Thomas Lawrence Keane (September 7, 1926 – June 19, 2001) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

High school

Keane played football and graduated from Linsly Military Institute in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

(now known as the

Linsly School The Linsly School, formerly known as the Linsly Military Institute, is a boarding and day school located in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded in 1814 by Noah Linsly and chartered by the State of Virginia in the same year. The school is the ...

) in 1944. During his high school career, he was an All-OVAC selection in football and basketball in 1943 and 1944. He was also All-City in basketball.

College

He then went to play football at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pub ...

where he lettered as a freshman. After freshman year, he joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

where he served for 20 months. After the navy he enrolled at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

, where he lettered in football in 1946 and 1947.

Professional football

Keane was a third round selection and 18th overall pick in the 1948

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

. He was selected by the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC Wes ...

. He played four years with the Rams, where he won the 1951 NFL title. In 1952, the Rams traded him to the expansion Dallas Texans, one of eleven players sent to Dallas in exchange for future Hall of Famer

Les Richter Leslie Alan Richter (October 6, 1930 – June 12, 2010) was an American football linebacker who played for the Los Angeles Rams of National Football League (NFL). He also served as the head of operations for NASCAR and president of the River ...

. (Of the eleven, Keane turned out to be the only one to play in the NFL beyond 1952; six of them never played a down for Dallas or any other NFL team.) Due to injuries, he was occasionally used on offense, catching three passes for 73 yards. After the Texans dissolved, Keane played two years with the

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from its founding in 1953 to 1984. The team now plays in Indianapolis, as the Indianapolis Colts. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breed ...

and ended his career with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

in 1955. During his career he was selected All-Pro twice and played in the 1953

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

Coaching career

Keane served as an assistant for the Chicago Cardinals from 1957–1959. From 1962–1964 he served as Head Coach of the

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played for ...

of the United Football League. Then he went back to the NFL to 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 ...

as an assistant in 1965. He served as a longtime assistant to the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...

where he coached from 1966–1985. He was one of the assistants on the 1972 undefeated Miami Dolphins team under head coach

Don Shula Donald Francis Shula (January 4, 1930 – May 4, 2020) was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his ca ...

References

Tom Keane, OVAC Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keane, Tom 1926 births 2001 deaths Sports coaches from Miami Players of American football from Miami Sportspeople from Wheeling, West Virginia American football cornerbacks West Virginia Mountaineers football players Los Angeles Rams players Dallas Texans (NFL) players Baltimore Colts players Chicago Cardinals players Western Conference Pro Bowl players Linsly School alumni People from Bellaire, Ohio Ohio State Buckeyes football players Chicago Cardinals coaches Pittsburgh Steelers coaches Miami Dolphins coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II