John Joseph Curran (September 6, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. Curran was the head coach at

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a co-educational, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9-12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the Roman Cath ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

, New York City. Curran won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States. He has been elected into nine different Halls of Fame.

Early life and education

Curran was born on September 6, 1930, the son of

New York City police The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the New York City, City of New York, the largest and one of ...

officer Thomas Curran and Helen Curran, who worked in the

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City Police Commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsib ...

's office. Curran graduated in 1948 from

All Hallows High School All Hallows High School (formerly known as the All Hallows Institute) is a Catholic boys' high school in the South Bronx, New York, United States. Located at 111 East 164th Street, near Yankee Stadium, the school has an enrollment of approximate ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York City. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in English from St. John's University, where he became a pitcher of the varsity team. Curran played minor league baseball in the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

organizations.

Coaching career

Curran began coaching in 1958 at St. Ann's Academy, which was later renamed as

. During his career at Archbishop Molloy, Curran won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States. Among his former players are the former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

players

Brian Winters Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach. Career Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegia ...

, Kevin Joyce,

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

Robert Werdann Robert Werdann (born September 12, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. Career Born in Sunnyside, Queens, New York, he attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1988. In his senior ...

, and Kenny Anderson.

Honors

Curran was named CHSAA Coach of the Year 25 times in baseball, 22 times in basketball, won city championships in three different decades. He has been elected into nine different Halls of Fame, including the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. On February 8, 2008, the school community honored his 50th year as head coach of baseball and basketball by unveiling a mural of the coach "through the years" after a game vs. St. Francis Prep.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Jack 1930 births 2013 deaths Basketball coaches from New York (state) High school basketball coaches in New York (state) St. John's Red Storm baseball players Baseball coaches from New York (state) High school baseball coaches in the United States People from Rye, New York Sportspeople from the Bronx Great Falls Electrics players Miami Sun Sox players Trois-Rivières Phillies players