University of Houston Athletics
Former Cougar Head Coach Passes Away
10/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 21, 2003
HOUSTON, Texas - Former University of Houston head football coach Harold Lahar passed away on Monday in Dallas at age 84. He served as the Cougars head coach from 1957-1961.
Lahar posted a 24-23-2 record in five seasons for UH, winning the Missouri Valley Conference title in his first and third seasons. In 1957 after taking over from Bill Meek, Lahar made an immediate impact with the Cougar football program, finishing 5-4-1 overall and 3-0-1 to capture the MVC title.
Two seasons later Lahar finished the 1959 season with his only losing season (3-7) while at the helm of the Houston program; however, the Cougars finished 3-1 in the Missouri Valley to win the league title-the school's third in four seasons. He finished out his tenure with a 6-4 record in 1960 and a 5-4-1 stanza in 1961.
Lahar was twice the football coach at Colgate University after brief career as a pro player. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma and spent one season with the Chicago Bears as a guard before serving with the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II.
Lahar left the service in 1945. He played for the Buffalo Bills of the All-American Conference from 1947-49, then began his college coaching career as an assistant at the University of Arkansas in 1950.
Lahar, who also was Colgate's athletic director, became the school's head football coach in 1952 and stayed five seasons before moving on to UH. Colgate rehired Lahar in 1962 as both athletic director and coach, making him the first man to return to a Division I head-coaching job after leaving for another school. In 11 seasons as Colgate coach, Lahar went 53-40-8.
Lahar was also assistant commissioner of the Southwest Conference, where re-established ties with his former employer. He worked at the now-defunct SWC from 1973 until his retirement in 1983.
He is survived by his wife, Dottie, two children, three grandchildren and a sister.
Funeral services will be held Friday at First Baptist Church of Plano, with burial at Dallas National Cemetery.
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