Mississippi State coach Leach dies at 61

Gruff, pioneering and unfiltered, Mississippi State’s Mike Leach was one of the most influential football coaches of this or any generation. His boundless curiosity and fascination for people, places and things made him famous beyond the field, a unique character in sports.

Leach, who helped revolutionize football from high school to the NFL with the “Air Raid” offense, died Monday night following complications from a heart condition, the school said Tuesday. He was 61.

Leach fell ill Sunday at his home in Starkville, Miss., near the university. He was treated at a local hospital before being airlifted to University of Mississippi

Medical Center in Jackson, about 120 miles away.

“Mike was a giving and attentive husband, father and grandfather. He was able to participate in organ donation at UMMC as a final act of charity,” the family said in a statement issued by Mississippi State.

In 21 seasons as a head coach at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State, Leach went 158-107 after taking an unusual path to the profession. Growing up in Cody, Wyo., Leach attended BYU and got a law degree from Pepperdine.

He didn’t play college football but watching the innovative passing attack used by thenBYU head coach LaVell Edwards piqued his interest. In 1987, Leach broke into college coaching at Cal Poly, but it was at Iowa Wesleyan where he found his muse. Head coach Hal Mumme had invented the Air Raid while coaching high school in Texas. With Leach as offensive coordinator, it began to fundamentally change the way football was played.

Curt Simmons, the last surviving member of the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies Whiz Kids pennant-winning team, died at 93 at his Ambler, Penn., home.

One of the greatest pitchers in franchise history, he was selected to three All-Star teams and started the 1952 and 1957 All-Star Games. Overall, Simmons went 193-183 with 163 complete games, 36 shutouts and a 3.54 ERA over 20 big-league seasons with four teams. He won a World Series in