Pat O'Dea

College coach infobox
Name = Pat O'Dea


Caption = Pat O'Dea: "The Kangaroo Kicker"
DateOfBirth = 17 March 1872
Birthplace = Australia
DateOfDeath = 4 March 1962
Sport = College football
College = University of Missouri–Columbia
Title =
CurrentRecord =
OverallRecord = 19-7-2
Awards =
CFbDWID = 1773
Player = trigger
Years = 1898-1899
Team = Wisconsin
Position = fullback
Coach = Trigger
CoachYears = 1900-1901
1902
CoachTeams = Notre Dame
Missouri
FootballHOF = 1962
CollegeHOFID = 90025

Patrick John O'Dea (17 March 1872 - 4 March 1962) was a college football coach at Missouri and Notre Dame. An Australian by birth, he was previously an Australian Rules Football player who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the VFA. He was selected several times for the Victorian State team, the first time when he was just 16. [Nauright, J. (1999). Making an international
]

Playing career

O'Dea played American football at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was their star fullback 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, he kicked a 62-yard field goal, and had an 116-yard punt. This earned him the nickname "the Kangaroo Kicker".

In the 1899 game, he returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and had 4 field goals. He was selected as an All-American team member in 1899.

Coaching career

Notre Dame

From 1900 to 1901, he coached at Notre Dame, and compiled a 14-4-2 record.

Missouri

O'Dea was the tenth head college 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. [ [http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/big12/missouri/coaching_records.php Missouri Coaching Records ] ]

Later in 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 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 in 1962, the same year that he died in San Francisco, California.

References

External links

* [http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=90025 College Football Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/odeapat.shtml Hickok Sports]
* [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A150601b.htm Australian Dictionary of Biography Entry]