Francis Joseph Nagle (July 1, 1924 – August 15, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and professor of physiology.
Early Life and Military Service
Nagle graduated from high school in West Lynn, Massachusetts, and served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He worked as a radio operator on a B-24 bomber, which was shot down on his first mission. He spent the last three months of the war as a prisoner of war.
Playing Career
Nagle initially attended Massachusetts State College–Fort Devens (a temporary two-year college for military veterans) from 1947 to 1948, where he became the school's starting quarterback despite having never played football before. In 1949, he followed his coach, Bob Davis, to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. As a quarterback at Nebraska, Nagle was the statistical leader for passing yards in both 1949 and 1950. He holds a career Nebraska top-25 passing record with 1,289 yards on 190 attempts, a 41.6% completion rate, and 13 touchdowns.
Nagle was selected as the 43rd pick in the fourth round of the 1951 National Football League draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. In 1952, he was signed by the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, but a training camp injury ended his playing career.
Honors
- 1950: Big Seven Conference All-Conference selection
- 1951: Played in the Senior Bowl, the College All-Star game, and the East-West Shrine Game
- 1992: Inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame
Coaching Career
Nagle served as the 25th head football coach at Doane College in Crete, Nebraska, for two seasons (1953–1954). His overall coaching record was 6–10–2.
Later Life and Academia
Nagle earned a PhD in physiology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 1966 and subsequently taught physiology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He died on August 15, 2014, at the age of 90.
