James F. Lanagan
Encyclopedia
James Francis "Jimmy" Lanagan (c. 1879 – August 7, 1937) was an American football
, rugby
, and baseball
coach at Stanford University
.
Lanagan played college baseball
at Stanford from 1897 to 1900. In 1903, despite never having played football, Lanagan was selected as Stanford's head football coach, and coached the team for three years, compiling an overall record of 23–2–4.
Following the 1905 season, Stanford, responding like other American universities to concerns about the violence in football, dropped football in favor of rugby. Despite having no knowledge of the sport, Lanagan was retained as the rugby coach, spending time in Vancouver, British Columbia to study the sport. In his first season, the team ended with a 6–2–1 season. Lanagan remained as rugby coach for two more seasons. He also served as Stanford's baseball coach from 1906 to 1907.
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...
, rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
, and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
coach at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
.
Lanagan played college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
at Stanford from 1897 to 1900. In 1903, despite never having played football, Lanagan was selected as Stanford's head football coach, and coached the team for three years, compiling an overall record of 23–2–4.
Following the 1905 season, Stanford, responding like other American universities to concerns about the violence in football, dropped football in favor of rugby. Despite having no knowledge of the sport, Lanagan was retained as the rugby coach, spending time in Vancouver, British Columbia to study the sport. In his first season, the team ended with a 6–2–1 season. Lanagan remained as rugby coach for two more seasons. He also served as Stanford's baseball coach from 1906 to 1907.