Iowa high school football coaching legend, Dick Tighe, passes away

Dick Tighe spent over six decades coaching football, winning over 400 games

Dick Tighe, who spent over six decades coaching high school football, passed away on Tuesday. | Merydith Tighe Thomas/Facebook

The Iowa high school football coaching fraternity lost a central figure on Tuesday, as legendary head coach Dick Tighe passed away. He was 94 years old.

Tighe had coaching stints at St. Edmond Catholic School, Webster City High School, Iowa Falls-Alden High School, Carroll Kuemper High School and in Canada. He went 432-167-8 over 63 seasons, retiring in 2016.

At the time of his retirement, Tighe was first in the state in wins and ranked in the Top 10 nationally. His time spent on the sidelines was tied for first with South Carolina’s John McKissick for most ever.

Tighe took over a St. Edmond program that had lost 21 consecutive games, leading them to 108 wins over the next decade-plus. That included a trip to the school’s first-ever state championship game and another appearance in the state semifinals.

His coaching career began at St. Edmond in 1961, as he would return four decades later. Tighe graduated from Notre Dame and had six children with his wife, Margot, who passed away in 2012.