchise.

Death

Leo Cahill died at an Atlanta hospital on February 15, 2018 at the age of 89, and is survived by five children: Steve, Christy, Terry, Lisa and Bettye.

References

External links

CFL.ca profile

"Argos’ legend Cahill has eye on 100th Grey Cup"
1928 births 2018 deaths United States Army personnel of the Korean War Canadian Football League announcers Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Illinois Fighting Illini football players People from North Utica, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois Continental Football League coaches Toronto Argonauts coaches Toronto Argonauts general managers Ottawa Rough Riders general managers {{Canadianfootball-bio-stub