Jim Boyle (June 9, 1942 – December 23, 2005) was an American former college basketball player and coach. He coached at Saint Joseph's from 1981 to 1990.

Early life and playing career

Boyle grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. He attended

West Catholic Preparatory High School West Catholic Preparatory High School is a co-educational Catholic high school in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at 45th and Chestnut Streets, the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia. ...

, where his teammates included

Jim Lynam James Francis Lynam (born September 15, 1941) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's Univ ...

and Herb Magee. As a senior in 1959, he helped lead the team to the city title. Boyle played college basketball at Saint Joseph's under Jack Ramsay. He led the team in rebounding as a junior, and was named a captain as a senior, averaging 11.6 points per game. Boyle graduated from Saint Joseph's in 1964.

Coaching career

After graduating from Saint Joseph's, Boyle taught in the parochial school system in the Philadelphia area. In 1971, he was hired as an assistant at Widener. Boyle joined the staff at Saint Joseph's in 1973. In 1981, he helped the Hawks reach the Elite Eight. On May 21, 1981, Boyle was hired as head coach at Saint Joseph's, replacing his high school teammate Jim Lynam, who left to join the

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

organization. During his first season, the team finished 25–5 and won the

East Coast Conference The East Coast Conference (ECC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the northeastern United States in the states of C ...

. In 1985, Boyle hired later Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli to his staff. During the 1985–86 season, Boyle led the team to a 26–6 record,

Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...

championship, and NCAA Tournament appearance. The 26 wins were at the time a school-record, and Boyle was named Atlantic 10 coach of the year. He was given a ring for the season, which was lost until it was returned to his family in 2017. Boyle announced his resignation from the Hawks on December 22, 1989, effective at the end of the season, and finished with a record of 151–114. In September 1990, Boyle was hired as an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets of the NBA. He coached for two seasons under

Paul Westhead Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American Retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athl ...

. Boyle was fired in May 1992, when new coach

Dan Issel Daniel Paul Issel (born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. An outstanding collegian at the University of Kentucky, Issel was twice named an All-American en route to a school-record 25.7 points per ...

opted not to retain him.

Personal life and death

Boyle was married to Teresa and had four children, three of whom attended Saint Joseph's. His son, Kevin, played basketball at Harvard but died in the 1990s of a rare form of cancer. Boyle died of lung cancer at his home in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

on December 23, 2005, at the age of 63. His grandson Ryan Daly played basketball at Saint Joseph's after transferring from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

and is now an assistant coach at Albany.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Jim 1942 births 2005 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Denver Nuggets assistant coaches People from Media, Pennsylvania Basketball players from Delaware County, Pennsylvania Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball coaches Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball players Widener Pride men's basketball coaches