John Roland Gilroy (March 5, 1896 – July 20, 1952), also known as "the Great Gilroy", was an All-American

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

halfback for

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

and a professional football player for the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

(1920), Cleveland Tigers (1920), Washington Senators (1921), and Boston Bulldogs (1926).

Early years

Gilroy was born on March 5, 1896, in

Hudson, Massachusetts Hudson is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, with a total population of 20,092 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Before its incorporation as a town in 1866, Hudson was a ne ...

, and raised in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States census. Located o ...

. Gilroy was 5 feet, 11 inches in height and weighed 175 pounds. He attended high school at

Haverhill High School Haverhill High School (HHS) is a public high school in Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Haverhill Public Schools district and is open enrollment. History At least three buildings have served as Haverhill High School ...

before enrolling at

Athlete at Georgetown

At Georgetown, he was a star athlete and became known as "the Great Gilroy." Gilroy excelled as a rusher, passer, and kicker. In a 1915 game against North Carolina, Gilroy returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown. Later in the year, he helped Georgetown to the most lopsided win in the school's history, a 90–0 victory over St. Louis. In 1916, Gilroy led all college football players in scoring with 160 points, including 20 touchdowns and 40 points after touchdown. He also threw 12 touchdown passes to help Georgetown to a 9–1 record. In a 1916 victory over Albright by the score of 80–0, Gilroy scored 47 points on six touchdowns and 11 points after touchdown. He also scored 37 points against Bucknell. In a 1917 game against Fordham, Gilroy was not playing "with his usual pep," and it was discovered after the game that he had been playing with a broken shoulder, leading one writer to call him "one of the gamest players of the game." Gilroy finished his college career holding school records for career scoring (307 points), touchdowns (63), and points after touchdown (49). Gilroy graduated from Georgetown's dental school in 1919.

Professional football

After graduating from college, Gilroy played professional football. He played for the

(1920), Cleveland Tigers (1920), Washington Senators (1921), and Boston Bulldogs (1926). He also served as the football coach of

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

for a time.

Later years

Gilroy was arrested in 1940 on charges of larceny of machinery. He was charged with breaking into a Massachusetts shoe factory and stealing 35 shoe stitching machines valued at $2,200 (close to $32,000 today). The theft was alleged to have occurred in February 1939. At the time of his arrest, Gilroy (described as "a former Georgetown university football star") was married with four children and was employed as a material inspector for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

. He died July 20, 1952.

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilroy, Johnny 1896 births 1952 deaths American football halfbacks Canton Bulldogs players Cleveland Tigers (NFL) players Coaches of American football from Massachusetts Boston Bulldogs (AFL) players Georgetown Hoyas football players Washington Senators (NFL) players Wofford Terriers football coaches Works Progress Administration workers People from Hudson, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Haverhill, Massachusetts Players of American football from Essex County, Massachusetts