Paul Hornung. His overall record at Notre Dame was 87–11–9. Like his former coach, Knute Rockne, Leahy believed that games were won in practice and had the reputation for being relentless. It is said that Leahy's teams never had a practice without hitting and that his quarterbacks would catch snaps every practice until their hands bled. His teams were always well conditioned and Leahy was merciless when it came to the toughness of his players. In addition to his practices, Leahy coached a tough-nosed style of football during the games. Leahy's teams rarely kicked field goals when they were on the goal line because "Notre Dame didn't kick field goals, Notre Dame was too tough to kick field goals." This philosophy backfired against Army in 1946, when the Irish drove all the way to the Cadets' 4-yard line and turned the ball over on downs. A field goal would have won the game. Leahy always referred to his players as his "lads." In 1949, he wrote a book on the T-formation, Notre Dame Football: The "T" Formation. Later life Leahy served as general manager for the Los Angeles Chargers during their inaugural 1960 season in the American Football League. He was selected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1970. Leahy moved to the Portland, Oregon suburb of Lake Oswego in 1963, where he worked as an executive in a vending machine company until his death from congestive heart failure in Portland in 1973. Leahy was married to the former Florence Reilly in 1935, who survived him in death. They had eight children. Their son Jim and grandson Ryan played football at Notre Dame. For his contribution to sports in Los Angeles, he was honored with a Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum "Court of Honor" plaque by the Coliseum commissioners. Quotes "When the going gets tough, let the tough get going." "Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity." (Note: Leahy attributes this saying to Knute Rockne in Leahy's book, "Notre Dame Football - The T Formation". It was not actually Leahy's quote.) "There are no such things as overachievers; only underachievers to different degrees." "A spoonful of humor makes the message go down easier" Head coaching record See also List of college football head coaches with non-consecutive tenure References External links 1908 births 1973 deaths American football tackles Boston College Eagles football coaches Fordham Rams football