Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Illinois University from 1949 to 1953, at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll College—now known as Carroll University—in Waukesha, Wisconsin from 1959 to 1971, compiling a career college football coaching record of 106–71–7.
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1922 Melrose Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 21, 2007 (aged 85) Maurertown, Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1942 | Northwestern |
| 1944 | Galveston AAF |
| 1946–1947 | Northwestern |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1949–1953 | Western Illinois |
| 1954–1956 | Iowa State |
| 1959–1971 | Carroll (WI) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 106–71–7 |
| Bowls | 2–0 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 IIAC (1949) | |
Playing career
editDiFrancesca was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 31st round of the 1947 NFL draft.[1]
Coaching career
editWestern Illinois
editDiFrancesca was the head football coach at Western Illinois Leathernecks in Macomb, Illinois and he held that position for five seasons, from 1949 until 1953. His career coaching record at Western Illinois was 38–7–1.[2] Under DiFrancesca's leadership, Western's team was ranked among the best offensive and defensive teams in the nation for five years.[3]
Iowa State
editDiFrancesca was also the head coach at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956.[4] He was the 21st head coach for the Cyclones. His coaching record at Iowa State was 6–21–1.[5]
Carroll
editDiFrancesca's final head coaching job was as the 22nd head football coach at Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisconsin and he held that position for 13 seasons, from 1959 until 1971. His record at Carroll was 62–43–5.[4]
DiFrancesca also served as athletic director while he was head football coach.[4] He was inducted into the Carroll College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994.[6]
Personal life
editDiFrancesca died in May 2007 and was the father of both national radio talkshow host Janet Parshall of Janet Parshall's America and the late Charlie DiFrancesca, the subject of the book "Charlie Di: The Story of The Legendary Bond Trader", by William D. Fallon.[1] And, his youngest son John Di Francesca. DiFrancesca also had a wife Margret, who was a proud Icelandic, Baptist, Republican who converted Vince to her beliefs. The Di Francesca family came from Italy, lived in Evanston, Illinois on Ashland Ave. Raised Roman Catholic, mother Elizabeth Farina Di Francesca and father Salvatore, "Sam". Vince had two older brothers, Pete and Sam. All are deceased now.
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Illinois Leathernecks (Illinois / Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1949–1953) | |||||||||
| 1949 | Western Illinois | 9–1 | 4–0 | 1st | W Corn | ||||
| 1950 | Western Illinois | 7–1 | 4–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1951 | Western Illinois | 7–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1952 | Western Illinois | 7–2 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1953 | Western Illinois | 8–2 | 5–1 | 2nd | W Corn | ||||
| Western Illinois: | 38–7–1 | 22–4–1 | |||||||
| Iowa State Cyclones (Big Seven Conference) (1954–1956) | |||||||||
| 1954 | Iowa State | 3–6 | 1–5 | 6th | |||||
| 1955 | Iowa State | 1–7–1 | 1–4–1 | T–5th | |||||
| 1956 | Iowa State | 2–8 | 0–6 | 7th | |||||
| Iowa State: | 6–21–1 | 12–28–1 | |||||||
| Carroll Pioneers (College Conference of Illinois / College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) (1959–1971) | |||||||||
| 1959 | Carroll | 5–2–1 | 4–2–1 | 3rd | |||||
| 1960 | Carroll | 2–5–2 | 1–2–2 | 4th | |||||
| 1961 | Carroll | 6–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1962 | Carroll | 6–2 | 5–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1963 | Carroll | 5–4 | 3–3 | 5th | |||||
| 1964 | Carroll | 3–4–1 | 2–3–1 | T–4th | |||||
| 1965 | Carroll | 3–4–1 | 1–4–1 | T–5th | |||||
| 1966 | Carroll | 5–4 | 2–4 | T–5th | |||||
| 1967 | Carroll | 5–3 | 4–2 | 3rd | |||||
| 1968 | Carroll | 5–3 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 1969 | Carroll | 4–5 | 3–4 | T–4th | |||||
| 1970 | Carroll | 8–1 | 7–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1971 | Carroll | 5–3 | 5–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| Carroll: | 62–43–5 | 46–34–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 106–71–7 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b In Memoriam, Spring 2008, Northwestern University
- ^ "Western Illinois Coaching Records". Archived from the original on May 19, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
- ^ Alumni Association: Community: Western Illinois University
- ^ a b c "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 7, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Iowa State Coaching Records". Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
- ^ "Carroll University Athletics Hall of Fame". Carroll University. Retrieved June 27, 2013.