Ray Flaherty

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American football player and coach (1903–1994)

title: "Ray Flaherty" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1903-births", "1994-deaths", "american-football-ends", "boston-redskins-head-coaches", "chicago-rockets-coaches", "gonzaga-bulldogs-football-coaches", "gonzaga-bulldogs-men's-basketball-coaches", "gonzaga-bulldogs-football-players", "gonzaga-preparatory-school-alumni", "gonzaga-university-alumni", "new-york-giants-players", "new-york-yankees-(aafc)-coaches", "new-york-yankees-(nfl)-players", "washington-redskins-head-coaches", "los-angeles-wildcats-players", "nfl-players-with-retired-numbers", "pro-football-hall-of-fame-inductees", "united-states-navy-officers", "united-states-navy-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "basketball-coaches-from-washington-(state)", "sportspeople-from-whitman-county,-washington", "players-of-american-football-from-spokane,-washington", "gonzaga-bulldogs-men's-track-and-field-athletes", "gonzaga-bulldogs-men's-basketball-players", "gonzaga-bulldogs-baseball-players"] description: "American football player and coach (1903–1994)" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Flaherty" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American football player and coach (1903–1994) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox NFL biography"]

FieldValue
nameRay Flaherty
imageRay flaherty photo 1940s.jpg
captionFlaherty 1940s
number20, 11, 17, 6, 1
positionEnd
birth_date
birth_placeLamont, Washington, U.S.
death_date
death_placeCoeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S.
height_ft6
height_in0
weight_lb190
high_schoolGonzaga (Spokane, Washington)
collegeWashington State (1922)
Gonzaga (1923–1925)
statlabel1Receptions
statvalue141
statlabel2Receiving yards
statvalue2626
statlabel3Receiving touchdowns
statvalue320
regular_recordCollege:
NFL:
AAFC:
**Total: **
playoff_recordNFL:
AAFC:
**Total: **
overall_recordCollege:
NFL:
AAFC:
**Total: **
pfrFlahRa20
pfrcoachFlahRa0
HOFray-flaherty
::

| name = Ray Flaherty | image = Ray flaherty photo 1940s.jpg | alt = | caption = Flaherty 1940s | number = 20, 11, 17, 6, 1 | position = End | birth_date = | birth_place = Lamont, Washington, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S. | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 0 | weight_lb = 190 | high_school = Gonzaga (Spokane, Washington) | college = Washington State (1922) Gonzaga (1923–1925) | pastteams =

Raymond Paul Flaherty (September 1, 1903 – July 19, 1994) was an American professional football player and coach who spent 18 total seasons in the National Football League (NFL) as both a player and a coach. He played college football for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and played for the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League (AFL) and the New York Yankees and New York Giants of the NFL. The Giants retired his jersey number 1, the first in NFL history, upon his playing retirement in 1935.

Flaherty was head coach of Gonzaga's football and basketball teams in 1930 and 1931, the NFL's Washington Redskins from 1936 to 1942, and the New York Yankees and Chicago Hornets of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in the latter half of the 1940s. He was a member of three NFL championship teams, one with the Giants in 1934 and two as Redskins head coach in 1937 and 1942, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976.

Early life

Born on a farm near Lamont in eastern Washington, Flaherty grew up in Spokane and was a multi-sport athlete at Gonzaga High School (now Gonzaga Prep) and Gonzaga University, where he played with Hust Stockton under head coach Gus Dorais. As a freshman, Flaherty attended Washington State College in Pullman, then transferred to Gonzaga before his sophomore year.

Professional career

Flaherty began his professional football career in 1926 with the Los Angeles Wildcats of the American Football League, a team of western players based in Illinois. It played all its games on the road in its only season, which ended with a post-season barnstorming tour through the South against league rival New York Yankees. Flaherty then played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, first with the Yankees (1927–1928) with Red Grange, until the franchise folded following the 1928 season. He joined the New York Giants, 1929 through the 1935 season, except for 1930, when he returned to Spokane as the head coach at his alma mater, Gonzaga. He also coached the Bulldog basketball team for a season (1930–1931). At the end of the 1935 season, Flaherty's jersey number 1 was 'taken out of circulation', thus making Flaherty the first professional football player to have his number retired. In 2024, wide receiver Malik Nabers was given permission by Flaherty's family to wear the number. In 1930, Flaherty played minor league baseball as a second baseman with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League.

Head coaching career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/George_Marshall_and_Ray_Flaherty,football_coach_of_Washington_Redskins(cropped).jpg" caption="Flaherty (''right'') as [[Washington Redskins]] head coach meeting with team owner [[George Preston Marshall]], 1937"] ::

Following his playing career, Flaherty was hired by George Preston Marshall, owner of the NFL's Boston Redskins, as head coach for the 1936 season.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=t9RXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DPUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3155%2C7509107 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=Washington |agency=Associated Press |title=Flaherty to coach Boston Redskins |date=December 24, 1935 |page=1 }} The team won the division title that year, then relocated to Washington, D.C. for the 1937 season, and picked up future hall of fame quarterback Sammy Baugh in the first round of the 1937 NFL draft.

The Redskins held their 1940 training camp in Spokane at Gonzaga;{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ROJXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RvUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3352%2C1235253 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Washington |title=Flaherty sends Redskins into first practice grind |date=August 6, 1940 |page=11 }} the previous year's camp was also held in Spokane County, at Eastern Washington College in Cheney.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=geFXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PvUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6824%2C5105922 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle|location=Washington|title=Redskins will train on Gonzaga field starting August 6 |date=July 24, 1940 |page=11}} In 1941 and 1942, the Redskins trained in California in San Diego at Brown Military Academy.

-- Flaherty served as an officer in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then returned to pro football in 1946 as a head coach in the new All-America Football Conference (AAFC). With the New York Yankees, he won division titles in each of his two full seasons at the helm, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the title games. After a poor start in 1948, owner Dan Topping relieved Flaherty of his duties in mid-September. Several months later he was hired as head coach of the AAFC's Chicago Hornets, known as the Rockets in their three previous seasons. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 for his contributions as a coach.

After football

After the end of the AAFC in 1949, Flaherty returned to the Spokane area to enter private business as a beverage distributor, and lived in nearby northern Idaho. During football season, he was a part-time columnist for the Spokane Daily Chronicle.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-CZYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=G_cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5151%2C1095428 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Washington|title=Flaherty experts on football again |date=September 5, 1958 |page=11 }} A college friend of Bing Crosby, Flaherty participated in the singer's Spokane memorial service in 1977.

After an extended illness at the age of 90, Flaherty died on July 19, 1994, in Hayden, Idaho.

Head coaching record

College

| name = Gonzaga Bulldogs | conf = Independent | startyear = 1930 | endyear = single | championship = | year = 1930 | name = Gonzaga | overall = 1–7–1 | conference = | confstanding = | bowlname = | bowloutcome = | bcsbowl = | ranking = no | ranking2 = no | name = Gonzaga | overall = 1–7–1 | confrecord = | overall = 1–7–1 | bowls = no | poll = no | polltype = | legend = no

Professional

::data[format=table] | Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | BOS||1936 | WAS||1937 | WAS||1938 | WAS||1939 | WAS||1940 | WAS||1941 | WAS||1942 | WAS/NFL Total|| 54 || 21 || 5 || 72.0 |||| 2 || 2 || .500 || | NYY||1946 | NYY||1947 | NYY||1948 | NYY AAFC Total|| 22 || 8 || 2 || .733 |||| 0 || 2 || .000 || | CHI||1949 | CHI AAFC Total|| 4 || 8 || 0 || .333 |||| - || - || - || - | AAFC Total|| 26 || 16 || 2 || .619 |||| 0 || 2 || .000 || - | Professional Total|| 80 || 37 || 5 || .684 |||| 2 || 4 || .333 || | Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | |7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost NFL Championship to Green Bay Packers | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 1st in Eastern Division | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Won NFL Championship over Chicago Bears | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |6 | 3 | 2 | .667 | 2nd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |8 | 2 | 1 | .800 | 2nd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |9 | 2 | 0 | .818 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost NFL Championship to Chicago Bears | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |6 | 5 | 0 | .545 | 3rd in Eastern Division | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |10 | 1 | 0 | .909 | 1st in Eastern Division | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Won NFL Championship over Chicago Bears | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost AAFC Championship Game to Cleveland Browns | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 1st in Eastern Division | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost AAFC Championship Game to Cleveland Browns | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | fired in mid-season | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 4th in AAFC | - | - | - | - | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

References

References

  1. Blanchette, John. (July 20, 1994). "NFL legend Ray Flaherty dies". Spokesman-Review.
  2. Godes, Kerry. (March 30, 1987). "Gonzaga Prep selects six for its new Hall of Fame". Spokane Chronicle.
  3. "RAY FLAHERTY".
  4. Derrick, Merle. (January 27, 1976). "Flaherty honored". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  5. (May 4, 1980). "Ray Flaherty Gonzaga coach". Spokesman-Review.
  6. (January 7, 1931). "Irish casaba tossers hit winning stride; play Spokane Sparklers Saturday night". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  7. Berry, Allison. (February 2, 2012). "Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About the New York Giants".
  8. "Malik Nabers to wear No. 1 with permission from Flaherty family".
  9. Blanchette, John. (July 22, 1994). "Flaherty earned due respect". Spokesman-Review.
  10. Blanchette, John. (November 2, 1983). "Papa Bear met his match in Ray Flaherty". Spokesman-Review.
  11. (September 4, 1980). "Legends: Flaherty in 'same class'". Ellensburg Daily Record.
  12. (August 8, 1939). "Pro grid squad begins practice". Spokesman-Review.
  13. Johnson, Bob. (January 19, 1959). "Woo Redskins". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  14. Johnson, Bob. (January 28, 1972). "Two trips west". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  15. "Training camp history". Redskins RVA.
  16. (September 18, 1948). "Yankees "fire" Ray Flaherty as grid coach". Spokesman-Review.
  17. (February 1, 1949). "Ray Flaherty to get Chappuis and others". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  18. Missildine, Harry. (January 27, 1976). "Flaherty named to pro grid hall". Spokesman-Review.
  19. (July 24, 1976). "Ray Flaherty gains Hall induction today". Spokesman-Review.
  20. Hewins, Jack. (August 22, 1951). "Flaherty won't coach unless offer "too good to decline" appears". Spokesman-Review.
  21. (September 3, 1954). "Flaherty to conduct football dope column". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  22. (October 17, 1977). "Crosby service set". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
  23. Smith, Jim. (October 19, 1977). "Memorial rites held for city favorite, Bing Crosby". Spokesman-Review.
  24. . ["NCAA Statistics; Coach; Ray Flaherty"](https://stats.ncaa.org/people/24329?sport_code=MFB). *[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]]*.

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