Thomas Lieb
Encyclopedia
Thomas John "Tom" Lieb (October 28, 1899 – April 30, 1962) was an American Olympic
track and field athlete, an All-American college football
player and a multi-sport collegiate coach. Lieb was a Minnesota
native and an alumnus
of the University of Notre Dame
, where he played college football
. He was best known as the head coach
of the Loyola Marymount University
and University of Florida
football teams.
in 1899. In high school, Lieb excelled at baseball
, football, hockey
, and track and field. He attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana
, where he lettered in all four sports and twice received All-American football honors. During the 1922 season, Lieb broke his leg in the game against Purdue
. While doing his graduate studies at the university, he coached the Notre Dame hockey
and track & field teams, and also coached the linemen for the Fighting Irish football
team under head coach Knute Rockne
.
Lieb was a two-time NCAA champion in the shot put
in 1923 and 1924, and is widely credited with introducing the modern spin delivery that is still used today. At the 1924 Summer Olympics
held in Paris, France, Lieb competed for the United States in the discus throw
and won the bronze medal, but did not equal the distance of his qualifying throw. Several weeks after the Olympics ended, Lieb broke the discus world record with a throw of 47.61 meters (156 feet 2½ inches).
. In 1929, Lieb returned to Notre Dame as the assistant football coach, and was instrumental in directing the Irish to a national championship
as Knute Rockne
spent most of the season recovering from complications due to thrombophlebitis
, a crippling infection of Rockne's leg.
Lieb's coaching success was recognized when he was offered the head coaching position at Loyola University
in Los Angeles, California
, where he remained from 1930 to 1938. Lieb relished his role as the Loyola Lions
head football coach, posing with lion cubs in publicity photographs, and posted an overall record of 47–33–4. Lieb also started Loyola's ice hockey
program as an off-season conditioning program for his football players, but quickly built the team into a powerhouse with an annual rivalry with the University of Southern California
. From 1935 to 1938, Lieb's hockey Lions won four consecutive Pacific Coast Intercollegiate League titles and compiled a 38–3–2 record. Lieb quit his coaching job at Loyola during his wife's illness in 1939, and then decided to leave California after she died.
In 1940, Lieb succeeded Josh Cody
as the head football coach at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
, with high expectations based on his prior successes with Notre Dame and Loyola. He also served as Florida's athletic director. Lieb, however, was unable to duplicate the same level of success with the Gators that he had at Notre Dame and Loyola. In his five seasons of coaching the Florida Gators football
team from 1940 to 1945, Lieb compiled a 20–26–1 record, and his contract was not renewed after the 1945 season. Thereafter, Lieb worked as the assistant Crimson Tide football
coach and head track & field coach at the University of Alabama
, where his old Notre Dame teammate Frank Thomas was the head football coach, from 1946 to 1951.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
track and field athlete, an All-American college football
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...
player and a multi-sport collegiate coach. Lieb was a Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
native and an alumnus
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
of the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
, where he played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. He was best known as the head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
of the Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
and University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
football teams.
College sports career
Tom Lieb was born in Faribault, MinnesotaFaribault, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,818 people, 7,472 households, and 4,946 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,644.8 people per square mile . There were 7,668 housing units at an average density of 605.8 per square mile...
in 1899. In high school, Lieb excelled at 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...
, football, hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
, and track and field. He attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, where he lettered in all four sports and twice received All-American football honors. During the 1922 season, Lieb broke his leg in the game against Purdue
Purdue Boilermakers football
The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...
. While doing his graduate studies at the university, he coached the Notre Dame hockey
Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team at the University of Notre Dame. The team competes in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association at the NCAA Division I level.- History :...
and track & field teams, and also coached the linemen for the Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
team under head coach Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
.
Lieb was a two-time NCAA champion in the shot put
Shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball—the shot—as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the putting action....
in 1923 and 1924, and is widely credited with introducing the modern spin delivery that is still used today. At the 1924 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
The 1924 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the VIII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1924 in Paris, France...
held in Paris, France, Lieb competed for the United States in the discus throw
Discus throw
The discus throw is an event in track and field athletics competition, in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than his or her competitors. It is an ancient sport, as evidenced by the 5th century BC Myron statue, Discobolus...
and won the bronze medal, but did not equal the distance of his qualifying throw. Several weeks after the Olympics ended, Lieb broke the discus world record with a throw of 47.61 meters (156 feet 2½ inches).
Coaching career
Following his graduation, Lieb accepted an offer to coach the linemen for the Wisconsin BadgersWisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
. In 1929, Lieb returned to Notre Dame as the assistant football coach, and was instrumental in directing the Irish to a national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
as Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
spent most of the season recovering from complications due to thrombophlebitis
Thrombophlebitis
Thrombophlebitis is phlebitis related to a thrombus . When it occurs repeatedly in different locations, it is known as "Thrombophlebitis migrans" or "migrating thrombophlebitis".-Signs and symptoms:...
, a crippling infection of Rockne's leg.
Lieb's coaching success was recognized when he was offered the head coaching position at Loyola University
Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University is a comprehensive co-educational private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions located in Los Angeles, California, United States...
in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where he remained from 1930 to 1938. Lieb relished his role as the Loyola Lions
Loyola Marymount Lions
The Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I, with its primary affiliation in the West Coast Conference, an organization consisting solely of...
head football coach, posing with lion cubs in publicity photographs, and posted an overall record of 47–33–4. Lieb also started Loyola's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
program as an off-season conditioning program for his football players, but quickly built the team into a powerhouse with an annual rivalry with the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
. From 1935 to 1938, Lieb's hockey Lions won four consecutive Pacific Coast Intercollegiate League titles and compiled a 38–3–2 record. Lieb quit his coaching job at Loyola during his wife's illness in 1939, and then decided to leave California after she died.
In 1940, Lieb succeeded Josh Cody
Josh Cody
Joshua C. Cody was an American college athlete, head coach and athletics director. Cody was a native of Tennessee and an alumnus of Vanderbilt University, where he was a three-time All-American college football player...
as the head football coach at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, with high expectations based on his prior successes with Notre Dame and Loyola. He also served as Florida's athletic director. Lieb, however, was unable to duplicate the same level of success with the Gators that he had at Notre Dame and Loyola. In his five seasons of coaching the Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team from 1940 to 1945, Lieb compiled a 20–26–1 record, and his contract was not renewed after the 1945 season. Thereafter, Lieb worked as the assistant Crimson Tide football
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
coach and head track & field coach at the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, where his old Notre Dame teammate Frank Thomas was the head football coach, from 1946 to 1951.
Life after football
When Lieb retired in 1951, he returned to Los Angeles, where he became a public speaker. He died of an apparent heart attack in 1962 at age 62. He was elected to the Loyola Marymount Hall of Fame posthumously in 1987.Football
See also
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1940–1949
- History of the University of FloridaHistory of the University of FloridaThe history of the University of Florida is firmly tied to the history of public education in the state of Florida. The University of Florida, colloquially known as "Florida" or "UF," originated as several distinct institutions that were merged to create a single state-supported university by the...
- List of Florida Gators head football coaches
- List of University of Notre Dame alumni
- List of University of Notre Dame athletes
- Loyola Marymount LionsLoyola Marymount LionsThe Loyola Marymount Lions are the athletic teams that represent Loyola Marymount University, a Jesuit institution in Los Angeles, California. The school competes in NCAA Division I, with its primary affiliation in the West Coast Conference, an organization consisting solely of...
- Notre Dame Fighting IrishNotre Dame Fighting IrishNotre Dame's nickname is inherited from Irish immigrant soldiers who fought in the Civil War with the Union's Irish Brigade, , recollected among other places in the poetry of Joyce Kilmer who served with one of the Irish Brigade regiments during World War I...
- University Athletic AssociationUniversity of Florida Athletic AssociationThe University Athletic Association, Inc. is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida...