Frank Reagan

Interceptions:	35
Punts:	227
Punting yards:	9,288
Punting average:	40.9

Frank Reagan
	punter
NFL draft:	1941 / Round: 3 / Pick: 22
Career history
As a player:
	New York Giants (1941, 1946–1948); Philadelphia Eagles (1949–1951);
As a coach:
	Philadelphia Eagles (1952–1953); (Backfield); Villanova (1954–1959); (Head coach);
As an administrator:
	Villanova (1957–1961); (Athletic director);
Career highlights and awards
	NFL champion (1949); NFL interceptions leader (1947); First-team All-American (1940);
Career NFL statistics
Interceptions:
Interceptions:	35
Punts:	227
Punting yards:	9,288
Punting average:	40.9
	Player stats at PFR

Francis Xavier Reagan (July 28, 1919 – November 20, 1972) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played professionally for the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles during a seven-season National Football League (NFL) career that spanned from 1941 to 1951. Reagan served as the head football coach at Villanova University from 1954 to 1959, compiling a record of 16–36. He was also Villanova's athletic director from 1957 to 1961.

Early life and playing career

Born in Philadelphia, Reagan was a star quarterback and defensive back at Northeast Catholic High School and led the team to championships in 1935 and 1936. He was voted 1st Team All-Scholastic by the Philadelphia Bulletin in his senior year.

Reagan then played

kickoffs for 82 and punts for 21. Reagan was named a 1st Team All-American Back for the 1940 season. A captain of both the football and baseball teams, he was awarded the 1941 "Class of 1915 Award" as that member of the senior class who, "most closely approaches the ideal University of Pennsylvania student-athlete". Sportswriter Grantland Rice called him "one of the two best running backs in college football", the other being Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon of the University of Michigan

.

Reagan was drafted in the third round of the

NFL Champions in 1949. He played starting safety and recorded seven interceptions. He also punted for a 45-yard average and returned punts for 12.7 yards per return and one touchdown. During his pro career Reagan averaged 40.9 yards on 224 career punts. He finished his NFL career in 1951 with 35 interceptions, which led all of football before former teammate Emlen Tunnell passed him the following year.^[2]

He also scored six touchdowns on offense and threw a touchdown pass.

Coaching and administrative career, later life, honors

Following his retirement as a player and a brief tenure as an assistant coach of the Eagles, Reagan went on to become head coach at Villanova University in 1954. He stayed in that position until 1959. He remained the school's athletic director until 1961 when he went into partnership in an insurance brokerage firm in Norristown, Pennsylvania.

Reagan died of complications of lung cancer at age 53 in 1972.^[3] He is enshrined in both the Northeast Catholic HS Hall of Fame and the University of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame. In 2000, Philadelphia Daily News sports writer Ted Silary named Reagan as the best Philadelphia area born punter of the 20th century.

Head coaching record


Year	Team	Overall
Villanova Wildcats (NCAA University Division independent) (1954–1959)
1954	Villanova	1–9
1955	Villanova	1–9
1956	Villanova	5–4
1959	Villanova	3–6
1958	Villanova	6–4
1959	Villanova	0–4
Villanova:		16–36
Total:		16–36

References

^ "1941 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.
^ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/def_int_career_1951.htm
^ "Ex-Football Star, Frank Reagan, Dies", The Southern Illinoisan, November 21, 1972, Carbondale, Illinois

External links

Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference ·
Frank Reagan at Find a Grave

[1] "1941 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-31.

[2] ttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/def_int_career_1951.htm

[3] "Ex-Football Star, Frank Reagan, Dies", The Southern Illinoisan, November 21, 1972, Carbondale, Illinois

[2]

[3]