Kent State football legend and former CFL star Jim Corrigall dies

Kent State University football legend Jim Corrigall has died at the age of 80, KSU announced on Wednesday, July 15. He was 80.

"Sad to hear of the passing of @KentStFootball great Jim Corrigall," Kent State coach Mark Carney tweeted. "[He's] one of just five players to have his number retired here. Your legacy will not soon be forgotten Coach!"

Corrigall was a star defender for the Golden Flashes (1967-69) and later served as their head coach (1994-97) after a standout playing career with the Toronto Argonauts (1970-81) of the Canadian Football League. He spent the final two of his 12 seasons with the Argonauts as a player-coach.

Corrigall was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, the Kent State Varsity K Athletics Hall of Fame, the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame, the Summit County Sports Hall of Fame and the Barrie Sports Hall of Fame. He was born and raised in Barrie, Ontario.

A 1970 Kent State graduate, Corrigall spent time as a football assistant at the University of Akron, North Carolina State, Hiram College and Mount Union as well as Ravenna, St. Vincent-St. Mary and Archbishop Hoban high schools, among other coaching stops.

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Corrigall and his wife, Marybeth, raised two children, Jim and Amy.

In 2019, Corrigall and his daughter, Amy Corrigall Jones, told the Beacon Journal he learned he likely suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an incurable degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head trauma.

At the time, Corrigall Jones said her father had told medical professionals at the Cleveland Clinic he had been knocked out "multiple times a year" while playing college and professional football. Corrigall had a device implanted for deep brain stimulation (DBS) with the hope of relieving symptoms of suspected CTE.

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A defensive tackle and linebacker at Kent State, Corrigall became the first Golden Flashes player to be voted first-team All-MAC in three consecutive seasons and the first KSU player to named a team captain two years in a row (1968-69). He also earned All-America recognition.

The St. Louis Cardinals picked Corrigall in the second round (No. 33 overall) of the 1970 NFL Draft, but he instead chose to play for the Argonauts in Canada. He was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 1975. In 1997, Toronto placed him on its All-Time Argos list.

We mourn the passing of Kent State great Jim Corrigall. Jim embodied what it means to be a Golden Flash both as a player and a coach. Our thoughts are with his family, friends, teammates, and all who had the privilege of knowing him. pic.twitter.com/wbcd8XY4jN

— Kent State Football (@KentStFootball) July 15, 2026

As Kent State's head coach, Corrigall went 8-35-1 in four seasons. After he was fired by KSU in 1997, he began volunteering as an assistant coach at Mount Union in 1998.

“In meeting Jim Corrigall, after five minutes, you just want the guy to be around. He’s so alive and got so much positive spirit and energy,” legendary Mount Union football coach Larry Kehres told the Beacon Journal in 2019. “He could have not liked me. You know how big he is. He could have kicked my fanny. He had a wonderful attitude. I just love Jim Corrigall.”

Earlier in Corrigall's coaching career, the late Gerry Faust hired him in 1987 to guide Akron Zips linebackers.

“If every coach was like Coach Corrigall as a person and the ethics and God-loving and caring for people and always looking out to help someone ... that’s what Corrigall’s about,” Faust told the Beacon Journal seven years ago. “To me, that’s the most important thing — being able to relate to the young men you’re working with.

"I always told coaches when I spoke at clinics, ‘The wins on the scoreboard keep your job, but the wins in the hearts of the young men you coach — they become winners for life — are the real wins.’ That's his philosophy.”

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kent State football legend and former CFL star Jim Corrigall dies