John J. Donahue (December 30, 1904 – November 10, 1984) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach.

Playing career

Donahue played guard on the Peabody High School football team. He played guard and tackle for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

from 1922 to 1925 and was captain his senior year. On August 9, 1926, he signed with the

Providence Steam Roller The Providence Steam Rollers (also referred to as the Providence Steam Roller, the Providence Steamroller and the Providence Steamrollers) were a professional American football team based in Providence, Rhode Island in the National Football Leagu ...

. He played in 13 games (9 starts) for the team at left guard. Donahue later played semi-pro football for the University of Peabody and Pere Marquette. In addition to playing football, Donahue was also a member of the

Boston College Eagles baseball The Boston College Eagles baseball team represents Boston College in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The head coach of the Eagles is Mike Gambino, a 2000 alumnus o ...

team and a boxer.

Coaching career

In 1928, Donahue joined the faculty of

East Bridgewater High School East Bridgewater Jr./Sr. High School is a public secondary school located at 143 Plymouth Street in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts, United States. The school serves students in grades 7–12 and has an approximate enrollment of 1000 students. Th ...

as head football coach and history teacher. In 1932 he became the first ever football coach at

North Quincy High School North Quincy High School (NQHS) is a public secondary school located in the North Quincy neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12, and has an enrollment of over 1,200 students. It is one of t ...

. He continued to coach the team until his resignation in 1960. He compiled a 128-95-20 record with the school. Donahue also served as NQHS' golf coach and guided the team to a state championship in 1948. He retired from teaching in 1971.

Death

Donahue died on November 10, 1984, at Quincy City Hospital following a long illness. He was buried in

Mount Wollaston Cemetery Mount Wollaston Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery at 20 Sea Street in the Merrymount neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1855 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. History In 1854 when Hancock ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Jack 1904 births 1984 deaths American football guards American football tackles Boston College Eagles football players Providence Steam Roller players High school football coaches in Massachusetts Sportspeople from Peabody, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts Players of American football from Norfolk County, Massachusetts Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts