Harry Sullivan McDevitt (June 5, 1885 – January 30, 1962) was an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in 1912 and

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

in 1917. He coached baseball at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

. McDevitt played as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1906, where he also later served as an assistant football coach.

Playing career

McDevitt was born on June 5, 1885, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and attended Brighton High School. He then went on to

, where he played baseball from 1905 to 1907 and as a reserve

on the 1906

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

. He was also a member of the

Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, TDC, Thete, Theta Delt, an ...

fraternity and the College Glee Club.''The Shield: Official Publication of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, Volume 27''
p. 352, Theta Delta Chi, February 1911.''The Dartmouth'', p. 357. McDevitt graduated in 1907.

Coaching

In 1907, McDevitt was hired as the head coach at Newton High School in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

. He coached football at

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. A college town, the city is home to Colby College, a New England Small College Athletic Conference, NESCAC college, and Thomas College. As ...

, from 1908 to 1911 and coached the school's baseball team in 1909. In November 1909, he returned to Newton High School to coach the remainder of the football season after head coach Wendell P. Holman resigned.McDEVITT IS CHOSEN. Old Dartmouth Man Will Coach Newton High, Football Team Given a Stiff Day's Work by New Teacher. HARVARD GETS LARGE. Three Other Regulars of the Phillips- Andover Eleven to Go to Yale. CORNELL CHOSEN CAPTAIN. Freeport, Penn, Man Will Lead the Exeter Football Team Next Year. Wendell Acad 5, Arlington H. S. 2d 0 Woburn H. S. 46, Reading H. S. 0.
''The Boston Daily Globe'', November 9, 1909. In 1912, McDevitt served as the head coach at the

and compiled a 3–5 record. The following year, he returned to Massachusetts as the coach at Salem High School, where he was charged with rebuilding the team. In 1915, McDevitt coach English High School in

Lynn, Massachusetts Lynn is the eighth-largest List of municipalities in Massachusetts, municipality in Massachusetts, United States, and the largest city in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County. Situated on the Atlantic Ocean, north of the Boston city line ...

. In September 1917,

hired McDevitt as its 18th head football coach to replace E.C. Huntington who had joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. He held that post for one season and amassed a 4–2 record. In 1921 and 1922, McDevitt again coached football at Salem High School. In 1923 he became an assistant coach under Frank Cavanaugh at

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

Later life

During the 1920s, McDevitt owned a The Chateau, a dance club on

Huntington Avenue Huntington Avenue is a thoroughfare in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, beginning at Copley Square and continuing west through the Back Bay, Fenway, Longwood, and Mission Hill neighborhoods. It is signed as Massachusetts Route 9 (forme ...

. He retired from coaching after the 1926 season and became a furniture salesman for the Rapids Furniture Co. He never married and spent his later years living with his brother and sister in

Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most part, Allston is ...

. He died on January 30, 1962, at the Veterans Hospital in Boston. He was buried in

Holyhood Cemetery Holyhood Cemetery is a cemetery located in Brookline, Massachusetts. Description Laid out in 1857, the cemetery was designed to reflect the rural cemetery movement begun at Cambridge's Mount Auburn Cemetery. It was the first such cemetery in Br ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDevitt, Harry 1885 births 1961 deaths American salespeople Boston College Eagles football coaches Brighton High School (Brighton, Massachusetts) alumni Burials at Holyhood Cemetery (Brookline) Catholic University Cardinals football coaches Colby Mules baseball coaches Colby Mules football coaches Colby College faculty Colgate Raiders football coaches Dartmouth Big Green football players Dartmouth Big Green football coaches High school football coaches in Massachusetts Players of American football from Boston