Ray Flaherty

Ray Flaherty
refer to caption
Flaherty c. 1940s
No. 20, 11, 17, 6, 1
Position:End
Personal information
Born:(1903-09-01)September 1, 1903
Lamont, Washington, U.S.
Died:July 19, 1994(1994-07-19) (aged 90)
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S.
Career information
High school:Gonzaga
(Spokane, Washington)
College:Gonzaga
Career history
As a player:
As a coach:
Career highlights and awards
As a player
As a coach
Career NFL statistics
Receptions:41
Receiving yards:626
Receiving touchdowns:20
Stats at Pro Football Reference
Head coaching record
Regular season:College: 1–7–1 (.167)
NFL: 54–21–5 (.706)
AAFC: 26–16–2 (.614)
Total: 81–44–8 (.639)
Postseason:NFL: 2–2 (.500)
AAFC: 2–4 (.333)
Total: 4–6 (.400)
Career:College: 1–7–1 (.167)
NFL: 56–23–5 (.696)
AAFC: 28–20–2 (.580)
Total: 85–50–8 (.622)
Record at Pro Football Reference
Pro Football Hall of Fame

Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American professional football player and coach who spent 18 total seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as both a player and a coach. He played college football for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and played for the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League (AFL) and the New York Yankees and New York Giants of the NFL. The Giants retired his jersey number 1, the first in NFL history, upon his playing retirement in 1935.

Flaherty was head coach of Gonzaga's football and basketball teams in 1930 and 1931, the NFL's Washington Redskins from 1936 to 1942, and the New York Yankees and Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the latter half of the 1940s. He was a member of three NFL championship teams, one with the Giants in 1934 and two as Redskins head coach in 1937 and 1942, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976.

Early life

Born on a farm near Lamont in eastern Washington,[1] Flaherty grew up in Spokane and was a multi-sport athlete at Gonzaga High School (now Gonzaga Prep) and Gonzaga University,[2][3] where he played with Hust Stockton under head coach Gus Dorais. As a freshman, Flaherty attended Washington State College in Pullman, then transferred to Gonzaga before his sophomore year.[4] Flaherty competed on the Gonzaga Bulldogs track and field, baseball, and basketball teams in addition to playing football.[5]

Professional career

Flaherty began his professional football career in 1926 with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League, a team of western players based in Illinois.[6] It played all its games on the road in its only season, which ended with a post-season barnstorming tour through the South against league rival New York Yankees. Flaherty then played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, first with the Yankees (1927–1928) with Red Grange, until the franchise folded following the 1928 season. He joined the New York Giants, 1929 through the 1935 season, except for 1930, when he returned to Spokane as the head coach at his alma mater, Gonzaga.[4] He also coached the Bulldog basketball team for a season (1930–1931).[7] At the end of the 1935 season, Flaherty's jersey number 1 was 'taken out of circulation', thus making Flaherty the first professional football player to have his number retired.[8] In 2024, wide receiver Malik Nabers was given permission by Flaherty's family to wear the number.[9] In 1930, Flaherty played minor league baseball as a second baseman with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League.[4]

Head coaching career

Flaherty (right) as Washington Redskins head coach meeting with team owner George Preston Marshall, 1937

Following his playing career, Flaherty was hired by George Preston Marshall, owner of the NFL's Boston Redskins, as head coach for the 1936 season.[10][11] The team won the division title that year, then relocated to Washington, D.C. for the 1937 season, and picked up future hall of fame quarterback Sammy Baugh in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft.[11] In seven seasons at the helm of the Redskins, Flaherty won four division titles (1936, 1937, 1940, 1942) and two NFL Championships (1937, 1942). Among his innovations on offense, Flaherty is credited with inventing the screen pass in 1937.[2][12]

The Redskins held their 1940 training camp in Spokane at Gonzaga;[13] the previous year's camp was also held in Spokane County, at Eastern Washington College in Cheney.[14][15][16] In 1941 and 1942, the Redskins trained in California in San Diego at Brown Military Academy.[17][18]

Flaherty served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to pro football in 1946 as a head coach in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC). With the New York Yankees, he won division titles in each of his two full seasons at the helm, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the title games. After a poor start in 1948, owner Dan Topping relieved Flaherty of his duties in mid-September.[19] Several months later he was hired as head coach of the AAFC's Chicago Hornets, known as the Rockets in their three previous seasons.[2][20][21] He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 for his contributions as a coach.[22][23]

After football

After the end of the AAFC in 1949, Flaherty returned to the Spokane area to enter private business as a beverage distributor,[24] and lived in nearby northern Idaho. During football season, he was a part-time columnist for the Spokane Daily Chronicle.[6][25][26] A college friend of Bing Crosby, Flaherty participated in the singer's Spokane memorial service in 1977.[27][28]

After an extended illness at the age of 90, Flaherty died on July 19, 1994, in Hayden, Idaho.[1]

Head coaching record

Team Year Regular season Post season
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
BOS 1936 7 5 0 .583 1st in Eastern Division 0 1 .000 Lost NFL Championship to Green Bay Packers
WAS 1937 8 3 0 .727 1st in Eastern Division 1 0 1.000 Won NFL Championship over Chicago Bears
WAS 1938 6 3 2 .667 2nd in Eastern Division - - - -
WAS 1939 8 2 1 .800 2nd in Eastern Division - - - -
WAS 1940 9 2 0 .818 1st in Eastern Division 0 1 .000 Lost NFL Championship to Chicago Bears
WAS 1941 6 5 0 .545 3rd in Eastern Division - - - -
WAS 1942 10 1 0 .909 1st in Eastern Division 1 0 1.000 Won NFL Championship over Chicago Bears
WAS/NFL Total 54 21 5 72.0 2 2 .500
NYY 1946 10 3 1 .769 1st in Eastern Division 0 1 .000 Lost AAFC Championship Game to Cleveland Browns
NYY 1947 11 2 1 .846 1st in Eastern Division 0 1 .000 Lost AAFC Championship Game to Cleveland Browns
NYY 1948 1 3 0 .250 fired in mid-season - - - -
NYY AAFC Total 22 8 2 .733 0 2 .000
CHI 1949 4 8 0 .333 4th in AAFC - - - -
CHI AAFC Total 4 8 0 .333 - - - -
AAFC Total 26 16 2 .619 0 2 .000 -
Professional Total 80 37 5 .684 2 4 .333
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Blanchette, John (July 20, 1994). "NFL legend Ray Flaherty dies". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  2. ^ a b c Blanchette, John (November 2, 1983). "Papa Bear met his match in Ray Flaherty". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
  3. ^ Godes, Kerry (March 30, 1987). "Gonzaga Prep selects six for its new Hall of Fame". Spokane Chronicle. Washington. p. C5.
  4. ^ a b c "Ray Flaherty Gonzaga coach". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. May 4, 1980. p. 1, sports.
  5. ^ "RAY FLAHERTY". Gonzaga Bulldogs. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Derrick, Merle (January 27, 1976). "Flaherty honored". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
  7. ^ "Irish casaba tossers hit winning stride; play Spokane Sparklers Saturday night". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. January 7, 1931. p. 15.
  8. ^ Berry, Allison (February 2, 2012). "Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About the New York Giants". Time Magazine. p. 7.
  9. ^ Eisen, Michael. "Malik Nabers to wear No. 1 with permission from Flaherty family". www.giants.com. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  10. ^ "Flaherty to coach Boston Redskins". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 24, 1935. p. 1.
  11. ^ a b Blanchette, John (July 22, 1994). "Flaherty earned due respect". Spokesman-Review. p. C1.
  12. ^ "Legends: Flaherty in 'same class'". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. UPI. September 4, 1980. p. 8.
  13. ^ "Flaherty sends Redskins into first practice grind". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. August 6, 1940. p. 11.
  14. ^ "Pro grid squad begins practice". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. August 8, 1939. p. 11.
  15. ^ "Redskins will train on Gonzaga field starting August 6". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. July 24, 1940. p. 11.
  16. ^ Johnson, Bob (January 19, 1959). "Woo Redskins". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
  17. ^ Johnson, Bob (January 28, 1972). "Two trips west". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 13.
  18. ^ "Training camp history". Redskins RVA. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  19. ^ "Yankees "fire" Ray Flaherty as grid coach". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 18, 1948. p. 11.
  20. ^ "Ray Flaherty named coach of Chicago Rockets". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 30, 1949. p. 24.
  21. ^ "Ray Flaherty to get Chappuis and others". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. United Press. February 1, 1949. p. 11.
  22. ^ Missildine, Harry (January 27, 1976). "Flaherty named to pro grid hall". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 11.
  23. ^ "Ray Flaherty gains Hall induction today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. July 24, 1976. p. 13.
  24. ^ Hewins, Jack (August 22, 1951). "Flaherty won't coach unless offer "too good to decline" appears". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. p. 13.
  25. ^ "Flaherty to conduct football dope column". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 3, 1954. p. 11.
  26. ^ "Flaherty experts on football again". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 5, 1958. p. 11.
  27. ^ "Crosby service set". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. October 17, 1977. p. 3.
  28. ^ Smith, Jim (October 19, 1977). "Memorial rites held for city favorite, Bing Crosby". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 7.
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