John Holahan

John D. Holahan (August 7, 1904 – November 26, 1975) was an American sports executive. A graduate of Duquesne University, he managed the school's athletic program from 1927 to 1941. He later served as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1945 to 1950.

Early life John D. Holahan was born on August 7, 1904, in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania. After attending the Duquesne Preparatory School starting in 1919, he later attended Duquesne University, where he graduated in 1928.

Executive career As a senior at Duquesne, Holahan became the athletic program's business manager. He was promoted to general manager of the team in 1945 as they compiled a record of 2–8. The team went 5–5–1 in 1946 before reaching the playoffs with a 8–4 record in 1947, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that determined which team would play in the 1947 NFL Championship Game. He served two years on the state athletic commission and helped Pittsburgh be the host of two championship boxing matches.

Personal life and death Holahan was a Republican politician and was elected to the Brentwood Borough Council, later becoming a justice of the peace. He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, for which he was a county president, and served as president of the Brentwood-Whitehall Alumni Club at Duquesne. He also was part of the Pittsburgh Steelers Alumni Association, Brentwood Volunteer Fire Company, Brentwood Heart Fund drive, was a committeeman for the St. Sylvester Church, and spent 13 years as an administrator at the John J. Kane Hospital in Pittsburgh. He was married and had three daughters.

Holahan died on November 26, 1975, at the John J. Kane Hospital in Pittsburgh, from a long illness, at the age of 71. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in describing his career, noted that "Mr. Holahan, who occasionally seemed gruff to outsiders, was considered an efficient and hard-working executive."