Francis Edward Coughlin (February 28, 1896 – September 8, 1951) was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

 in the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 in 1922). In 1921

1921 NFL season

The 1921 APFA season was the 2nd regular season of the National Football League, which was then called the American Professional Football Association....

, he played for the Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

, the Detroit Tigers

1921 Detroit Tigers (NFL) season

The 1921 Detroit Tigers season was their second in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 2-3-3 , winning only one game....

, and the Rock Island Independents

Rock Island Independents

The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team based in Rock Island, Illinois. One of the first professional football teams, they were founded in 1907 as an independent club. They later played in what is now the National Football League from 1920 to 1925. They joined the...

, the last of which he also served as a player-coach

Player-coach

A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....

.

Coughlin played at the collegiate level

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

. He was named captain of the 1920 football squad after, the team's current captain, George Gipp

George Gipp

George "The Gipper" Gipp was a college football player who played for the University of Notre Dame. Gipp was selected as Notre Dame's first All-American and is Notre Dame's second consensus All-American , after Gus Dorais. Gipp played multiple positions, most notably halfback, quarterback, and...

withdrew from the University.

Additional sources

• Coughlin to Lead Notre Dame