James Raymond Leonard Sr. (February 14, 1910 – November 28, 1993) 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 wi ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

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 majo ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

, as well as the

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in asso ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in 1945. Leonard was a two sport star at 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 c ...

during the 1930s, both as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

in baseball and a fullback in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

. After Notre Dame he played for the

for three seasons and was team captain in 1935 and 1936. He left the Eagles to restart the football program at Saint Francis College in

Loretto, Pennsylvania Loretto is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,302. Like the rest of Cambria County, it is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area. Loretto is the home of Saint Franc ...

in 1937. In 1942 he joined the NFL again as a staff coach for the

, then served as an assistant at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest in ...

in 1943 before returning to the Steelers as head coach during the 1945 campaign. In 1947 he restarted the football program at Saint Francis College in

. It was stopped because of World War II. He finished his career as the head coach of

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

from 1949 to 1950.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

New York Times obit of Leonard
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Jim 1910 births 1993 deaths American football fullbacks American football quarterbacks Holy Cross Crusaders football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Saint Francis Red Flash football coaches Villanova Wildcats football coaches Sportspeople from Philadelphia People from Salem County, New Jersey Coaches of American football from Pennsylvania Players of American football from Philadelphia Pittsburgh Steelers head coaches