Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 30, 1995 TAG: 9505020052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
He was 56 years old.
Fallon, Washington and Lee's winningest football coach, is survived by his wife, Patti, their three daughters, Kerri, Kelly and Sue, and seven grandchildren.
The cause of death was not announced, but a person close to the family said it was a heart attack. Fallon died in bed, where he was discovered by his wife upon her return from a morning tennis match.
``Right now, the Washington and Lee community is just in a state of shock,'' said Mike Walsh, Washington and Lee's director of athletics. ``We have lost a true friend, a wonderful coach and an unusually fine person. It will take time to get over this. Our immediate thoughts go out to Patti, the children and the grandchildren. He was a dedicated family man.''
Fallon, a former Marine and a three-sport standout at Syracuse from 1958-1962, was ``in great shape for a man 56 years old,'' said Norris Aldridge, a veteran assistant coach on Fallon's staff.
``When I was told [that Fallon had died], I had to ask the person to repeat it twice,'' said Aldridge, who has been an assistant for 26 years under three coaches at Washington and Lee. ``I was in his office on Friday. He seemed to be in a good mood. He wasn't sick. He took care of himself. He lifted weights, ran, played racquetball - he appeared to be in perfect health.''
During the off-season, Fallon officiated college lacrosse games, including games in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
``You've got to be in good shape to do that,'' said Aldridge.
Aldridge said he and other assistants will meet with the football team today. Funeral arrangements had not been announced.
Among active ODAC coaches, Fallon's 17-year coaching tenure with the Generals was the longest with one school.
``He was certainly the dean of head coaches,'' said ODAC commissioner Dan Wooldridge, who also worked as a football official during Fallon's career. ``He was the kind of guy our other coaches [in the ODAC] looked up to. He was a hard-nosed football coach. I know he used to get on us officials a lot, but he was a great guy. I'm shocked. Shocked.''
Fallon compiled a record of 76-85-1 and won two Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships at Washington and Lee. He was named ODAC coach of the year three times - 1981, 1988 and 1992.
His teams posted six straight winning seasons from 1980-85 and won ODAC championships in 1981 and 1985. The Generals' 1981 championship was their first in football since 1962. Fallon's teams finished .500 or better in 11 of the past 15 seasons.
Fallon's 1994 team finished 5-4.
In the early 1980s, Fallon coached the Roanoke Valley Express semiprofessional football team, a squad that played during the summer months.
``We had guys who had graduated from college, guys who were older,'' said William Fleming football coach George Miller, who was the Express' defensive coordinator. ``We had guys who were bitter that they hadn't made the NFL. But there was no joking when Coach Fallon got there. It was a different mixture of guys. You needed a disciplined head coach. He did a good job of molding those guys together.''
A native of Watertown, N.Y., Fallon came to Washington and Lee in 1978 after serving six years as an assistant coach at Princeton. Before that, he worked as an assistant at Ithaca College in 1970-71. He earned varsity letters in football, lacrosse and wrestling at Syracuse.
A star fullback in football, Fallon was a fullback on the 1959 national championship squad that defeated Texas 23-14 in the Cotton Bowl. He also played on the 1961 Liberty Bowl squad. In lacrosse, he was a midfielder who was named to the North-South All-Star Game in 1962.
He played three seasons of professional football from 1962-64. He played with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings in 1962, then played with the Hamilton Tiger Cats of the Canadian Football League in 1962 and the CFL's Toronto Argonauts in 1963.
Fallon served two years of active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned two degrees from Syracuse: a bachelor of arts in physical education in 1962 and a master's degree in special educations in 1967. He was an associate professor of physical education at Washington and Lee.
by CNB