Hal Lahar

Harold Wade Lahar (July 14, 1919 – October 20, 2003) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Colgate University (1952–1956, 1962–1967) and the University of Houston (1957–1961).

Hal Lahar

Lahar at Houston, circa 1957
Biographical details
Born	(1919-07-14)July 14, 1919 Durant, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	October 20, 2003(2003-10-20) (aged 84) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
1938–1940	Oklahoma
1941	Chicago Bears
1946–1948	Buffalo Bills
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1950–1951	Arkansas (assistant)
1952–1956	Colgate
1957–1961	Houston
1962–1967	Colgate
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1967–1973	Colgate
Head coaching record
Overall	77–63–10
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 MVC (1957, 1959)

Lahar was born in Durant, Oklahoma and attended Central High School in Oklahoma City. He later was an All-Big Six Conference guard for the Oklahoma Sooners under coach Tom Stidham.^[1] Lahar was selected 79th overall in the 1941 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears,^[2][3] where he spent the 1941 NFL season before serving in the United States Navy in the South Pacific during World War II.

After leaving the service as a Lieutenant (junior grade) in 1945, Lahar played for the Buffalo Bills of the All-America Football Conference from 1946 to 1948^[4] before beginning his college coaching career as an assistant under Otis Douglas at the University of Arkansas in 1950. In 1952, he became the 25th head coach at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. In 1957, he succeeded Bill Meek at the University of Houston, where he spent five years, before returning to Colgate in 1962, making him the first man to return to a Division I head-coaching job after leaving for another school.^[5] Following the 1967 season, Lahar retired from coaching and served as athletic director at Colgate. His overall coaching record at Colgate was 53–40–8.

Lahar was also assistant commissioner of the Southwest Conference. He worked at the now-defunct SWC from 1973 until his retirement in 1983. Upon his death in 2003, Lahar was buried in the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Head coaching record

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs
Colgate Red Raiders (NCAA University Division independent) (1952–1956)
1952	Colgate	6–3
1953	Colgate	3–4–2
1954	Colgate	5–2–2
1955	Colgate	6–3
1956	Colgate	4–5
Colgate:		24–17–4
Houston Cougars (Missouri Valley Conference) (1957–1959)
1957	Houston	5–4–1	3–0	1st
1958	Houston	5–4	2–2	3rd
1959	Houston	3–7	3–1	1st
Houston Cougars (NCAA University Division independent) (1960–1961)
1960	Houston	6–4
1961	Houston	5–4–1
Houston:		24–23–2	8–3
Colgate Red Raiders (NCAA University Division independent) (1962–1967)
1962	Colgate	3–5–1
1963	Colgate	3–4–1
1964	Colgate	7–2
1965	Colgate	6–3–1
1966	Colgate	8–1–1
1967	Colgate	2–8
Colgate:		29–23–4
Total:		77–63–10
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References

1. The University of Oklahoma-Sooner Sports March 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine OU Football All Conference Honors
2. "1941 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
3. NFL Football Database February 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Hal Lahar
4. The Encyclopedia of Pro Football In Western New York: 1900-1949^{[permanent dead link]} by Jerome Collins and PFRA Western New York Committee
5. Colgate Raiders News Archived January 24, 2013, at archive.today "Harold Lahar, Former Colgate Coach-Athletic Director Dies"

External links

• Hal Lahar at Find a Grave