John Joseph Curran (September 6, 1930 – March 14, 2013) was an American

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 ...

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 (appro ...

coach. Curran was the head coach at

Archbishop Molloy High School Archbishop Molloy High School (also called Molloy, Archbishop Molloy, or AMHS) is a four-year private, college preparatory, Catholic school for grades 9–12, located on on 83-53 Manton Street, Briarwood, Queens, New York. It is part of the D ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York City. Curran won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States. He has been elected into nine different Halls of Fame.

Early life and education

Curran was born on September 6, 1930, the son of

New York City police The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

officer Thomas Curran and Helen Curran, who worked in the

New York City Police Commissioner The New York City police commissioner is the head of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by and serves at the pleasure of the mayor. The commissioner is responsibl ...

's office. Curran graduated in 1948 from

All Hallows High School All Hallows High School (formerly known as the All Hallows Institute) is a Catholic co-ed high school in the South Bronx, New York, United States. Located at 111 East 164th Street, near Yankee Stadium, the school has an enrollment of approximate ...

the Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in English from St. John's University, where he became a pitcher of the varsity team. Curran played minor league baseball in the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

organizations.

Coaching career

Curran began coaching in 1958 at St. Ann's Academy, which was later renamed as

. During his career at Archbishop Molloy, Curran won more basketball and baseball games than any high school coach in the United States. Among his former players are the former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players

Brian Winters Brian Joseph Winters (born March 1, 1952) is an American former basketball player and coach. Career Winters attended academic and athletic powerhouse Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, New York, graduating in 1970. He then played collegi ...

, Kevin Joyce,

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965) is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Jet", he played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacramen ...

, Robert Werdann, and Kenny Anderson.

Honors

Curran was named CHSAA Coach of the Year 25 times in baseball, 22 times in basketball, won city championships in three different decades. He has been elected into nine different Halls of Fame, including the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. On February 8, 2008, the school community honored his 50th year as head coach of baseball and basketball by unveiling a mural of the coach "through the years" after a game vs. St. Francis Prep.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curran, Jack 1930 births 2013 deaths Basketball coaches from New York (state) High school basketball coaches in New York (state) St. John's Red Storm baseball players Baseball coaches from New York (state) High school baseball coaches in the United States People from Rye, New York Sportspeople from the Bronx Great Falls Electrics players Miami Sun Sox players Trois-Rivières Phillies players