 Gallagher in 1959 after signing to become the general manager of the Buffalo Bills | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 28, 1909 Ironton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | March 29, 1995 (aged 85) Canton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| c. 1929 | Kentucky Wesleyan |
| 1930 | Ironton Tanks |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1931–1932 | Pedro HS (OH) |
| 1933–1939 | Ironton HS (OH) |
| 1940–1942 | William & Mary (assistant) |
| 1946–1947 | William & Mary (assistant) |
| 1947–1949 | Cleveland Browns (ends) |
| 1950–1952 | Santa Clara |
| 1953 | Chicago Cardinals (assistant) |
| Basketball | |
| 1933–1940 | Ironton HS (OH) |
| 1946–1947 | William & Mary |
| Baseball | |
| 1947 | William & Mary |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1954–1959 | Cleveland Browns (scout) |
| 1967 | San Francisco 49ers (scout) |
| 1960–1966 | Buffalo Bills (GM) |
| 1968–1976 | Pro Football Hall of Fame (director) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 8–18–2 (college football) 14–12 (college basketball) 14–12 (college baseball) |
Richard F. Gallagher (October 28, 1909 – March 29, 1995) was a baseball, basketball and American football coach and administrator who served as an assistant with the Cleveland Browns and Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) in the 1940s and 1950s. Gallagher also coached at high schools in his native Ohio and was the head baseball and basketball coach at the College of William & Mary in Virginia from 1946 to 1947. He spent three years as head football coach at Santa Clara University in California in the early 1950s, and ended his career by becoming the general manager of the Buffalo Bills and later the director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Gallagher grew up in Ironton, Ohio and was a star athlete in high school. He attended Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he continued to play sports. After graduation, he played briefly for the semi-professional Ironton Tanks in 1930 before starting a coaching career. He first coached in Pedro, Ohio and then at Ironton High School before getting his first college coaching job in 1940 as an assistant at William & Mary. Gallagher served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and returned to William & Mary after his discharge in 1945. He was promoted to head coach of the school's baseball and basketball programs the following year, and led the William & Mary Tribe men's basketball team to a 14–12 win–loss record in the 1946–47 season. Gallagher then joined the Browns, where he stayed for three seasons before resigning to take the head coaching job at Santa Clara. He compiled a record of 8–18–2 in three years at Santa Clara.
Gallagher subsequently returned to the Browns as a scout, and remained with the team until 1960, when he became the Bills' general manager. After six years in Buffalo, he resigned to become a scout for the San Francisco 49ers. He stayed in that job for one season before joining the Hall of Fame as the second director in its history. Gallagher retired in 1976. He died of esophageal cancer in 1995.