Leo Calland

Leo B. Calland (February 24, 1901 – March 17, 1984) was an American football and basketball player and coach who later became a San Diego city parks administrator. He served as the head football coach at Whittier College (1925–1926), the University of Idaho (1929–1934), and San Diego State College (1935–1941), compiling a career college football record of 62–61–5. Calland was also the head basketball coach at the University of Southern California (USC) for two seasons, from 1927 to 1929, tallying a mark of 38–10.

Playing career
Calland was born in Ohio, and moved with his family as a child to the Seattle, Washington area, where he attended school in a log cabin on Lopez Island in the Strait of Juan de Fuca; all of the other students were Native Americans. He attended Seattle's Broadway High School, where he played football under coach Gus Henderson; when Henderson became football coach at USC in 1919, Calland also enrolled. He lettered as a guard on the 1920 through 1922 teams, and in 1922 was named both team captain and most inspirational player on USC's first Rose Bowl team; he was named Player of the Game in the Trojans' 14–3 victory over Penn State. He also played basketball at USC.

Coaching career
After graduating from USC, Calland became an assistant football coach there in 1924 and from 1927 to 1928, and also coached freshman squads in basketball and baseball. Calland became head basketball coach at USC in 1927, posting a 38–10 record over two seasons and winning the Pacific Coast Conference title in his first year with a 22–4 mark. His .792 career winning percentage remains the highest by a USC basketball coach. Calland then became head football coach and athletic director at the University of Idaho (1929–34) and San Diego State College (1935–41). He compiled a 21–30 record at Idaho, and a 34–22–4 record at San Diego State. His San Diego State teams won two SCIAC championships, in 1936 and 1937, with players including John D. Butler, who became mayor of San Diego from 1951 to 1955.

Military career and later life
Calland entered the U.S. Navy during World War II, and served as a recreation officer at the 11th Naval District in San Diego. In 1945 he became director of San Diego's Department of Parks and Recreation; during his 15 years in the post, he oversaw the development of Mission Bay Park and the Torrey Pines Golf Course. In 1960 he became managing director of the San Diego Hall of Champions; he remained in that position until retiring in 1977, and was himself inducted into the Hall in 1974.

Calland died at age 83 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in La Jolla. He was survived by his wife Sarah, two daughters and a son, and was buried in Fairhaven Cemetery in Santa Ana.

Additional sources

 * Laurence, Robert P. "Leo Calland dies; grid star, coach." The San Diego Union, March 19, 1984, pp. B1-2.