John Joseph Ryan (April 3, 1886 – April 7, 1950) 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 ...

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 ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

College of St. Thomas A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a University system, constituent part of one. A college may be a academic degree, degree-awarding Tertiary education, tertiary educational institution, a part of a coll ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

from 1911 to 1912, at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

from 1917 to 1921, and at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 1923 to 1924, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 44–11–11. Ryan was also the head basketball coach at Marquette from 1917 to 1920, tallying a mark of 13–9.

Early life and playing career

Ryan was born on April 3, 1886, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He first attended

New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts (NHC) was founded and incorporated in 1866, as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College. In 1893, NHC moved to Durham, where it became the University of New Ha ...

(which later became the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover in connection with Dartmouth College, mo ...

), where he played quarterback on the

1906 New Hampshire football team The 1906 New Hampshire football team was an American football team that represented New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts during the 1906 college football season—the school became the University of New Hampshire in 1923. U ...

. Ryan then attended

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was captain of the

1910 Dartmouth football team The 1910 Dartmouth football team was an American football team that represented Dartmouth College as an independent during the 1910 college football season. In its first and only season under head coach W. J. Randall, the team compiled a 5–2 r ...

Coaching career

After graduating from Dartmouth in 1911, Ryan began his coaching career at St. Thomas College in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he was the school's first resident athletic coach. He moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, in 1914, where he worked for a flour milling firm based in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He joined the football team at Marquette University in 1916 as an advisory coach under fellow Dartmouth alumnus, John B. McAuliffe. Ryan replaced McAuliffe as head coach the following year and held the post for five seasons, during which he compiled a record of 28–5–5. He returned to his alma mater in 1922 to serve as an assistant to

Jackson Cannell Jackson Livingston "Jack" Cannell (May 30, 1896 – March 21, 1965) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Dartmouth for seven non-consecutive years, from 1921 to 1922 and 1929 to 1933. His Dartmouth teams ama ...

. In March 1923, Ryan was hired as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin. He was also given the title of assistant professor and paid an annual salary of $6,000. Ryan helmed the Badgers football team for two seasons, tallying a mark of 5–6–4. He moved to

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

in 1925, where he was the ends coach for five seasons under Glenn Thistlethwaite and Dick Hanley. Ryan returned to Hanley's staff as an assistant coach and scout in 1934, and continued on under Pappy Waldorf until 1939.

Later life and death

Ryan served on the board of school directors in Milwaukee from 1940 until his death. He died on April 7, 1950, at St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee.

Head coaching record

Football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, John J. 1886 births 1950 deaths 20th-century American politicians Basketball coaches from Connecticut Dartmouth Big Green baseball players Dartmouth Big Green football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football players New Hampshire Wildcats football players Marquette Golden Avalanche football coaches Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches Northwestern Wildcats football coaches St. Thomas (Minnesota) Tommies football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches Players of American football from Waterbury, Connecticut School board members in Wisconsin Coaches of American football from Connecticut