Joe Benda

Joseph Francis Benda (March 20, 1905 – June 20, 1950) was an American football, basketball and baseball coach.

He served three stints head football coach at Saint John's University in Collegeville, Minnesota, from 1930 to 1936, 1941 to 1942, and 1945 to 1949, compiling a record of 57–32–8. Benda was also the school's head basketball coach and head baseball coach.

Benda played college football at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, lettering three years from 1925 to 1927. He came St. John's after spending a year as the head coach at his old high school, leading Central to a 7–1 finish in 1929. He inherited a Johnnies' squad that finished 0–6 the year before. St. John's finished 1–4–1 in 1930, including an 82–0 loss at St. Olaf.

Benda died on June 20, 1950, in Collegeville, after suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma.