Len Casanova, one of the most successful coaches in Oregon football history and a beloved icon in Eugene, died late Monday night at a local nursing home. He was 97.
Casanova was the Ducks’ football coach from 1951-66, and he stepped down as the winningest coach in Oregon history. The next year, Casanova became the second athletic director for the Ducks and served until 1970, when he retired but continued to be active in the Oregon sports community until his death.
“He brought respect, dignity and integrity to Oregon athletics,” Athletic Director Bill Moos said.
Casanova was inducted into the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1977, and received the highest honor of the American Football Coaches Association, the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award, in 1990.
In 1991, the Oregon Athletic Department honored the former coach and athletic director by naming its brand new office and training facility after him. The facility stands today as a landmark for Oregon sports.
“I think of Cas every day as I drive in here,” Moos said from his office in the Casanova Center on Tuesday. “I look at his picture every day before I go up the stairs; it’s just a ritual. I’m glad that we built the tribute that we did in the entryway, so that people can read and learn about this great man and what he did for the University of Oregon.”
Casanova started his head coaching career at his alma mater, Santa Clara, where he coached for four seasons before moving on to Pittsburgh for one season. In 1951, he took over a 1-9 Oregon squad and slowly turned the team around, producing a 6-4 record in 1954 for the Ducks’ first winning season in six years. Casanova went to his first of three bowl games in 1957. In that game, Oregon nearly upset No. 1-ranked Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, the last time the Ducks would play in the Rose Bowl until 1994.
Casanova finished his Oregon career with an 82-73-8 record, and finished his overall head coaching career at 104-97-10.
As athletic director, Casanova had a direct hand in shaping the future of Oregon athletics. He served as a mentor to future Oregon legends like Bill Bowerman, John McKay and John Robinson. He was there as the Ducks birthed a track dynasty with Bowerman and Steve Prefontaine.
“We lost a great man,” Oregon head football coach Mike Bellotti said. “Len Casanova is a guy I try to emulate in terms of what I would hope to be as a coach.”
Born Leonard Joseph Casanova on June 12, 1905, in Ferndale, Calif., the former Oregon coach was once a team member himself, playing with the San Francisco Olympic Club for one season, although he always had his sights set on the sidelines.
Casanova, who once wrote in his high school yearbook about his coaching aspirations, started soon after his stint in San Francisco. He coached basketball and track at Belmont Military Academy in California for a year, moved on to an assistant coaching spot for the football squad at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Calif., and soon moved into the head coaching vacancy at Sequoia. Five years later he took over as assistant coach at Santa Clara before earning the head position in 1939.
“He was so well-respected,” Senior Associate Athletic Director Renee Baumgartner said. “That’s why people played so hard for him and loved him so much.”
After retiring as Oregon athletic director, Casanova spent the rest of his days in Eugene as a fund-raiser and ambassador for Oregon athletics.
“He was a tremendous fund-raiser because he knew everybody and everybody loved and respected him,” Moos said. “It was difficult for people to say no to Cas. As a general ambassador for the University, there could never be anybody more respected.”
Casanova is survived by his wife, Margaret; two daughters, Margot Casanova Wells and husband Jim Cook of Ferndale, Calif., and Andrea Casanova and husband Steve Stiles of Portland; three grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
Related Links:
“In his words: Casanova remembers full football life”
Bellotti on Casanova: ‘We lost a great man’
Former Ducks coach Casanova dead at 97
Len Casanova: 1905-2002
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