Patrick J. Filley (June 26, 1922 – April 13, 2000) was an American

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, coach, and university administrator. Filley was born in 1922 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 ...

. His father E. J. Filley was an Indiana native and a laborer. His mother Rose (McHugh) Filley was also an Indiana native and a housewife. He grew up in South Bend and attended that city's Central High School, playing football and competing as a middleweight for the wrestling team. In the fall of 1940, Filley enrolled at

Notre Dame University 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 campus ...

. In his four years as a football player at Notre Dame, the Irish lost only five games. Filley was twice selected captain of the Notre Dame football team, including the 1943 national championship team. He was a consensus All-American at the guard position in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

. Filley was hired as an assistant coach at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

in March 1945. He served for 29 years as a coach and administrator at Cornell, He was first hired as the freshman team football coach. In 1955, he became an administrator, having responsibility over the years as assistant to the athletic director, ticket manager, athletic business manager, associate director of athletics in charge of operations, and associate athletic director in charge of scheduling. He was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988. Filley died in

Winter Garden, Florida Winter Garden is a city west of Downtown Orlando in the western part of Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 46,051 as of 2019. History ...

, in 2000 at age 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Filley, Pat 1922 births 2000 deaths American football guards Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Cornell Big Red football coaches All-American college football players People from Winter Garden, Florida Players of American football from Orange County, Florida Coaches of American football from Indiana Players of American football from South Bend, Indiana