James Henry Crowley (January 5, 1888 – February 7, 1935) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach and

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

instructor, who served as head coach of the

Boston College Eagles The Boston College Eagles are the athletic teams that represent Boston College, located in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

and associate director of physical education for Boston Public Schools.

Career

Early career

Born in the North End neighborhood of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Crowley graduated from

East Boston High School East Boston High School is a public high school located in the neighborhood of East Boston in Boston, Massachusetts. Specifically, the school is situated in the Eagle Hill Historic District. East Boston High is part of the Boston Public Sch ...

in 1905. At East Boston High, he was a standout

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

on the

team. On December 20, 1905, Crowley scored a career-high 95 points in a game against Chelsea High School. He then took a two-year course at the Posse-Nissen Physical Education School in Boston, and played amateur basketball as a member of the East Boston Athletic Association.

Boston College

In 1905, Crowley became the second-ever head coach of the Boston College varsity basketball team. During his tenure until 1907, the school performed poorly on the court with only 9 wins and 21 losses.

Boston Public Schools

On May 8, 1908, Crowley was hired as an athletic coach and physical education instructor at the High School of Commerce in Boston. While there, he coached basketball and

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 t ...

, both of which won championships. Two years later, Crowley was transferred to

The English High School The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, is one of the first public high schools in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation ...

. The following year, he was put in charge of physical education at the school. In 1912, Crowley was transferred to West Roxbury High School, where he coached baseball. Crowley later coached at East Boston High School and Jamaica Plain High School. In 1925, Crowley was promoted to assistant director of physical education for the Boston Public Schools. A year later, he is credited with introducing soccer to the curriculum, which soon gained popularity, as within a year, around 15,000 students turned out for the sport. On February 5, 1934, Crowley succeeded Frederick J. O’Brien as associate director of physical education for the school district.

Death

On January 28, 1935, Crowley entered

Boston City Hospital The Boston City Hospital (1864–1996), in Boston, Massachusetts, was a public hospital, located in the South End. It was "intended for the use and comfort of poor patients, to whom medical care will be provided at the expense of the city, and . ...

for surgery to treat a long-term illness. On February 7, 1935, he jumped from the window of his hospital room and fell fifty feet onto a concrete

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

. Crowley was treated for internal injuries such as a fractured skull and ribs, but was soon pronounced dead. He was succeeded in his education role by

Joe McKenney Joseph McKenney (March 1, 1905 – May 17, 1995) was an American football player, coach, and official. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1928 to 1934, compiling a record of 44–18–3. McKenney also played at Boston Coll ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, James 1888 births 1935 deaths American men's basketball coaches Boston College Eagles men's basketball coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Massachusetts People from North End, Boston Suicides by jumping in the United States 1935 suicides