John Joseph Nolan Jr. (February 26, 1926 – July 14, 1996) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

tackle. Nolan was born in 1926 at

Glens Falls, New York Glens Falls is a City (New York), city in Warren County, New York, Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls, New York metropolitan area, Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,83 ...

. He attended high school at St. Mary's Academy in Glens Falls. Playing at right halfback, he led the 1943 St. Mary's team to an undefeated season. In February 1944, upon reaching age 18, Nolan enrolled at the

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded by educators Benedict Joseph Fenwick and Thomas F. Mulledy in 1843 under the auspices of the Society of Jesus. ...

as part of the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

. His punting helped lead the 1944 Holy Cross Crusaders football team to a 5–2–2 record. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he enrolled at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

where he starred in both lacrosse and football for the

Penn State Nittany Lions The Penn State Nittany Lions are the athletic teams of Pennsylvania State University, except for the women's basketball team, known as the Penn State Lady Lions basketball, Lady Lions. The school colors are navy blue and white. The school mascot ...

. Playing at the tackle position, he was co-captain of the

1947 Penn State Nittany Lions football team The 1947 Penn State Nittany Lions football team was an American football team that represented Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) as an independent during the 1947 college football season. In its 18th season under head coach Bob Higgins ...

to an undefeated record and the No. 4 ranking in the final AP poll. He was drafted by the

Boston Yanks The Boston Yanks were a National Football League team based in Boston, Massachusetts, that played from 1944 to 1948. The team played its home games at Fenway Park. Any games that conflicted with the Boston Red Sox baseball schedule in the Ameri ...

in the third round (14th overall pick) of the

1948 NFL draft The 1948 NFL draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bears ineligible from t ...

. He in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the Boston Yanks in 1948, the

New York Bulldogs The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season-by-season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's man ...

in 1949, and the

New York Yanks The New York Yanks were an American football team that played in the National Football League under that name in the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Season-by-season overview 1949 The team began in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, owned by Kate Smith's m ...

in 1950. He appeared in a total of 36 NFL games, 14 of them as a starter. From 1957 to 1970, Nolan coached the football, baseball, and basketball teams at his alma mater, St. Mary's Academy in Glens Falls. He compiled a record of 138-63 as the football coach at St. Mary's. From 1970 to 1979, he was employed by the Penn State athletic department with responsibility for equipment and travel for the football team. In 1996, three days after the death of his wife Claire (Hulsebosch), Nolan died at age 70 in Glens Falls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nolan, John 1926 births 1996 deaths Boston Yanks players New York Bulldogs players New York Yanks players Holy Cross Crusaders football players Penn State Nittany Lions football players Players of American football from New York (state)