The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-11-13
Fnnnk Leohy OfNOtreD Dame Coach of Week
Ny cana GINDoCGSr Tlnllrh H.FTak SnNKak MEalEr

NV NsA4tA G4lN&s344SW
 Dnltea RFvxs SpgF9s Wrsarr
 New York, Nov. ls. tUP9-Ne- body scored, but for hls boys it was a 0 to 0 victory" and his legion of followers an over the elobe wtll never regard it as anything but a glorious triumph.
 Personally he soorns any praise as much and about nothing to ncth~ ing and his disappointment was et keen as n his team had been drubbed numerically,
 MoreoverI he doesn't think the lads" will win another game an season, but if he is serious. he isn't kidding anyone but himself. He Is the number one pessimist in the business, but the records show that his opponents should be the Rlum ones-and they invariably are at the finish.
 He's the United Press coach of the week, Frank 1seahy of the mag nificent fighting Irish of Notre Dame, who stopped Arny's a1l-vic- toriouS three-year march st 2S straight,
 The great Army backs Glenn Davis and Felix Blanchard. who had steam-roilered team after team for three seasons were kept thor ouhgly in check and in the end there was revenge for Q N0tre Dame team that had suffered huniliating 4s to 0 and 5s to defeats to Army in le45 and ls44.
 Army No Score
 Leahy kept intact her record ot never yielding point to Army an the four seasons his teams have faced the Cadets, ia lezl, 1922, and lezs before he went into the Navy and this year in his first postwar season.
 He is the most peSsmistic big time coach since the heydsy oi Gloomy Gil" Dobie, the Cornell baby. and his dark outlook stems from his first season as head coach at Boston College He pre- dicted a victory and the team lost. After that experience he tolo friends never again will I predict one of my teams win win" He hasn't either.
 He is a perfectionist and though he is close to his boys he can't t0l- crate mistakes. Once this season when the Irish were going through a poor practice session he called halt and said:
 Lads. there is only one course open to us. We must go back to oeo- rock fundamentals ard start all over. Nov look. this is a football.
 Fullback Jim Mello. who had been making most of the mistakes, raised his hand for permission to speak and Leahy asked what IS 1t James?"
 ''Coach. would you mind going little slower and take one 1hlng at a tirnep" Mello asked. The wisecrack broke the tenSlon and the rest of the practice clicked with precision.
 Modest Man
 Leahy. who is modest to a fault about his own talent, says that the ies6 Notre Dame eleven is 'ione oi the most coachable groups of boys I have ever worked with"
 q appreciate the chance to coach them. but I believe, too, that any of so or 100 former Notre Dame men now in the coaching field could do as well or better with them than have"
 Leahy, a member of Knute Rocke's undefeated national cham pion Notre Dame eleven of 1929, is a native of ONein. Neb., and grew up in Winner, S. D, a town thai became synonymous with the klnc Of football teams he turned out.
 He became line coach at George town in 1881, the first year after his graduation from Notre Dame and joined another ex-lrish star, Jim Crowley as assistant coach al Michigan State in 1882.
 Both Crowley and Leahy moved to Fordham in 1883 and the Rams had an era of great teams with Leahy's work as line coach mainly responsible for producing the seven blocks Of granite who led the Rams through one triumphant sea- son after another
 l9sl Coach Of Year
 He followed that up with his first tenure as a head coach at Boston College from ls39 and in two years the Eagles won 20 out of 22 games for him. His big opportunity came with Elmer Layden resigned al Notre Dame and he took over there in lo4l, rolling to eight victories and a tie in his freshman season when he was named Coach Of the Year"
 Now back after a war career as an officer in the Pacific submarine command, he is firmly entrencheo as one of the most brilliant mentors in the business. And fl IA to l6 hours of work day during toOt- ball season will produce winners the Irish aren't going to lose many games hereout.
 That's the chief complaint hls | an14tnafT ks1lel-