Joe Faragalli

Joe Faragalli

Date of birth	(1929-04-18)April 18, 1929
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Date of death
Place of death	Narragansett, Rhode Island
Career information
Position(s)	G
College	Villanova
NFL draft	1954 / Round: 12 / Pick: 138
Career history
As coach
1967–1969	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OL)
1970–1972	Brown (OL)
1973	Marshall (OC)
1975	Oklahoma State (OL)
1976	Winnipeg Blue Bombers (OL)
1977–1980	Edmonton Eskimos (OL)
1981–1983	Saskatchewan Roughriders
1984	Cincinnati Bengals (WR/QB)
1985	Houston Oilers (OC)
1986	Buffalo Bills (TE)
1987	Montreal Alouettes
1987–1990	Edmonton Eskimos
1991	Ottawa Rough Riders
Career highlights and awards
Grey Cup champion (1978, 1979, 1980, 1987)

Joe Faragalli (April 18, 1929 – April 10, 2006) was a gridiron football player and coach who had most of his success in the Canadian Football League. Faragalli played guard at Villanova University from 1950 to 1953, and was the team captain all four years. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 12th round (138 overall pick) of the 1954 NFL Draft. He served four years in Germany with the United States Army and went on to coach college football in the United States.

Coaching career

Known affectionately throughout the CFL as "Papa Joe," Faragalli joined the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 1967 as an offensive coach. In 1981, he became head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and was awarded the Annis Stukus Trophy as Coach of the Year; the team, 2–14 in each of the preceding two seasons, finished with a 9–7 record in 1981. Faragalli was replaced by Rueben Berry in 1983 after Saskatchewan got off to a 1-5 start to the season.

Faragalli's greatest CFL coaching achievement, in 1987, almost never happened. He began that year as coach of the Montreal Alouettes, but the franchise ceased operations days before the start of the season. After Jackie Parker resigned as Edmonton Eskimos coach two games into the year due to health reasons, Faragalli was hired and led the team to a Grey Cup win against the Toronto Argonauts.

The Eskimos played in the 1990 Grey Cup game under Faragalli, but lost to Winnipeg. He coached the Ottawa Rough Riders in 1991.

During the 1980s, he worked as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills. His son Mike also coached in the CFL.

Faragalli died in Narragansett, Rhode Island on April 10, 2006, of heart failure eight days before his 77th birthday and approximately one month before his 50th wedding anniversary.

Head coaching record

CFL

Team	Year	Regular Season					Post Season
		Won	Lost	Ties	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Result
SSK	1981	9	7	0	.563	4th in West Division	–	–	Missed Playoffs
SSK	1982	6	9	1	.406	5th in West Division	–	–	Missed Playoffs
SSK Total		15	16	1	.484	0 West Division Championships	-	-	0 Grey Cups
EDM	1987	9	7	0	.563	2nd in West Division	3	0	Won Grey Cup
EDM	1988	11	7	0	.611	1st in West Division	0	1	Lost in Division Finals
EDM	1989	16	2	0	.889	1st in West Division	0	1	Lost in Division Finals
EDM	1990	10	8	0	.556	2nd in West Division	2	1	Lost Grey Cup
EDM Total		46	24	0	.657	2 West Division Championships	5	3	1 Grey Cup
OTT	1991	7	7	0	.389	3rd in East Division	0	1	Lost in Division Semi-Finals
OTT Total		7	7	0	.389	0 East Division Championships	0	1	0 Grey Cups
Total		68	51	1	.571	2 West Division Championships	5	4	1 Grey Cup