Bill Walsh, Three-Time Super Bowl Winner as Coach, Dies at 75

By Erik Matuszewski

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Bill Walsh, the Hall of Fame coach who led the San Francisco 49ers to three Super Bowl titles and revolutionized football with his ``West Coast Offense,'' died today. He was 75.

Walsh died within the last couple of hours, Elaine Ray, director of the Stanford University's Stanford News Service, said in a telephone interview.

Ray said she didn't have additional details on the death of Walsh, who coached at the school from 1977-78 and was a special assistant to the athletic director later in his career.

Walsh said last year that he was diagnosed in 2004 with a form of leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow. His son, Steve, died of cancer in 2002 at age 46.

Walsh joined the National Football League's 49ers in 1979 and helped rebuild a franchise that had a losing record in five of the six seasons before his arrival.

He had a 102-63-1 record in San Francisco, including a 10-4 record in the playoffs, and won six division titles in 10 seasons. Walsh is credited with developing the West Coast style of offense, a system still widely used that's defined by short, precise passing routes.