Pat O ' Dea Patrick John " Kangaroo Kicker " O ' Dea ( March 17 , 1872 – March 4 , 1962 ) was an Australian rules and American football player and coach . An Australian by birth , O ' Dea played Australian rules football for the Melbourne Football Club in the VFA . In 1898 and 1899 , O ' Dea played American football at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in the United States , where he excelled in the kicking game . He then served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1900 to 1901 and at the University of Missouri in 1902 , compiling a career college football record of 19 – 7 – 2 . O ' Dea was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1962 . Early life . O ' Dea was born in Kilmore , Victoria , Australia to an Irish - born father and a Victorian - born mother . He was the third child of seven children . As a child he attended Christian Brothers College and Xavier College . As a 16 - year - old he received a bronze medallion from the Royal Humane Society of Australasia for rescuing a woman at beach . Playing career . O ' Dea played American football at the University of Wisconsin – Madison , where he was their star fullback from 1896 – 1899 and captained the 1898 and 1899 teams . In those days fullbacks punted and often did the placekicking . In the 1898 edition of the Northwestern game , which was played in a blizzard , he drop kicked a 62 - yard field goal , and had an 116 - yard punt . This earned him the nickname " Kangaroo Kicker " . Wisconsin then headed into a Thanksgiving Day showdown with 1898 Western champions Michigan with only the narrow loss to Yale marring their record . New songs were composed for the occasion including “ Oh , Pat O ’ Dea ” to the popular tune “ Margery ” . The chorus ran : " Oh Pat O ’ Dea , oh Pat O ’ Dea , We love you more and more . Oh Pat O ’ Dea , oh Pat O ’ Dea , You ’ re the boy that we adore ; Your leg is ever sure and true , And always kicks a goal or two . The team and rooters worship you . Oh Pat O ’ Dea . " The final verse concluded : " To this brave lad forever we shall proudly sing . He is the boy we love . And in the games we play The cry “ O ’ Dea , ” We ’ ll yell to every foe , because their game will show There is no other lad to see like Pat O ’ Dea . The East and West will surely have to see That we can ’ t lose in Patrick ’ s shoes , For he ’ s the only boy in all this land so free . The famous punter , Pat O ’ Dea . " In the 1899 game , he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown , and had four field goals . He was selected as an All - America n team member in 1899 . Coaching career . Notre Dame . From 1900 to 1901 , O ' Dea coached at the University of Notre Dame , and compiled a 14 – 4 – 2 record . Missouri . O ' Dea was the tenth head football coach for the University of Missouri – Columbia Tigers located in Columbia , Missouri and he held that position for the 1902 season . His career coaching record at Missouri was 5 wins , 3 losses , and 0 ties . This ranks him 22nd at Missouri in total wins and tenth at Missouri in winning percentage . Later life . After coaching , he disappeared from public view in 1917 , having decided that he didn ' t like being treated as a celebrity . In 1934 , he was discovered living under an assumed name in California and came back to Wisconsin to a hero ' s welcome . He later appeared on Bob Hope ' s All - American football team announcement shows . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame on April 3 , 1962 . He died the next day at the University of California , San Francisco Medical Center . Pat O ’ Dea died on 4 April 1962 at the age of ninety after an illness . While he was in hospital he received a get - well message from President John Kennedy . O ’ Dea ’ s obituary in the New York Times commented on his kicking achievements including a 110 yard punt , though against Minnesota in 1897 and not Yale in 1899 , and his 62 yard goal against Northwestern in 1898 . References . 5 . http : / / www . la84foundation . org / SportsLibrary / FootballStudies / 1999 / FS0202f . pdf