Dick Francis (far right)On the same weekend the Fresno State wrestling program had its first home event in just over a decade, one of its most successful coaches of that earlier era passed away.
Dick Francis, who ranks second in all-time victories for the newly revived program, died Sunday at his home in Philadelphia, according to former Fresno State mat coach Dennis DeLiddo. Dr. Francis was 85.
From 1965 to 1981, Francis coached Fresno State wrestling to 108 wins. In his 16 seasons at the helm, Francis guided the Bulldog mat program into NCAA Division I competition and coached the program's first NCAA champion, Mike Gallego, whom he recruited into wrestling while at McLane High. In addition, Francis led the Bulldogs to two conference championships with 39 individual conference champions.
Francis began his coaching career at Fresno High in 1956 before leading McLane from 1958-64. He took over the Bulldogs in their fourth season as an NCAA Division II program and posted four consecutive winning seasons prior to moving to Division I.
Francis was inducted into the California Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002.
DeLiddo, who wrestled for Francis at Fresno State in the late 1960s before taking over as coach in 1981, shared his memories of his coach with the Fresno Bee.
"He was a real straight-arrowed guy, a real disciplinarian," said DeLiddo. "He knew a lot more about wrestling than most people back in those days."
DeLiddo had kept in touch with Francis over the years, recently sending the former coach some Fresno State wrestling gear to commemorate the program's return after an eleven-year absence.
"His wife sent me a card saying how happy that made him," DeLiddo said. "It meant a lot to him."
Francis' passing came two days after Fresno State hosted its first wrestling event since the program had been eliminated in 2006.
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