 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | August 7, 1904 Leetsdale, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died: | November 26, 1975 (aged 71) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Duquesne |
| Career history | |
| As an executive: | |
| Executive profile at PFR | |
John D. Holahan (August 7, 1904 – November 26, 1975)[1] was an American sports executive. He served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1945 to 1950.
Holahan was born on August 7, 1904, in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania.[2] After attending the Duquesne Preparatory School starting in 1919, he later attended Duquesne University, where he graduated in 1928.[3][4]
As a senior at Duquesne, Holahan became the athletic program's business manager.[4] He remained with the team after his graduation in the position of graduate manager.[4] He was credited with helping the Duquesne Dukes football team establish itself in "the big time", according to The Pittsburgh Press.[4] In 1928, he was able to arrange a game against the Washington & Jefferson Presidents, which, with Duquesne's win, "paved the way for future bookings", including a game against major school Pittsburgh.[4]
In 1929, the team was struggling and Holahan said that "I knew we had to do something drastic or quit football."[4] He was able to work out a plan where the team would play Geneva at Forbes Field at night.[4] He was initially called a "lunatic" for his idea by the school president Martin Hehir, but Holahan's idea proved to be a major success and Hehir later came to him and said, "I was the lunatic, not you."[4] He ultimately remained as Duquesne's manager through 1941 with the exception of 1931, when he was the traveling secretary for the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3] He helped the team reach the Orange Bowl on two occasions, including defeats of both Miami and Mississippi State.[3]
Holahan registered for World War II in 1942.[2] In 1944, he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers (who played that year as the Card-Pitt due to a merger with the Chicago Cardinals) as public relations director.[5] He was promoted to general manager of the team in 1945 as they compiled a record of 2–8.[6] The team went 5–5–1 in 1946 before reaching the playoffs with a 8–4 record in 1947, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in what determined the team to play in the 1947 NFL Championship Game.[6] In subsequent seasons the team went 4–8 (1948), 6–5–1 (1949) and 6–6 (1950).[6] Holahan compiled an overall record of 31–36–2 as Steelers general manager.[6]
In early 1951, Holahan was appointed the state boxing commissioner and to the state athletic board, leading to his resignation from the Steelers.[7][8][9] He served two years on the state athletic commission and helped Pittsburgh be the host of two championship boxing matches.[3]
Holahan was a Republican politician and was elected to the Brentwood Borough Council, later becoming a justice of the peace.[3] He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, for which he was a county president, and served as president of the Brentwood-Whitehall Alumni Club at Duquesne.[3] He also was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers Alumni Association, Brentwood Volunteer Fire Company, Brentwood Heart Fund drive, was a committeeman for the St. Sylvester Church, and spent 13 years as an administrator at the John J. Kane Hospital in Pittsburgh.[3] He was married and had three daughters.[3]
Holahan died on November 26, 1975, at the John J. Kane Hospital in Pittsburgh, from a long illness, at the age of 71.[3] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in describing his career, noted that "Mr. Holahan, who occasionally seemed gruff to outsiders, was considered an efficient and hard-working executive."[3]
