Francis Thomas "Tad" Gormley (December 23, 1883 – December 5, 1965) was an American athletic trainer, coach and official. He was a native of

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

and was the head of the New Orleans Gymnastics Club and

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). In 1907, Gormley moved to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to become the physical director at the Young Men's Gymnastics Club, the predecessor to the

New Orleans Athletic Club New Orleans Athletic Club (NOAC) is an American athletic organization founded in 1872, making it the second-oldest such institution in the United States. It is located at 222 North Rampart Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. History The club was f ...

. Gormley served as head trainer at

Tulane Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and Loyola New Orleans. He was also a game official in the New Orleans Prep School Athletic League for soccer, football and basketball and superintendent of City Park Stadium.

Coaching career

In 1914, Gormley was hired as the track coach at

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

. In 1916, he moved to

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

and at different times was head coach for the men's basketball, boxing, track and field and wrestling teams at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. He served as head coach of the

LSU Tigers basketball The LSU Tigers men's basketball team (aka. The Louisiana State University Tigers team) represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers are currently coached by Matt McMahon, after previous coach Wi ...

team from 1921 to 1923, posting a 25–11 record and head coach of the

LSU Tigers track and field The LSU Tigers track and field team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I men's indoor and outdoor track and field. History LSU men's track and field had its beginning in 1897. The Tigers have won a total of 6 NCAA champions ...

team from 1916 to 1927. In 1927, Gormley returned to

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

and from 1928 to 1930, he was the head basketball coach at

Loyola University New Orleans Loyola University New Orleans is a Private university, private Jesuit university in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. Originally established as Loyola College in 1904, the institution was chartered as a university in 1912. It bears the name o ...

. While at Loyola, he also served as the boxing and track and field coach. Gormley was an associate coach for the U.S. Olympic track team at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

Accolades

In 1962, he was elected to the

National Athletic Trainers' Association The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. Founded in 1950, the NATA has grown to more than 43,000 member ...

Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1968, the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Hall of Fame in 1990. The former City Park Stadium in

City Park, New Orleans City Park is a New Orleans neighborhoods, neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans, USA. A subdistrict of the Lakeview District Area, its boundaries as defined by the City Planning Commission are: Allen Toussaint Boulevard t ...

was renamed

Tad Gormley Stadium Tad Gormley Stadium (originally City Park Stadium) is a 26,500 seat multi-purpose outdoor stadium, located in City Park, in New Orleans, Louisiana. The stadium is home to the University of New Orleans Privateers men's and women's track and field ...

in his honor in 1957.

Personal life

He was the uncle of Joseph L. Gormley.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gormley, Tad 1883 births 1965 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Massachusetts College men's basketball head coaches in the United States College track and field coaches in the United States Loyola Wolf Pack men's basketball coaches LSU Tigers basketball coaches LSU Tigers boxing LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers track and field coaches LSU Tigers wrestling Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts Tulane Green Wave track and field coaches