Leo Calland

Leo Calland
Sport(s) Football, basketball
Biographical details
Born February 24, 1901(1901-02-24)
Place of birth Ohio
Died March 17, 1984(1984-03-17) (aged 83)
Place of death La Jolla, San Diego, California
Playing career
Football
1920–1922

USC
Position(s) Guard (football)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1924
1925–1926
1927–1928
1929–1934
1935–1941

Basketball
1927–1929

USC (assistant)
Whittier
USC (assistant)
Idaho
San Diego State


USC
Head coaching record
Overall 62–61–5 (football)
38–10 (basketball)
Statistics
College Football Data Warehouse
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
2 SCIAC (1936–1937)

Basketball
1 PCC (1928)

Leo B. Calland (February 24, 1901 – March 17, 1984) was an American football and basketball player and coach who later became a San Diego city parks administrator. He served as the head football coach at Whittier College (1925–1926), the University of Idaho (1929–1934), and San Diego State College (1935–1941), compiling a career college football record of 62–61–5. Calland was also the head basketball coach at the University of Southern California for two seasons from 1927 to 1929, tallying a mark of 38–10.

Contents

Playing career

Calland was born in Ohio, and moved with his family as a child to the Seattle, Washington area, where he attended school in a log cabin on Lopez Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; all of the other students were Native Americans. He attended Seattle's Broadway High School, where he played football under coach Gus Henderson; when Henderson became football coach at the University of Southern California in 1919, Calland also enrolled. He lettered as a guard on the 1920 through 1922 teams, and in 1922 was named both team captain and most inspirational player on USC's first Rose Bowl team; he was named Player of the Game in the Trojans' 14–3 victory over Penn State. He also played basketball at USC.

Coaching career

After graduating from USC, Calland became an assistant football coach there in 1924 and from 1927 to 1928, and also coached freshman squads in basketball and baseball. Calland became head basketball coach at USC in 1927, posting a 38–10 record over two seasons and winning the Pacific Coast Conference title in his first year with a 22–4 mark. His .792 career winning percentage remains the highest by a USC basketball coach. Calland then became football coach at the University of Idaho (1929–1934) and San Diego State University (1935–1941). He compiled a 21–30 record at Idaho, and a 34–22–4 record at San Diego State. His San Diego State teams won Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, in 1936 and 1937, with players including John D. Butler, who became mayor of San Diego from 1951 to 1955.

Military career and later life

Calland entered the United States Navy during World War II, and served as a recreation officer at the 11th Naval District in San Diego. In 1945 he became director of San Diego's Department of Parks and Recreation; during his 15 years in the post, he oversaw the development of Mission Bay Park and the Torrey Pines Golf Course. In 1960 he became managing director of the San Diego Hall of Champions; he remained in that position until retiring in 1977, and was himself inducted into the Hall in 1974.

Calland died at age 83 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in La Jolla, California. He was survived by his wife Sarah, two daughters and a son, and was buried in Fairhaven Cemetery in Santa Ana, California.

Head coaching record

Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Whittier Poets (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1925–1926)
1925 Whittier 3–5 2–2
1926 Whittier 4–4–1 4–2–1
Whittier: 7–9–1 6–4–1
Idaho Vandals (Pacific Coast Conference) (1929–1934)
1929 Idaho 4–5 1–4 T–7th
1930 Idaho 4–7 0–5 10th
1931 Idaho 3–4 1–4 8th
1932 Idaho 3–5 1–4 T–8th
1933 Idaho 4–4 1–4 9th
1934 Idaho 3–5 1–4 8th
Idaho: 21–30 5–25
San Diego State Aztecs (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1935–1938)
1935 San Diego State 3–4–1 2–2–1 T–3rd
1936 San Diego State 6–1–1 5–0 1st
1937 San Diego State 7–1 4–1 1st
1938 San Diego State 5–2–1 3–2–1 3rd
San Diego State Aztecs (California Collegiate Athletic Association) (1939–1941)
1939 San Diego State 2–7 0–2 4th
1930 San Diego State 5–3–1 1–1–1 T–2nd
1941 San Diego State 6–4 0–3 4th
San Diego State Aztecs: 34–22–4 15–11–3
Total: 62–61–5
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title

See also

References

External links