John Joseph Magee (January 12, 1883 – January 1, 1968) was an American

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He was head coach at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

from 1913 to 1955 and assistant coach of the United States Olympic track and field team in 1924, 1928 and 1932.

Biography

Magee was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.East Boston East Boston, nicknamed Eastie, is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts annexed by the city of Boston in 1637. Neighboring communities include Winthrop, Revere, and Chelsea. It is separated from the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown and do ...

, where he was a sprinter in school. He briefly coached at Powder Point School in

Duxbury, Massachusetts Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore approximately to t ...

before moving to

in 1913. Magee was in charge of the Bowdoin track team for the following forty-two years, with some interruptions; in 1918 he received a year's leave of absence to train the American army in France, and was wounded during his time there. Magee's Bowdoin teams won the New England championship four times and the Maine state championship twenty times. His most successful pupil was 1924 Olympic hammer throw champion and long-time

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

track head coach Fred Tootell; other top athletes coached by Magee at Bowdoin included weight throw world-best holder

Niles Perkins Niles Lee Perkins, Jr. (July 1, 1919 – April 25, 1971) was an American athlete and physician. Perkins was United States champion in men's 35-lb weight throw in 1940 and held the weight throw indoor world record for nine years. He was also a goo ...

and 1934 IC4A high hurdles champion Phil Good. Magee coached the American national team in dual meets against the British Empire in 1932 and 1933, as well as on tours of the Far East (1934) and Scandinavia (1937). He served as an assistant coach on the U.S. Olympic track and field teams of 1924, 1928 and 1932; he was also with the team in 1920, but was not one of the official assistant coaches that year. Magee lobbied for an American boycott of the 1936 Olympics, held in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

; he turned down the opportunity to be an Olympic team coach again as a protest after the decision not to boycott was made. Magee was one of the founders of the Maine branch of the

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU); he was elected

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the national AAU in 1932 and re-elected the following year. He also served as president of the Association of College Track Coaches of America and was a long-time member of the Maine State Boxing Commission. After his retirement in 1955 Magee was named

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

director of track and field at Bowdoin; he died in

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

on January 1, 1968, aged 84.

Legacy

Magee was inducted in the

Helms Helms is an English surname, English and Danish language, Danish Patronymic surname, Patronymic Surname and means son of Helm (given name), Helm, which derives from the Old Norse name ''Hjelm'' or ''Hjälm'' meaning 'helmet'. The name may als ...

Hall of Fame in 1949. The track at Bowdoin's Whittier Field stadium is named after Magee, as is Jack Magee's Pub & Grill on the Bowdoin campus.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Jack 1883 births 1968 deaths American track and field coaches Bowdoin College faculty Bowdoin Polar Bears football coaches College track and field coaches in the United States People from East Boston, Boston Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey