Jack Avon Harbaughhttp://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Ebattle/celeb/harbaugh.htm (born June 28, 1939) is a former

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 wi ...

player and coach. He is known for being the longtime head coach at

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

. He is also the father of the first pair of brothers to serve as head coaches in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) and the first pair of head coaching brothers to face off in a Super Bowl:

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Jim Harbaugh.

Early life

Harbaugh was born in

Crestline, Ohio Crestline is a village in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Crestline's population was 4,630 at the 2010 census. It is the third largest municipality in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part ...

, to Marie Evelyn (née Fisher) and William Avon Harbaugh. He is of German and Irish descent. He graduated from Crestline High School in 1957. At Crestline, he was a four-year letterman in both football and baseball. He was an all-state quarterback and shortstop in his senior year. He was also a two-time letterman in basketball.

Playing career

He played college football for the

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

Falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

from 1957 to 1960, where he was a three-time letterman. In his junior year, the Falcons finished the season 9–0 and were named the small college division national champions. He was drafted in the 1961 AFL draft by the Buffalo Bills as a running back.

Coaching career

Harbaugh began as an assistant coach to Jerry Nowak at Perrysburg High School in

Perrysburg, Ohio Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city is southwest of Toledo. Perrysburg is the ...

, southwest of Toledo. Both sons were born while Harbaugh was in Perrysburg. In 1964, Harbaugh was the head coach of Eaton High School football team in

Eaton, Ohio Eaton is a city in, and the county seat of Preble County, Ohio, United States, approximately 24 mi (38 km) west of Dayton. The population was 8,375 at the 2020 census, down 0.4% from the population of 8,407 at the 2010 census. Eaton's ...

. His record was 5–4–1, their first winning season in many years. In 1965 the team went 6–4. In 1966, Harbaugh was the head coach of the

Xenia High School Xenia High School is a public high school in Xenia, Ohio, United States. History The circa 1957 high school was destroyed by an F5 tornado on April 3, 1974, during what was dubbed the 1974 Super Outbreak. A replacement building was constructed in ...

football team in

Xenia, Ohio Xenia ( ) is a city in southwestern Ohio and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. It is east of Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Miami Valley region. The name comes from the Gree ...

. His record for the one year that he coached was 8–1–1. He received championship honors in the Western Ohio League and was named conference Coach of the Year. Harbaugh served as an assistant in various college programs from 1968 to 1981. From 1982 to 1986, he served as the head football coach at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

and compiled a 25–27–3 record. From 1989 to 2002, he was the head football coach at

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtow ...

. During his tenure with the Hilltoppers he posted a 91–68 record, including three 10-win seasons. The Hilltoppers were the only team to rank in the top 10 every year in rushing offense from 1991-2002. In 2002, the WKU squad won the NCAA Division I-AA national football championship. After leaving Western Kentucky, Harbaugh served as an associate

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

Marquette University Marquette University () is a private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Martin Henni, the first Bishop of the diocese of M ...

, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where his son-in-law,

Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...

, was the head coach of the men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to inf ...

. Harbaugh has also served as an assistant coach at

Morehead State University 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 ...

, the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 12 col ...

, the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, Stanford University, the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, and the University of San Diego. Harbaugh retired in 2006, but served as Stanford's running backs coach in the 2009 Sun Bowl under his son, Jim. Jack filled in for Willie Taggart, who had recently been hired as the new head football coach at WKU.

Personal life

Harbaugh married his wife, Jacqueline M. "Jackie" Cipiti in 1961. They have three children: John, Jim and Joanie. Jack and Jackie settled in

Mequon, Wisconsin Mequon () is the largest city in Ozaukee County, in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the third-largest city in Wisconsin by land area. Located on Lake Michigan's western shore with significant commercial developments along Interstate 43, the com ...

, when he took the position as Associate Athletic Director for Marquette University in Milwaukee. Harbaugh is a member of the

chapter of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Their two sons,

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh (born September 23, 1962) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia Eagles and served ...

and Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh were the first pair of brothers to serve as head coaches in the

(NFL): The brothers coached their teams in a game unofficially nicknamed the 'Harbaugh Bowl' and 'Har-bowl' on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

, 2011, one day before Jack and Jackie's 50th wedding anniversary, where John's Ravens beat Jim's 49ers, 16-6. They faced each other again in a second 'Har-bowl' when Baltimore beat San Francisco February 3, 2013 at

Super Bowl XLVII Super Bowl XLVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Ravens and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion San Francisco 49ers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

by a score of 34–31. Jim also played quarterback at Michigan and for 15 seasons in the NFL for six different teams from 1987 to 2001 before entering coaching. Their daughter Joani's husband was head basketball coach for the men's Georgia Bulldogs team,

. They met while Jack was the head football coach at Western Kentucky University and Crean was an assistant basketball coach to Ralph Willard.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Stanford profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbaugh, Jack Living people 1939 births American football defensive backs American football quarterbacks Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Bowling Green Falcons football players Iowa Hawkeyes football coaches Michigan Wolverines football coaches Morehead State Eagles football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches San Diego Toreros football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches High school football coaches in Ohio Harbaugh family People from Crestline, Ohio People from Perrysburg, Ohio People from Mequon, Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Ohio