Richard R. Slager (born March 1954) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player for Upper Arlington High School in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, and for the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

. He was the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of VistaCare Hospice Services in

Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...

until March 2008. After backing up quarterback

Tom Clements Thomas Albert Clements (born June 18, 1953) is an American former professional football quarterback and coach. He served as an assistant coach for the Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saint ...

for two years at Notre Dame, Slager was named the starter by new

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Dan Devine Daniel John Devine (December 23, 1924 – May 9, 2002) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Arizona State University from 1955 to 1957, the University of Missouri from 1958 to 1970, and the Universi ...

. In an injury-plagued 1975 season, he completed 66 of 139 passes for 686 yards, often relieved by sophomore

Joe Montana Joseph Clifford Montana Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. Nicknamed "Joe Cool" and "the Co ...

, en route to an 8–3 record. During his final season in 1976, Slager led the Irish to a 9–3 record and a top-20 ranking, completing 86 of 172 passes for 1,281 yards and 11 touchdowns.Steele, Michael R. ''The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia.'' Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing LLC (2002). p.426 After graduation, Slager served as a graduate assistant coach for three years while attending

Notre Dame Law School Notre Dame Law School is the law school of the University of Notre Dame. Established in 1869, it is the oldest continuously operating Catholic law school in the United States. The school enrolls about 600 students and in addition to the J.D. ...

. In 1988, Slager founded Karrington Health, Inc. in

Bexley, Ohio Bexley is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. The population was 13,928 at the 2020 census. The city is a suburban enclave of Columbus, situated on the banks of Alum Creek east of Columbus's Near East Side. It was founded in 1908 ...

References

1954 births Living people Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio American football quarterbacks Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches 20th-century American sportsmen {{quarterback-1950s-stub