Presentation of game ball to Vincent S. McDonough, S.J., after the Georgetown v. Manhattan College football game, October 13, 1934, which was won by Georgetown, 9-0. Flanking Fr. McDonough are, to the left, Georgetown football coach Jack Haggerty and, to the right, football captain Joseph Saverine

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Creator

Anonymous

Description

Vincent S. McDonough, S.J. ( 1870-1939) was both revered and feared by students. In addition to serving as Director of Athletics from 1916 to 1928, Father "Mac" was also Prefect of Discipline and a student counselor. On September 3, 1939, he was found dead in his room, beside a radio broadcasting news of the declarations of war by Britain and France. Lou Little, who coached under Father "Mac," said of him, "I never knew a man with so broad a vision. I never knew one who understood boys as he understood them. I never saw him confronted with a decision and fail to give a fair and sympathetic answer- one that satisfied all hands and endeared him to all." A few days before his death, he had been asked what he would most like to honor his 25th anniversary as a priest and had replied, "You give the boys a new gym and I'll be happy." The McDonough Memorial Gym, entirely funded by subscriptions from alumni and friends and dedicated in December 1951, bears his name.

Repository: Booth Family Center for Special Collections. For more information about this collection please email: speccoll@georgetown.edu

Permanent Link

http://hdl.handle.net/10822/552736

Date

1934-10-13

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