Joel "Jack" Nagle (1917 – August 15, 1990) was the head coach of the

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

men's basketball team from 1953 to 1958.

Biography

Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Nagle was educated at Shorewood High School and at Marquette, where he lettered in both the 1938–39 and 1939–40 seasons, as a reserve guard on the team. Following graduation, Nagle served in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

(USAAC) from 1940–44. After leaving the military, Nagle was named an assistant coach at Marquette under his former coach, Bill Chandler, and later under Fred "Tex" Winter. Nagle was named head coach of the Warriors in 1953 after Winter left to return to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

as that school's head coach. Nagle was also instrumental in the renaming of the team from the Marquette Hilltoppers to the Warriors. The first Marquette men's basketball team to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament was the 1954–55 team, in Nagle's second year as head coach. The team had its first ever 20-win season, compiling a 24–3 record. The team reached as high as No. 4 in the AP Poll before finishing the season ranked No. 8. Marquette beat Miami (Ohio) University in the first round of the tournament 90–79 and then beat No. 2 Kentucky, 79–71 in the second round. Marquette then lost to No. 5 Iowa in the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, NCAA men's Division I basketball championship or the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, NCAA women's Division I basketball championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight t ...

, 86–81. Nagle's record over five seasons at Marquette was 69–55 (55.6%). In 1958, Nagle left the college coaching ranks and took a position at

Whitefish Bay High School Whitefish Bay High School is a comprehensive public secondary school located in the village of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, United States. Enrollment is around 950 students, in grades 9 through 12. The school newspaper, the ''Tower Times'', and the ...

in suburban

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

, and coaching the boys' varsity basketball team from 1962–1972 and the girls' varsity team from 1973–1989. Both his boys and girls teams made appearances in the Wisconsin state high school basketball tournament. Nagle is the only coach in American basketball history to coach teams in the NCAA tournament and both a boys and girls state high school tournament. In the 1980s, Nagle was a scout for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

and later the

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Divisi ...

. He was a charter member of the Wisconsin High School Basketball Association Hall of Fame and was voted Wisconsin High School Coach of the Year 10 times. Nagle also served as commissioner of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

. Nagle was one of the early proponents of summer basketball camps to teach skills, beginning day camps in the mid-1960s. In 1986, he authored a popular coaching book titled ''Power Pattern Offenses for Winning Basketball''. He died in 1990 in

Shorewood, Wisconsin Shorewood is a village in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 13,859 at the 2020 census. History In the early 19th century when the first white se ...

. Nagle's eldest son, Chuck, was a three-year starter at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

(67/68–69/70).

Head coaching record

Books authored

*Jack Nagle, Power Pattern Offenses for Winning Basketball, West Nyack, NY: Parker Publishing, 1986 ()

References

External links

Biography of Jack Nagle, Whitefish Bay High School Athletic Hall of Fame, Inaugural Class 2011-2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagle, Jack 1917 births 1990 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball players People from Shorewood, Wisconsin United States Army Air Forces soldiers 20th-century American sportsmen