James Francis Lanagan (November 16, 1878 – August 7, 1937) was an American football, rugby, and baseball coach at Stanford University.
 Lanagan, circa 1906 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 16, 1878 Paris, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | August 7, 1937 (aged 58) Applegate, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Baseball | |
| 1897–1900 | Stanford |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1903–1905 | Stanford |
| Rugby | |
| 1906–1908 | Stanford |
| Baseball | |
| 1906–1907 | Stanford |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 23–2–4 (football) 26–8–1 (rugby) 9–19–2 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Records | |
| Highest win percentage of a multi-season football coach in Stanford history (.862) | |
Lanagan played college baseball at Stanford from 1897 to 1900.[1] In 1902, he married Clara Earl, a fellow member of the Stanford Class of 1900.[2]
In 1903, despite never having played football, Lanagan was selected as Stanford's head football coach, and coached the team for three years, compiling an overall record of 23–2–4.[1]
Following the 1905 season, Stanford, responding like other American universities to concerns about the violence in football, dropped football in favor of rugby from 1906 to 1917.[3][4] Despite having no knowledge of the sport, Lanagan was retained as the rugby coach, spending time in Vancouver, British Columbia and Australia to study the sport.[1][5] In his first season, the team ended with a 6–2–1 season. Lanagan remained as rugby coach for two more seasons.[1] He also served as Stanford's baseball coach from 1906 to 1907.[1][6]
Lanagan attended Stanford Law School from 1905 to 1907.[2] He resigned from coaching in 1908 to focus on his law practice.[5]
During World War I, Lanagan was a major in the United States Army, fighting in France,[2] where he contracted a lung disease that would eventually result in his death two decades later.[7]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanford (Independent) (1903–1905) | |||||||||
| 1903 | Stanford | 8–0–3 | |||||||
| 1904 | Stanford | 7–2–1 | |||||||
| 1905 | Stanford | 8–0 | |||||||
| Stanford: | 23–2–4 | ||||||||
| Total: | 23–2–4 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 33, 36. ISBN 1-57167-116-1. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
- ^ a b c "Guide to the James F. Lanagan Papers". Online Archive of California – California Digital Library. Archived from the original on February 25, 2016.
- ^ "Many changes in rugby game". The Evening News (San Jose). September 14, 1906. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ Elliott, Orrin Leslie (1937). Stanford University - The First Twenty Five Years 1891-1925. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 231–233. ISBN 9781406771411. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ a b "Friends Join in Last Tribute to James F. Lanagan". Sausalito News. August 13, 1937. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- ^ "James F. Lanagan". New York Times. August 8, 1937. Retrieved June 29, 2010.
- ^ "Former Coach Succumbs". The Stanford Daily. August 10, 1937. Retrieved February 17, 2016.