Harry's Legacy
Hank Leyland didn't have to search far to find his hero.
In fact, he didn't have to look at all.
“Some people have to spend their whole life looking for that hero, that person to look up to, a role model,” Leyland said.
“I was fortunate to grow up with one.”
Of course, Hank Leyland did not have an exclusive relationship with his father, Harry Leyland. He had to share his dad with hundreds — perhaps thousands — of others.
And didn't mind a bit.
Harry Leyland, a football coach in the Butler Area Midget Football League for 50 years and a basketball coach at Butler Catholic for 40 years, died Wednesday at the age of 85.
Hank wound up playing for his father with the South Side Blue Streaks of the BAMFL. He wound up coaching with him — and coaching years after him.
“I saw what he did and how he did it,” Leyland said. “He loved it. And I wanted to do what he did.”
Harry Leyland won 10 BAMFL championships while coaching at South Side and East Butler. He won numerous section titles, two diocesan championships and state playoff tournaments with Butler Catholic basketball.
He was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. Butler Catholic named its gym the Harry Leyland Gymnasium in 2010. Leyland's name joined Greg Brown, Bob Zavacky and George “Red”Slater on a sign of gratitude posted on the wall of the locker room at Butler's Memorial Field last year.
None of those honors mattered much to Harry Leyland.
“He could have coached football at any level,” former BAMFL president Chris Morrow said. “High school, college, anywhere. He wanted to stay at the purest level — teaching kids who wanted to learn the game.
“The common denominator between football and basketball for him was being around people. He loved developing relationships with people.”
Butler County Community College basketball coach Dick Hartung said Leyland “left an impression on so many young men and women in this town, it's impossible to measure. His legacy is unbelievable.
“Harry was a giver. He wasn't a taker. All those years he coached, he never made a plum nickel. All volunteer ... incredible.”
Leyland spent his own money at times. His son recalled plenty of trips to Pittsburgh for basketball.
“He never even received a stipend for all he did,” Hank Leyland said. “He'd drive us to Pittsburgh two or three times a week. He always said we had to get out of Butler, play other teams and get better.”
Leyland was all about “teaching you how to get to another level you didn't think you were capable of getting to,” Hank said.
One example of that is the 1972 South Side team that won the BAMFL title. That same team scored only one touchdown the previous season.
In explaining that turnaround, Harry Leyland was quoted by then Butler Eagle sports editor Mike Surkalo: “After losing as we did last year, our kids simply had that much more determination to do well.”
Leyland never took credit for his teachings, but he often basked in their results.
Bob Zavacky coached on and off in the BAMFL for nearly 30 years. His is one of the many lives impacted by Leyland.“I don't even get into coaching if it wasn't for him,” Zavacky said. “He was my mentor. I coached off and on, would miss years to re-energize my passion.“Harry's passion never ended. All those years, he devoted so much effort into football season, then would transition right into basketball and do it again. He never took a break. That always amazed me.”Matt Savannah is an assistant football coach at Knoch High School who played for Leyland in the BAMFL.“A lot of what I do in coaching, my philosophies, I learned from Harry,” Savannah said. “He didn't just coach. He modeled what he taught.“He'd get down in the stance he wanted you in. He'd make a tackle, roll around in the grass, to show you how he wanted you to tackle.“The lesson I learned from him and have kept with me all my life is that hard work pays off. Nobody is going to out-work us. That stuck with me,” Savannah added.Longtime professional boxer Brian Minto played for Leyland as well.“Man, he was loud. His voice would just carry,” Minto said. “He just taught the basics of football and he showed us how to win.“Harry Leyland was committed to his teams. That's what I remember about him.”Hank Leyland said his father excelled at “building kids up” through his coaching methods.“If an outsider was to walk into the gym or by the football field, he'd hear Dad yelling and would wonder what was going on,” he said. “What he wouldn't hear is the whispers of encouragement he always gave at the same time.”Zavacky described Leyland as “tough as nails ... and the kids loved him for it.”Longtime BAMFL and Butler varsity assistant coach Ralph McElhaney said Leyland was a no-nonsense guy who didn't hold anything back.“He always said what was on his mind, a dedicated guy to the youth of this community,” McElhaney said. “Nobody in this town had a bigger impact on youth.”Youth football and basketball will go on, but not without Harry Leyland's touch. That's rubbed off on plenty of people coaching today.“He was the best. I loved the guy,” Hartung said.“He was more than a great coach. He was a great man,” Savannah said.Leyland's son captured what his father did with his coaching.“He taught kids about life and he used sports to do that,” Hank Leyland said. “His message was simple. Whatever your passion is in life, give it your best. Maximum effort.“God knows, that's what he did.”
