34 Facts About Len Casanova

Leonard Joseph Casanova was an American football and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator.

Len Casanova was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1977.

Len Casanova was born to Swiss-American immigrants, John and Marie Ursula Casanov on June 12,1905 on a ranch in the Grizzly Bluff area near Ferndale, California.

Len Casanova got his start in football in the early 1920s when he played halfback for Ferndale High School, and in 1922 he captained the Ferndale team to a co-championship with Eureka High School.

Len Casanova practiced winter and summer and turned out to be quite a punter in college.

Len Casanova entered Santa Clara University in the fall of 1923 and played football and baseball from 1923 through 1927.

In 1924, Len Casanova was playing halfback and punting for Santa Clara.

Len Casanova first made headlines as a player for Santa Clara in 1924 after his heroics in a game against Saint Mary's.

Len Casanova punted a ball that went out of bounds on the Saint Mary's one-yard line.

Len Casanova was Santa Clara's team captain in his senior year under coach Adam Walsh, who had played at Notre Dame under Knute Rockne.

Len Casanova graduated in 1927 with a bachelor's degree in philosophy and a minor in history.

Len Casanova attended summer sessions at Santa Clara and obtained his teaching credential in 1932.

Len Casanova began his teaching and coaching career in 1927 at St Joseph Military Academy in Belmont, California.

In 1936, Len Casanova became an assistant coach at his alma mater, Santa Clara University, under the legendary "Silver Fox", Buck Shaw.

Len Casanova remained Shaw's assistant until Santa Clara suspended football after the 1942 season on account of World War II.

Len Casanova joined the United States Navy commissioned as a full Lieutenant and was discharged at the end of the war as a full naval Commander.

Len Casanova was head baseball coach at Santa Clara from 1939 to 1942.

Len Casanova returned to Santa Clara in 1946 as head football coach.

In 1950, Len Casanova was offered the head coaching position at the University of Pittsburgh.

Len Casanova expected to have an experienced team to play a tough schedule that included Notre Dame, Michigan State, and Ohio State.

Len Casanova's depleted ranks were able to gain but one victory in the 1950 season.

Len Casanova left as the winningest coach in the school's football history with 82 victories, surpassed by Rich Brooks in 1994.

At Oregon, Len Casanova coached two future Hall of Famers, Mel Renfro and Dave Wilcox, and helped assistants George Seifert, John McKay, and John Robinson start their own illustrious coaching careers.

Len Casanova would get on our butt if we didn't go to church, and if you didn't go to school he would darn near punch you out.

In 1964, Len Casanova served as president of the American Football Coaches Association.

Len Casanova remained closely associated with the University of Oregon for many years and was active in numerous fundraising efforts and special projects that improved the school's athletic facilities.

From 1969 to 1973, Len Casanova served on the NCAA football rules committee.

Len Casanova was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1977 and received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award in 1990.

In 1991, the University of Oregon in decided that Len Casanova's distinguished record merited an exception to State Board of Higher Education policy regarding the naming of buildings after living persons.

Len Casanova died following an extended illness on September 30,2002, at Sheldon Park Assisted Living in Eugene, Oregon.

At the time of his death, many Oregonians credited Len Casanova with building the foundation for Oregon's national status.

Len Casanova definitely left his mark not just on the University of Oregon but on football in general.

Len Casanova married Dixie Simmers of Santa Cruz, California on June 12,1931.

Three years after the passing of Dixie at age 51 on October 17,1960, Len Casanova married Margaret Pence Hathaway.