Thomas Francis "King" Clancy (December 2, 1872 – September 28, 1938) was a

Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete on a field long and wide, attempting to advance a Ball (gridiron football), pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposi ...

player and coach. He was originally a baseball player before becoming a football player in 1894. He was the coach of the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

from 1904 to 1911, 1913, and 1921 to 1922 (and an assistant in 1919). Clancy was known as "The original King", since his son, Frank Clancy was known as King Clancy.

Early life

Tom Clancy was born on December 2, 1872, in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was raised in

Naugatuck, Connecticut Naugatuck ( ) is a consolidated borough (Connecticut), borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town, part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut, Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, had a population of ...

Baseball career

Clancy was a noted baseball player in the late 1800s along with his two brothers, Michael and William. He went to St. Laurent College but moved to

Ottawa College The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa across the Rideau Canal in t ...

because he heard they had a better baseball team.

Football career

Ottawa College

In 1894, he changed sports from baseball to football. He learned football from his coach at Ottawa College, Father Michael Fallon. He led his team to a win in the Dominion Championship of Queen's University (8 to 7) in his first season. He would go on to play in the championship 6 more times (1 with the Rough Riders) and win 4. He was a player-coach.

Ottawa Rough Riders (1st and 2nd stints)

In 1904, he was hired by the

to be their head coach. He remained there until 1912, when he retired. Only to return in 1913, retire again, and make returns in 1921 and 22 (Clancy also was an assistant in 1919).

Ottawa College (2nd stint)

In 1918, he made a return to football by being a coach for the

Ottawa Gee-Gees The Ottawa Gee-Gees () are the athletic teams that represent the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario. The Gee-Gees won the national football championship, the Vanier Cup, in 1975 and 2000, while also appearing in the game in the 1970, 1980 ...

Ottawa Rough Riders (3rd and 4th stints)

Clancy returned to the Rough Riders in 1919, after being persuaded by the manager. He was only an assistant though. In 1921 he returned to being head coach, and stayed until 1922, when he retired. He would later visit the players and give them "pep" talks at practice.

Later life

After his playing and coaching career, he was an executive. He was the team president of the Rough Riders in the late 1920s and early 1930s and also was the president of the "Big Four". Clancy enjoyed going to his son's hockey games after he retired. He died on September 28, 1938, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clancy, Tom 1872 births 1938 deaths Ottawa Rough Riders coaches Ottawa Gee-Gees football coaches Ottawa Gee-Gees football players Irish emigrants to the United States American emigrants to Canada