Hall of Fame
James J. McGrath ’62 – Class of 1998
Preparation…
This man has shepherded a galaxy of talent from adolescence to maturity – on the basketball court and in far more significant arenas. Few coaches have won more games. None can claim a better record for preparing young people to succeed.
He understands that basketball games are won and lost on the court; that the players in his charge must be the stars. His skill in creating the potential for victory allowed his team at Skaneateles, Jamesville-Dewitt and Nottingham high schools to win seventy-five percent of their games.
In 1968, his first year as a varsity coach, he led Skaneateles to a sectional championship and went on to compile a 46-15 record with the Lakers.
He moved to Jamesville-Dewitt in 1971, where his teams won 133 games, including a sectional title and five conference championships. He completed his career at Nottingham, where he coached 180 victories in 10 seasons, netting five conference, four sectional and two state championships.
No team under his tutelage took the court unprepared. He worked tirelessly to provide his players with the opportunity to perform to the best of their ability, based on the skills they brought to the game and their desire to win.
For 27 years he brought the same sense of responsibility for nurturing the abilities of young people to his career as a guidance counselor at Jamesville-Dewitt.
Throughout his storied coaching career, he has remained a strong advocate for Le Moyne and its athletic program. He played freshman basketball on the Heights and patrolled second base for the baseball team, which he co-captained in his senior year. Today, he volunteers as an assistant coach for the Dolphins.
For his skill in providing the young people in his charge with the best opportunity they can have to succeed, it is fitting that
James J. McGrath ’62 is inducted as an honorary member of the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame.
February 7, 1998
