James Joseph O’Hora (February 16, 1915 – August 5, 2005) was an American college football coach for over 30 years.

Early years

O’Hora was born in

Dunmore, Pennsylvania Dunmore is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States, adjoining Scranton. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and was settled in 1835 and incorporated in 1862. Extensive anthracite coal, brick, stone, and silk interests ha ...

. His father, Michael, was an immigrant from Ballina,

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

who entered the United States through

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

. His mother, Mary Butler O’Hora, was also an immigrant from Ireland. O’Hora played football for Dunmore High School. He was a member of its champion team in 1930 and was named to the

Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Lackawanna County (; ) is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It had a population of 215,615 in 2022. Its county seat and most populous city is Scranton, Pennsylvania, Scranton. The c ...

All Academic Team in 1932. He graduated in 1932. He attended The Pennsylvania State College which later grew to Penn State. While playing center for the Penn State

Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

under Coach Bob Higgins, O’Hora lettered in 1933, 1934 and 1935. He earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Health and Physical Education from PSU in 1936. He was certified in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

to teach Biological Science,

Social Studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

, and

Physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

Career

His coaching career began in 1936, as a graduate assistant at Penn State University while working on his master's degree. After earning a master's degree in 1937, O'Hora was a high school gym teacher and head football coach at Roaring Spring High School at

Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania Roaring Spring is a borough in Blair County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 2,392 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Altoona, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area History The Roaring Spring Historic District was list ...

. In 1939, he became head football coach, head basketball coach and head baseball coach at Mahanoy Township High School in

Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania Mahanoy City ( ) is a borough located southwest of Wilkes-Barre and 13 miles southwest of Hazleton, in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Coal Region of Pennsylvania and is surrounded by (but not part ...

. On November 28, 1942, he married Elizabeth Emily Miller a social studies teacher from Mahanoy City, at Queen of All Saints RCC,

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In 1942, O’Hora enlisted in the Gene Tumey Program which was part of the US Navy Physical Fitness Program. His rank was

Chief Petty Officer A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards, usually above petty officer. By country Australia "Chief Petty Officer" is the second highest non-commissioned rank in the Royal Australian Navy ...

. He was promoted to

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1942. O'Hora trained at the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and nort ...

. He became the commanding officer of U.S.S. LSM 8 in the Pacific fleet in 1944. He served in the Luzon Philippines Campaign. After the war he returned to Mahanoy Township for one year before joining the Penn State coaching staff in 1946. O'Hora was a full-time assistant for three seasons under Bob Higgins. He then served one year with Joe Bedenk (1949), 16 seasons with

Rip Engle Charles A. "Rip" Engle (March 26, 1906 – March 7, 1983) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He served as the head football coach at Brown University from 1944 to 1949 and at Pennsylvania State University from ...

(1950–65) and 11 with

Joe Paterno Joseph Vincent Paterno (; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), sometimes referred to as JoePa, was an American college football player, athletic director, and coach. He was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football, Penn ...

from 1966 to 1976. O'Hora initially served as line coach. He became the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach (1974–76). O'Hora was a key factor in Penn State earning 29 winning seasons during his 31 years on the staff. O'Hora directed the

defenses on the unbeaten 1947, 1968, 1969 and 1973 squads. The 1968 Penn State team allowed less than 10 points in six games. The 1969 Lion squad did not allow the opposition to score more than nine points in seven games. The last 1969 game was a 10–3 win over Missouri in the Orange Bowl. The 1973 defense did not permit more than nine points in any of Penn State's initial six games. They ended PSU’s first 12–0 season with a 16–9 win over

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

. * During his extraordinary tenure, he coached with such notables as: Earl Bruce, Frank Patrick, Al Michaels, Sever "Tor" Toretti, J.T. White,

Dan Radakovich Dan Radakovich (born June 9, 1958) is the athletic director of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Prior to his appointment at the University of Miami, Radakovich previously served as the athletic director at American Universit ...

, Joe McMullen, and George Welsh.

Later years

O’Hora retired from Penn State in 1977 as an Associate Professor of Health, Physical Education and Recreation. The football program established the Jim O'Hora Award. It is annually presented to a defensive player for "exemplary conduct, loyalty, interest, attitude and improvement" during spring practice. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Football Hall of Fame in 1992. An engaging storyteller, he was happy to share colorful stories of PSU football history. He maintained an extensive collection of photos that covered his many years as a football player and coach. He valued his friendships with the other coaches and especially JoePa. O’Hora was a member of the B.P.O.E #1600; State College; the American Legion #245; State College, Penn State Quarterback Club; and the Penn State Football Lettermen's Club. O’Hora and his wife had four children. O’Hora died on August 5, 2005, in State College, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

GOPSUSports.com "Long-Time Assistant Football Coach Jim O'Hora Dies"
August 5, 2005, retrieved October 25, 2005.
Daily Collegian “Former Penn State assistant, player O'Hora dies at 90” Tim Ford
August 8, 2005.
Post-Gazette.com “O'Hora was the 'Best man' Paterno ever knew” Gene Colier
August 14, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohora, Jim 1915 births 2005 deaths People from Dunmore, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania American people of Irish descent Players of American football from Pennsylvania Penn State Nittany Lions football coaches Penn State Nittany Lions football players High school football coaches in Pennsylvania American football centers High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania High school baseball coaches in the United States United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II Naval War College alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania