Topic: Hayden Fry

John Hayden Fry (born February 28, 1929) was a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A college football coach from 1962 to 1998 at SMU, North Texas, and the University of Iowa. He compiled a record of 232 wins, 178 losses, and 10 ties during his 37 year career as a head coach and has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Born in Eastland, Texas, Hayden Fry was descended from one of the Texas First Families; his great-great-grandfather fought beside General Sam Houston in the Mexican War. Fry's family moved to Odessa, Texas, when he was eight years old.

Fry worked multiple jobs as a child to help his family through the Great Depression. He also played sports, partly to stay out of trouble. Hayden played basketball, football, and track, but he most loved and was most successful at football, and Odessa was a football town.