Alex Agase, 85; pro, college football player and longtime coach

Alex Agase, 85, a three-time All-American and a College Football Hall of Fame member who coached at Northwestern and Purdue universities, died Thursday at a hospital near his home in Tarpon Springs, Fla., Northwestern officials said Thursday.

The cause of death was not announced.

A guard and linebacker, Agase was an All-American at the University of Illinois in 1942 and at Purdue in 1943 after transferring to train for the Marines.

He returned to Illinois after World War II and earned All-America honors again in 1946.

Agase went on to a six-year pro career that included three championships in four seasons with the Cleveland Browns.

A native of Evanston, Ill., Agase spent 17 years on the Northwestern sideline. He was an assistant to Ara Parseghian from 1956 to 1963. When Parseghian left for Notre Dame, Agase became head coach, going 32-58-1 in nine seasons.

His best years at Northwestern were 1970 and 1971.

The Wildcats went 6-4 overall and 6-1 in the Big Ten in 1970 -- their only loss coming at Ohio State -- and Agase was named national coach of the year by the Football Writers Assn. The Wildcats were 7-4 and 6-3 in the conference the following year, winning 14-10 at Ohio State -- the last time Northwestern won there.

Agase served as head coach at Purdue from 1973 to 1976 before spending five years as athletic director at Eastern Michigan University.