Alfred McCoy (American football) explained

Alfred McCoy
Birth Date:7 October 1899
Birth Place:Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Death Place:La Jolla, California, U.S.
Alma Mater:Lafayette College
Player Sport1:Football
Player Years2:1922
Player Team2:Penn State
Player Years3:1924–1926
Player Team3:Lafayette
Player Positions:End
Coach Sport1:Football
Coach Years2:1927–1928
Coach Team2:Hackettstown HS (NJ)
Coach Years3:1933–1936
Coach Team3:Northeastern
Coach Years4:1937–1940
Coach Team4:Colby
Coach Years5:1941–1946
Coach Team5:Harvard (backfield)
Coach Years6:1947–1948
Coach Team6:Boston Yanks (scout)
Coach Years7:1949–1950
Coach Team7:Washington (asst.)
Coach Sport8:Basketball
Coach Years9:1929–1937
Coach Team9:Northeastern
Coach Sport10:Baseball
Coach Years11:1930–1937
Coach Team11:Northeastern
Overall Record:35–16–8 (football)
62–58 (basketball)
59–68–1 (baseball)

Alfred Mudge McCoy (October 7, 1899 – January 28, 1990) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as head football coach at Northeastern University and Colby College and was the head baseball and men's basketball coach at Northeastern.

Early life

A native of Brookline, Massachusetts, McCoy attended Newton High School and Dean Academy. As a youth he excelled in football, swimming, and baseball. He was awarded a medal from the Massachusetts Humane Society for saving a girl from drowning in Crystal Lake. He attended the College of Holy Cross for one semester but had to leave due to poor health. He enrolled at Pennsylvania State University in 1921.[1] He was a member of the Penn State team that played in the 1923 Rose Bowl. After the game, McCoy missed his midterms due to a blizzard that trapped him in his wife's home town of Syracuse, New York. He could not afford the $5 an exam fee to retake the test so he dropped out of school and worked on a railroad. McCoy resumed his education after he was recruited to play football at Lafayette College by coach Jock Sutherland.

Coaching

After graduating from Lafayette College in 1927, McCoy became the coach for all athletics at Hackettstown High School in Hackettstown, New Jersey. In 1929 he joined the faculty of Northeastern University as an English professor and head baseball and men's basketball coach.[2] In 1932, with the assistance of engineering school dean Carl Ell and athletic director Putty Parsons, McCoy established a freshman football team at Northeastern. The following year the school began its varsity football program. After a 1-3-1 first season, McCoy would not have a losing season as Northeastern's football coach.[3]

In 1937, McCoy left Northeastern to become the head football coach at Colby College.[4] In 1941, he was hired as backfield coach for the Harvard Crimson football team.[5] In 1947 he became the chief scout for the Boston Yanks of the National Football League.[6] McCoy's final coaching position came as an assistant at the University of Washington.[7]

Later life

After his coaching career ended, McCoy moved to La Jolla, California, where he was a successful liquor store owner and a golf writer for the San Diego Tribune.[8] In 1982 he was inducted into Northeastern's Hall of Fame. He died on January 31, 1990, in La Jolla. He was 90 years old.[9]

Head coaching record

Football

Notes and References

  1. News: Al McCoy of Newton Enters Penn State . The Boston Daily Globe . September 14, 1921.
  2. News: Al McCoy to Coach N. U. Varsity Eleven . The Boston Daily Globe . December 3, 1932.
  3. News: Roberts . Ernie . NU Football Honors Its Father . The Boston Globe . May 28, 1982.
  4. News: M'Coy to Coach at Colby . The New York Times . January 13, 1937.
  5. News: . Alfred McCoy named Harvard back coach . Lincoln Evening Journal . . . February 16, 1941 . 8 . July 30, 2017 . .
  6. News: Kaese . Harold . Al McCoy, Chief Yank Scout, Returns to Seek Homes for His Players . The Boston Daily Globe . September 18, 1947.
  7. News: Al McCoy Joins Odell at Washington . The Boston Daily Globe . June 4, 1949.
  8. News: Kaese . Harold . B.C. Wanted Bowl Games . The Boston Daily Globe . December 7, 1959.
  9. News: Alfred McCoy, 90, Was NU's First Football Coach . The Boston Globe . February 2, 1990.