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George Malley was born on February 10, 1903, in Arizona, the grandson of an Irish immigrant. He attended Santa Clara University where he played football, and was team captain in the early 1920s. Malley earned dual Bachelor Degrees in Philosophy and in Law.
He began his football coaching career at Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in 1929, and taught Sociology and Civics. The Ignatius team went undefeated 1937 to 1939, but they lost to Loyola High School of Los Angeles in the California State Catholic Prep School Championship. The program’s success resulted in its promotion to the AAA level by the school. The San Francisco Chronicle compared his 1935 team to Notre Dame under Knute Rockne: “Today in San Francisco is an unsung, unnoted football team that embodies everything that Notre Dame teams of years ago stood for—rambling, fight, and Irish—and undefeated records. That team belongs to Saint Ignatius High School.”
Malley moved to USF to serve as an Assistant Football Coach under Spud Lewis, and succeeded him the following 1936 season as Head Coach. He was unable to match his previous success at the college level, and had a 14-16-6 record from 1937 to 1940. Malley resigned as San Francisco Head Coach in February, 1941.
USF named him a Legend of Athletics in 2005. His son Pat Malley coached football at Santa Clara University from 1959 to 1984, and his grandson Terry Malley, at Santa Clara as Head Coach.
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