Edward Ambrose Kelleher (June 29, 1894 – July 19, 1945) was an American college basketball head coach. He served as the head coach at St. John's University,

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, and the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

and amassed an overall career record of 257 wins and 105 losses. During his tenure at Fordham, Kelleher installed a fast-pace offense that prioritized high-scoring games modeled after the west coast style of play (the east coast played a slower, more defensive-oriented brand of basketball). He coached the famous "Wonder Fives", the teams between 1924 and 1929 who lost only nine total games. During a three-year stretch between 1926–27 and 1928–29, his Rams went 48–4. They were named "Eastern champions" all three years. Kelleher's other highlights as the Rams coach include coaching their first two

All-Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

, Frank Dougherty and Bob Mullens, as well as guiding the school to its first-ever postseason tournament. In 1942–43, his last season at Fordham, he led the Rams to a fourth-place finish in the

1943 National Invitation Tournament The 1943 National Invitation Tournament was the 1943 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the eight teams selected for the tournament.

. When Fordham temporarily dropped their basketball program due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Kelleher signed a short-term contract with the Military Academy to be their head coach. The plan was to return to Fordham once they re-commissioned a basketball team. In his first season at Army, his team finished the season with a 15–0 record and was retroactively named the national champion by the

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

and the

Premo-Porretta Power Poll The Premo-Porretta Power Poll is a retroactive end-of-year ranking for American college basketball teams competing in the 1895–96 through the 1947–48 seasons. The Premo-Porretta Polls are intended to serve collectively as a source of informa ...

. Then, in 1944–45, his Army squad went 14–1, giving his two-year head coaching tenure at Army an overall record of 29–1. He coached

Dale Hall Dale Stanley Hall (June 21, 1924 – August 23, 1996) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He played football and basketball at the United States Military Academy, where he was a two-time All-American in basketball and was n ...

, a consensus All-American who later became the head men's basketball coach at

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and the head football coach at

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

. He also coached Edward C. Christl, for whom Army's home basketball arena is named, as well as future four-star general

John J. Hennessey John Joseph Timothy Hennesseyhttp://www.e-yearbook.com/yearbooks/United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Howitzer_Yearbook/1944/Page_384.html (August 20, 1921 – March 20, 2001) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Co ...

. After the 1944–45 season ended, Kelleher went to Europe as a civilian with the United States Armed Forces. He died on July 19, 1945, in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, of a heart attack. He is buried at

Lorraine American Cemetery Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial is a Second World War American military war grave cemetery, located just outside Saint-Avold, Moselle, France. The cemetery, containing 10,489 American war dead (the second largest number of American buria ...

in Saint-Avold, France. Kelleher is memorialized by the Edward A. Kelleher Trophy, which is awarded each year to the winner of the National Invitation Tournament.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelleher, Ed 1894 births 1945 deaths Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Fordham Rams men's basketball coaches Niagara University alumni Sportspeople from New York City St. John's Red Storm men's basketball coaches United States Army personnel killed in World War II United States Army civilians Burials at Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial American civilians killed in World War II