Misplaced Pages

Francis Joseph Nagle (July 1, 1924 – August 15, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and professor.

Early life

Nagle graduated from high school in West Lynn, Massachusetts and served in the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. A radio operator, Nagle's B-24 bomber was shot down on his first mission and he became a prisoner of war during the last three months of the conflict.

Playing career

He initially attended University of Massachusetts-Fort Devans (a temporary two-year college and campus for military veterans) from 1947 to 1948 and became the school's starting quarterback despite never having playing football before. In 1949, Nagle followed his coach, Bob Davis, to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As a quarterback at Nebraska, Nagle was the statistical leader for passing yards from 1949 and 1950. He holds a career Nebraska top 25 passing record at 1,289 yards in 190 attempts with 41.6% completions and 13 touchdowns. Nagle was the 43rd pick in the fourth round National Football League draft pick as a back for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1951. In 1952, he was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League but a training camp injury ended his career.

Honors

In 1950, Nagle was chosen as a Big Seven Conference All-Conference selection. In 1951, Nagle played in the Senior Bowl, the College All-Star game, and the East-West Shrine Game. Nagle was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1992.

Coaching career

Nagle was the 25th head football coach at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska and he held that position for two seasons, from 1953 and 1954. His coaching record at Doane was 6–10–2.

Head coaching record

Later life

Nagle would go on to receive his PhD in physiology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1966 and would teach physiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nagle died on August 15, 2014, at the age of 90.

References

2. Fran Nagle's obituary
3. ^ "Nagle, Francis Joseph". Madison.com. August 16, 2014.
4. "Fort Devens". Lost UMass.
5. "Massachusetts State College-Fort Devens: Ayer, Massachusetts (1946-1949)". lostcolleges.com.
6. ^ Sipple, Steven M. (August 18, 2014). "Ex-Husker quarterback Fran Nagle dies". Lincoln Journal-Star.
7. ^ Nebraska NCAA Record Holders
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com, 1951 NFL Draft
9. "Nebraska Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "Nebraska Football Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on September 10, 2010. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
11. Doane College coaching records Archived May 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
12. Nagle, Francis Joseph (1966). Local responses of skeletal muscle and skin vascular beds in exercise in the dog hindlimb (PhD). University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. OCLC 24855820.

• 1924 births
• 2014 deaths
• American football quarterbacks
• Doane Tigers football coaches
• Nebraska Cornhuskers football players
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
• Shot-down aviators
• American prisoners of war in World War II
• World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
• University of Massachusetts alumni
• Philadelphia Eagles players
• Montreal Alouettes players
• Players of Canadian football from Massachusetts
• Sportspeople from Lynn, Massachusetts
• Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts
• University of Oklahoma alumni
• University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty