Patrick John "Kangaroo Kicker" O'Dea was an Australian rules and American football player and coach. An Australian by birth, O'Dea played Australian rules football for the Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football Association (VFA). In 1898 and 1899, O'Dea played American football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the United States, where he excelled in the kicking game. He then served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1900 to 1901 and at the University of Missouri in 1902, compiling a career college football record of 19–7–2.
O'Dea during his tenure as coach of Notre Dame, 1901
Photo session of O'Dea while playing at the University of Wisconsin, c. 1898
Australian rules football in the United States
Australian rules football in the United States is a team and spectator sport which has grown rapidly since the late 1990s.
Australian-American footballer Pat O'Dea helped introduce Australian Rules into Californian schools in 1908
James Caveney was one of the pioneers of American fieldball as both junior player and coach before pursuing a Major League Baseball career in 1914
Sketch of Carji Greeves (1930) who attempted to reintroduce the game at Stanford University while coaching American Football at UCLA
Ern Cowley's Austus sport program in 1943 featuring American serviceman William Jost performing a Forward pass on an Australian Football oval.
