Frank Cavanaugh

Bio

Frank Cavanaugh was a leader in football and war. His record for 24 years as a college coach was 145-48-17, a .731 percentage. He joined the Army in World War I and advanced to the rank of major. Cavanaugh would make motivational speeches to his troops in war or to his players before a game. Cavanaugh attended Dartmouth and played end on the football team 1896-97. His first coaching job was at the University of Cincinnati, 1898. The team had a 5-1-3 record, including a 17-12 victory over his alma mater, Dartmouth. He moved to Colorado and coached the Denver Athletic Club 1899-1902. Then it was back east and college coaching at Holy Cross 1903-05. Next he practiced law, returning to coaching at Worcester Academy 1909-10. Dartmouth brought him back to the college level 1911-16. In 1917, at age 41, he volunteered for the Army. On October 23, 1918, he was wounded in combat in France. He came back to coach Boston College 1919-26 and Fordham 1927-32. At Fordham in 1929 he ran some plays from the T formation with a man in motion-11 years before that formation was used at Stanford. Major Cavanaugh died August 29, 1933 at age 57. In 1943, he was portrayed in a movie, "The Iron Major," with Pat O'Brien in the lead role. The movie extolled Cavanaugh's "love of God, love of his country, love of his family."