American football player, coach, and administrator (1919–2003)
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)
NFL (1941)
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).
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.
^The University of Oklahoma-Sooner Sports Archived March 17, 2008, at the Wayback Machine OU Football All Conference Honors
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for Southern Methodist University. HalLahar was announced as Houston's next head coach on January 18, 1957. Lahar came from Colgate University, where...
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Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Division football season. In its second consecutive season under head coach HalLahar (his seventh overall), the team compiled a 3–4–1 record. James Yurak was...
Cardinals B — 18 5 165 Ralph Stevenson Cleveland Rams G — 1941 9 9 79 HalLahar‡ Chicago Bears G NFL Champion (1941) Pro Bowl (1941) 14 8 128 Johnny Martin...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
the 1953 college football season. In its second season under head coach HalLahar, the team compiled a 3–4–2 record and was outscored by a total of 161...
the 1952 college football season. In its first season under head coach HalLahar, the team compiled a 6–3 record and outscored opponents by a total of...
west stands of the stadium, named for 1950s and 1960s football coach HalLahar and 1970s football player Robert Abeltin. In 2006, the stadium added a...
season play for Houston. The team was coached by first-year head coach HalLahar. The team played its games off-campus at Rice Stadium, which had been...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Marion F. Kirby, ace in the United States Army Air Forces (died 2011) HalLahar, American football player and coach (died 2003) Eugene Allen, waiter and...
1947), football player, Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh Steelers center HalLahar (1919–2003), pro football player, college coach Steve Largent (born 1954)...
during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. Head coach HalLahar returned for the fourth consecutive year, and the ninth overall. His 1965...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
Jewell Wallace (1946–1947) Clyde Lee (1948–1954) Bill Meek (1955–1956) HalLahar (1957–1961) Bill Yeoman (1962–1986) Jack Pardee (1987–1989) John Jenkins...
University Division football season. In its fourth season under head coach HalLahar, the team compiled a 6–4 record. Wiley Feagin, Jim Kuehne, and Jim Windham...
Division football season. Following the offseason departure of head coach HalLahar, the school promoted Fred Rice, its former backfield coach, who led the...
Division football season. In its third consecutive season under head coach HalLahar (his eighth overall), the team compiled a 7–2 record. Lee Woltman was...
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