Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 25, 1930, Iowa’s all-time winningest high school football coach Dick Tighe was born. Over 63 seasons, Tighe racked up 432 victories while leading Webster City, Carroll Keumper, Iowa Falls, and Fort Dodge St. Edmond to success on the gridiron.
Born on a family farm near Homer, Nebraska, as the seventh of nine children in an Irish-Catholic family, Tighe attended Notre Dame. Despite not playing football for the Fighting Irish, he knew he wanted to coach football. He served in the Army during the Korean War before landing his first coaching job at Cathedral Boys High School in Hamilton, Ontario (Canada) as a twenty-three-year-old. Tighe’s team went 7-1-1 during his first season at the helm. In 1960, he moved his young family to Iowa when he took a job at St. Edmond in Fort Dodge.
After a single initial season with the Gaels, Tighe took his talents to Carroll Kuemper. Teaching seven sections of history each day, the young coach spent five seasons coaching the Knights before eventually moving on to Webster City. Tighe led the Lynx for the next 31 years. In 1971, he led Webster City to a 9-0 season and produced five consecutive one-loss teams between 1981 and 1986. The Lynx often met legendary Harlan High School coach Curt Bladt in epic playoff matchups.
When Webster City chose not to renew the 67-year-old Tighe’s contract in 1997, he spent four years as a co-head coach at Iowa Falls. Returning to where his all-time best wins total for Iowa high school football started at St. Edmond in 2002, Tighe coached the Gaels for an additional 15 seasons. After 432 career wins, the old ball coach hung up the whistle at 86 years old following the 2016 season. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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