Sport(s) Football Name Al Onofrio 1941–1942 Arizona State Role American football player | 1958–1970 Missouri (assistant) Positions Halfback 1971–1977 Missouri | |
Born March 15, 1921
Culver City, California ( 1921-03-15 ) 1946–1950 Arizona State (assistant) 1955–1957 Arizona State (assistant) Died November 5, 2004, Tempe, Arizona, United States | ||
Early 1970s Mizzou Football History
Albert Joseph "Al" Onofrio (March 15, 1921 – November 5, 2004) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Missouri from 1971 to 1977, compiling a record of 38–41. He spent 13 years, from 1958 to 1970, as an assistant coach at Missouri under Dan Devine. His Missouri football teams upset the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on October 21, 1972 at South Bend, Indiana, the Alabama Crimson Tide on September 8, 1975, at Birmingham, the USC Trojans at Los Angeles on September 11, 1976, the Ohio State Buckeyes at Columbus two weeks later, and the Arizona State Sun Devils at Tempe on October 1, 1977, during his final season at Missouri. In his seven years at Mizzou, Onofrio compiled a 1–6 record against arch-rival Kansas, which contributed to his dismissal.
Onofrio coached four All-Americans and 30 future National Football League players. He led Missouri to two bowl games, the 1972 Fiesta Bowl, a loss to Arizona State, and the 1973 Sun Bowl, a win over Auburn.
Onofrio was a 1993 inductee to the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame. He died on November 5, 2004 in Tempe, Arizona.