Jack Kirrane
Encyclopedia
John Joseph "Jack" Kirrane, Jr. (kɨˈreɪn; born August 20, 1928) is an American
former ice hockey
player. Kirrane was a member of the United States 1948 Winter Olympics
and 1960 Winter Olympics
teams, winning the gold medal in 1960. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1987. Kirrane went on to serve 38 years with the Brookline, Massachusetts
Fire Department and also spent 15 years as the rink manager of the Bright Hockey Center
at Harvard University
.
, track and field
, football
and ice hockey
. In 1948
Kirrane became the youngest member of the United States Olympic ice hockey team. When the team headed to St. Moritz, Switzerland to take part in the Olympic Games, there was a conflict over what truly constituted an amateur athlete and two United States teams were sent. It was a situation that nearly caused the cancellation of the entire ice hockey tournament. Eventually a compromise was made. Kirrane's team was allowed to play, but were disqualified from medal contention. In the end the disqualification was unnecessary as the United States finished the tournament in fourth place. Following the Olympics Kirrane continued to play amateur hockey for the Boston Olympics
in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League
(EAHL), a farm team
of the National Hockey League
's Boston Bruins
. He lost out on a chance at an NHL career when he was drafted into the United States Army
to serve in the Korean War
. When he returned home from the Army, he became a firefighter in his home town of Brookline
, Massachusetts
. He played one more season in the EAHL this time with the Worcester Warriors
. In 1957, two years after his last season in the EAHL, Kirrane again played for the US national team and led his senior team to the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States National Senior Championship.
Leading up to the 1960 Winter Olympics
Kirrane had an opportunity to play for Team USA once more. In order to play for the team he had to take an unpaid leave from the fire department. He also needed to sell his pickup truck in order to afford a plane ticket, as at the time players who tried out for the national teams paid their own way. The 1960 team was hastily put together and a few days before the tournament was set to begin head coach Jack Riley
planned to add brothers Bill and Bob Cleary
. Their late addition caused players to threaten a boycott. However, Kirrane opposed the idea, and stated that he was going to play even if it meant going on the ice alone, after which the talk of a boycott ended. Twelve years after being the youngest player on his first Olympic team Kirrane, the oldest player in 1960, was named team captain
.
Team USA entered the tournament as underdogs. They had a "terrific" start to the Olympics but in the championship round had to face Canada and the Soviet Union back to back. The Canadians had dominated the Americans registering a 15–2–2 record in World Championship and Olympic
play between 1920 and 1959. However, the United States upset Canada 2–1. Team USA next played the Soviet Union. Similar to the Canadians the Soviets held a 5–0 record against the US leading up to the tournament, outscoring the Americans 21–5 in those games. Team USA pulled off its second straight upset defeating the Soviets 3–2. In their final game the Americans faced Czechoslovakia. A win would give the US the gold, but a loss meant that they would receive silver with the Canadians taking the gold medal. After two periods of play, Team USA trailed 4–3. They rallied with six third period goals to win the game 9–4, earning the United States its first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey. After the medal presentation Kirrane received a congratulatory telegram from fellow Brookline native John F. Kennedy
, then a US Senator. When he returned home Kirrane was taken from the airport on top of a firetruck, and a banquet was held in his honor at the Brookline High gym.
Kirrane made one more foyer into competitive hockey playing with the US national team in 1963. Team USA struggled at the World Championships
losing all but two games, defeating West Germany 8–4 and tying East Germany 3–3. The United States three points tied them with three other nations, but due to their goal differential, Team USA officially finished last. In 1987 Kirrane was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
.
's Bright Hockey Center
for 15 years. In December of 2010 a skating rink in Brookline was named in his honor. Coincidentally, the rink was constructed on land donated by his former neighbors who owned the pond where he learned to play.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. Kirrane was a member of the United States 1948 Winter Olympics
1948 Winter Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated in 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936...
and 1960 Winter Olympics
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
teams, winning the gold medal in 1960. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the rich history of the game in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and teams....
in 1987. Kirrane went on to serve 38 years with the Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
Fire Department and also spent 15 years as the rink manager of the Bright Hockey Center
Bright Hockey Center
The Alexander C. Bright Hockey Center is a 2,850-seat ice-hockey arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to the Harvard University Crimson men's and women's ice hockey teams. It is named for Alec Bright '19, a former hockey player. Known as Lynah East for Cornell's dominance in...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Playing career
Kirrane began playing hockey as a child on a neighbor's pond with his brothers. In high school he participated in baseballBaseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. In 1948
Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics
In Ice hockey at the 1948 Winter Olympics, Team Canada returned to its dominance, winning their fourth Gold Medal out of the first five Olympic Games.-Rival United States teams:...
Kirrane became the youngest member of the United States Olympic ice hockey team. When the team headed to St. Moritz, Switzerland to take part in the Olympic Games, there was a conflict over what truly constituted an amateur athlete and two United States teams were sent. It was a situation that nearly caused the cancellation of the entire ice hockey tournament. Eventually a compromise was made. Kirrane's team was allowed to play, but were disqualified from medal contention. In the end the disqualification was unnecessary as the United States finished the tournament in fourth place. Following the Olympics Kirrane continued to play amateur hockey for the Boston Olympics
Boston Olympics
The Boston Olympics are a defunct farm team for the Boston Bruins. They began play during the 1940–41 Eastern Amateur Hockey League season. The Olympics were often referred to by the shortened name the ‘Pics and the franchise remained active until the 1951–52 season.- Franchise History :Founded by...
in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League
Eastern Hockey League
-Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972...
(EAHL), a farm team
Farm team
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team or nursery club, is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
's Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
. He lost out on a chance at an NHL career when he was drafted into the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
to serve in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. When he returned home from the Army, he became a firefighter in his home town of Brookline
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He played one more season in the EAHL this time with the Worcester Warriors
Worcester Warriors (Ice hockey)
The Worcester Warriors was a professional ice hockey team located in Worcester, Massachusetts. They played 2 seasons from 1954–1956, the first year in the Eastern Hockey League and the second in the Atlantic Hockey League. The city is now home to the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League.-...
. In 1957, two years after his last season in the EAHL, Kirrane again played for the US national team and led his senior team to the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States National Senior Championship.
Leading up to the 1960 Winter Olympics
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VIII Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event held between February 18 and 28, 1960 in Squaw Valley, California, United States. In 1955 at the 50th IOC meeting, the organizing committee made the surprise choice to award Squaw Valley as...
Kirrane had an opportunity to play for Team USA once more. In order to play for the team he had to take an unpaid leave from the fire department. He also needed to sell his pickup truck in order to afford a plane ticket, as at the time players who tried out for the national teams paid their own way. The 1960 team was hastily put together and a few days before the tournament was set to begin head coach Jack Riley
John P. Riley, Jr.
John P. Riley is an American former ice hockey player and coach. The hockey coach at West Point for more than 35 years, Riley coached the United States to the gold medal at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympics. He played for the U.S. Olympic team at the 1948 St...
planned to add brothers Bill and Bob Cleary
Bob Cleary
Robert Barry Cleary is a retired ice hockey player. Cleary was a member of the American 1960 Winter Olympics team that won the gold medal. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1981.-External links:*...
. Their late addition caused players to threaten a boycott. However, Kirrane opposed the idea, and stated that he was going to play even if it meant going on the ice alone, after which the talk of a boycott ended. Twelve years after being the youngest player on his first Olympic team Kirrane, the oldest player in 1960, was named team captain
Captain (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey...
.
Team USA entered the tournament as underdogs. They had a "terrific" start to the Olympics but in the championship round had to face Canada and the Soviet Union back to back. The Canadians had dominated the Americans registering a 15–2–2 record in World Championship and Olympic
Ice hockey at the Olympic Games
Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
play between 1920 and 1959. However, the United States upset Canada 2–1. Team USA next played the Soviet Union. Similar to the Canadians the Soviets held a 5–0 record against the US leading up to the tournament, outscoring the Americans 21–5 in those games. Team USA pulled off its second straight upset defeating the Soviets 3–2. In their final game the Americans faced Czechoslovakia. A win would give the US the gold, but a loss meant that they would receive silver with the Canadians taking the gold medal. After two periods of play, Team USA trailed 4–3. They rallied with six third period goals to win the game 9–4, earning the United States its first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey. After the medal presentation Kirrane received a congratulatory telegram from fellow Brookline native John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, then a US Senator. When he returned home Kirrane was taken from the airport on top of a firetruck, and a banquet was held in his honor at the Brookline High gym.
Kirrane made one more foyer into competitive hockey playing with the US national team in 1963. Team USA struggled at the World Championships
1963 World Ice Hockey Championships
The 1963 World Ice Hockey Championships was the 30th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Stockholm, Sweden from March 7 to March 17, 1963...
losing all but two games, defeating West Germany 8–4 and tying East Germany 3–3. The United States three points tied them with three other nations, but due to their goal differential, Team USA officially finished last. In 1987 Kirrane was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
United States Hockey Hall of Fame
The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the rich history of the game in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and teams....
.
Off the ice
Kirrane worked as a firefighter for the Brookline fire department working there in some capacity for 38 years. He married a woman named Pat, and the couple had three children together. He remained close to hockey working as the rink manager for Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's Bright Hockey Center
Bright Hockey Center
The Alexander C. Bright Hockey Center is a 2,850-seat ice-hockey arena in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is home to the Harvard University Crimson men's and women's ice hockey teams. It is named for Alec Bright '19, a former hockey player. Known as Lynah East for Cornell's dominance in...
for 15 years. In December of 2010 a skating rink in Brookline was named in his honor. Coincidentally, the rink was constructed on land donated by his former neighbors who owned the pond where he learned to play.