Monk McDonald
Encyclopedia
Angus Morris "Monk" McDonald (February 21, 1901 – September 2, 1977) was an American college athlete
, a head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
, and a urologist. He is best known for his time as an college athlete playing football
, basketball
, and baseball
for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
, and is generally considered the best all-around college athlete to attend the University of North Carolina. For his collegiate and coaching career, he was inducted in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
to Angus Morris, Sr. and Ann Howard McDonald. Monk McDonald's father, Angus Morris Sr., was the founder of the Southern Real Estate Company and was a chairman on the Mecklenburg County
Board of Commissioners. McDonald attended Charlotte High School
and Fishburne Military School
before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
.
on the football team
, guard on the men's basketball team
, and shortstop
on the baseball team
. McDonald lettered
in all three sports for all four years. He is generally considered the best all-around athlete in North Carolina sports history.
McDonald also won the first Patterson Medal, the most prestigious award for student-athletes at the University of North Carolina, for his collegiate career in 1924.
in football for the four years that he attended North Carolina. McDonald most successful season in football came in 1922 when, as quarterback, he led North Carolina to a 9–1 record and led North Carolina to a first place standing in the Southern Conference
. During one game that season, McDonald had a kickoff return
of 95 yards against in-state rival NC State
, which is the ninth longest kickoff return in North Carolina football history.
During his baseball career, McDonald batted
over .300 and helped his team to 19 wins and only two losses during the 1922 season. McDonald was good enough to be considered a prospective professional baseball player.
for the 1920–21 season, and during this season, North Carolina earned a 12–8 record. After the 1920–21 season, North Carolina was without a head coach for two years after Boye left the team.
During the 1921–22 season, North Carolina played its first season in the Southern Conference
, gained a 15–6 record, and won the first Southern Conference Tournament. McDonald was named all-Southern Conference—an award given annually to the best basketball players during the regular season in the Southern Conference division—at the end of this season. McDonald was captain of North Carolina during the 1922–23 season, and he led the coachless team to a 15–1 record, which tied North Carolina for first place in the Southern Conference regular season standings.
Before the start of the 1923–24 season, Norman Shepard
became the head coach of North Carolina. Beside McDonald, there were several other talented players on the 1923–24 team, including senior Cartwright Carmichael
, who was the first North Carolina All-American in any sport, and Jack Cobb
, who would later be named to the All-American team and would later have his number retired at North Carolina
. This team earned the nickname the "White Phantoms" because of their fast playmaking and defense. McDonald was named all-Southern Conference and all-Southern Conference Tournament team – an award given annually to the best players in the Southern Conference basketball tournament – for his play during the 1923–24 season. The 1923–24 North Carolina team managed to win all 26 games they played that year. Because there was no national post-season tournament, the final game for North Carolina was in the Southern Conference tournament against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide
. North Carolina managed to win the game 26–18. The local news reported that hundreds of students at North Carolina "waited in the streets in front of telegraph offices and cafes" for news about the game and after the victory students "went wild" and set a bonfire
on the athletic field. In 1936, the Helms Athletic Foundation
retroactively awarded a national championship to the 1923–24 North Carolina men's basketball team since there had been no organization to award national championships at the time. This was the first national championship given to a North Carolina men's basketball team.
to work as a sales manager for Liggett and Meyer tobacco company
, which left the position of head coach open. Even though McDonald has just graduated from North Carolina and had started to attend medical school full-time, he became the next head coach after Shepard's departure. McDonald was the first former player to become head coach of the North Carolina men's basketball team; Matt Doherty would be the second.
When McDonald took over, there were still many seasoned veterans on the team including Jack Cobb. McDonald continued the team's winning streak from the previous season for the first eight games, but North Carolina eventually lost to the Harvard Crimson
basketball team, ending their 34-game winning streak. Although the team would lose another four games, North Carolina went through the regular season unbeaten when playing at its home arena, the Tin Can. That season McDonald's team also managed to win the Southern Conference
regular season for the second year in a row and win the Southern Conference Tournament beating Tulane University
in the finals, which McDonald did not attend due to his medical studies. North Carolina would end the 1924–25 season with a 20–5 record.
and graduated with a medical degree
in 1928.
After graduating from medical school, McDonald practiced as both a urologist and a surgeon
. He later worked at a variety of hospitals and clinics including the Protestant Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia, the Mayo Clinic
in Rochester, Minnesota
, NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
, and the Vanderbilt Clinic in New York
. In 1935, McDonald moved back to North Carolina and joined the practice of Dr. Fred Patterson. McDonald left this practice in 1939 to help the Crowell Clinic. In 1942 he became lieutenant commander
in United States Naval Medical Corps. He transferred to San Francisco in 1944 to work in naval hospital there. He was discharged from the United States Navy
after World War II
. After the war, McDonald resumed a urology practice in Charlotte and worked with the Crowell Clinic until his retirement in 1969.
McDonald was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on February 17, 1977. McDonald died seven months after being inducted on September 2, 1977.
College athletics
College athletics refers primarily to sports and athletic competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education . In the United States, college athletics is a two-tiered system. The first tier includes the sports that are sanctioned by one of the collegiate sport governing bodies...
, a head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
The North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is considered one of the most successful programs in NCAA history...
, and a urologist. He is best known for his time as an college athlete playing 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...
, basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, and baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
, and is generally considered the best all-around college athlete to attend the University of North Carolina. For his collegiate and coaching career, he was inducted in the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Early years
Monk McDonald was born as Angus Morris McDonald on February 21, 1901, in Charlotte, North CarolinaCharlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
to Angus Morris, Sr. and Ann Howard McDonald. Monk McDonald's father, Angus Morris Sr., was the founder of the Southern Real Estate Company and was a chairman on the Mecklenburg County
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
-Air:The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.- Intercity rail :With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta...
Board of Commissioners. McDonald attended Charlotte High School
Garinger High School
Garinger High School is a high school located in the Shamrock area of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1959, it was one of the oldest remaining schools in Charlotte. Garinger was in essence the relocation of Central High School, Charlotte's first high school. That school was founded in 1909...
and Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School
Fishburne Military School is located in Waynesboro, Virginia. Founded by James A. Fishburne in 1879, it is one of the oldest military schools in the country...
before attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
.
College
While at North Carolina, McDonald, who was 5 feet, 7 inches, played quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
on the football team
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...
, guard on the men's basketball team
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
, and shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
on the baseball team
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
. McDonald lettered
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in all three sports for all four years. He is generally considered the best all-around athlete in North Carolina sports history.
McDonald also won the first Patterson Medal, the most prestigious award for student-athletes at the University of North Carolina, for his collegiate career in 1924.
Football and baseball
McDonald letteredVarsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in football for the four years that he attended North Carolina. McDonald most successful season in football came in 1922 when, as quarterback, he led North Carolina to a 9–1 record and led North Carolina to a first place standing in the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
. During one game that season, McDonald had a kickoff return
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
of 95 yards against in-state rival NC State
NC State Wolfpack football
The NC State Wolfpack football team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision competition. The Wolfpack currently compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference....
, which is the ninth longest kickoff return in North Carolina football history.
During his baseball career, McDonald batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
over .300 and helped his team to 19 wins and only two losses during the 1922 season. McDonald was good enough to be considered a prospective professional baseball player.
Basketball
McDonald first played on North Carolina under head coach Fred BoyeFred Boye
-References:...
for the 1920–21 season, and during this season, North Carolina earned a 12–8 record. After the 1920–21 season, North Carolina was without a head coach for two years after Boye left the team.
During the 1921–22 season, North Carolina played its first season in the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
, gained a 15–6 record, and won the first Southern Conference Tournament. McDonald was named all-Southern Conference—an award given annually to the best basketball players during the regular season in the Southern Conference division—at the end of this season. McDonald was captain of North Carolina during the 1922–23 season, and he led the coachless team to a 15–1 record, which tied North Carolina for first place in the Southern Conference regular season standings.
Before the start of the 1923–24 season, Norman Shepard
Norman Shepard
Norman W. Shepard was a head coach of various college athletics at several American colleges and universities. He is best known for being the only Division I college basketball coach to go undefeated in his first season coaching...
became the head coach of North Carolina. Beside McDonald, there were several other talented players on the 1923–24 team, including senior Cartwright Carmichael
Cartwright Carmichael
Cartwright "Cart" Carmichael was the first member of the North Carolina Tar Heels to earn All-America honors in any sport, when he was named to the 1923 first team for men's basketball, an honor he also received in 1924...
, who was the first North Carolina All-American in any sport, and Jack Cobb
Jack Cobb
Jack Cobb was a college basketball player at the University of North Carolina in the 1920s. Cobb led the Tar Heels to their first undefeated season in 1924 and to three straight Southern Conference titles . Cobb was named national player of the year for 1926 by the Helms Athletic Foundation...
, who would later be named to the All-American team and would later have his number retired at North Carolina
Honored North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players
Forty-three former North Carolina men's basketball players are honored in the Dean E. Smith Center with banners representing their numbers hung from the rafters...
. This team earned the nickname the "White Phantoms" because of their fast playmaking and defense. McDonald was named all-Southern Conference and all-Southern Conference Tournament team – an award given annually to the best players in the Southern Conference basketball tournament – for his play during the 1923–24 season. The 1923–24 North Carolina team managed to win all 26 games they played that year. Because there was no national post-season tournament, the final game for North Carolina was in the Southern Conference tournament against the University of Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball program has a history of being among the best of the Southeastern Conference . It trails only Kentucky in basketball wins, SEC tournament titles, and SEC regular season titles in the 12-member conference. The team is coached by head coach Anthony Grant,...
. North Carolina managed to win the game 26–18. The local news reported that hundreds of students at North Carolina "waited in the streets in front of telegraph offices and cafes" for news about the game and after the victory students "went wild" and set a bonfire
Bonfire
A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...
on the athletic field. In 1936, the Helms Athletic Foundation
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation was an athletic foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1936 by Bill Schroeder and Paul Helms. It put together a panel of experts to select National Champion teams and make All-America team selections in a number of college sports including football and basketball...
retroactively awarded a national championship to the 1923–24 North Carolina men's basketball team since there had been no organization to award national championships at the time. This was the first national championship given to a North Carolina men's basketball team.
Coaching at North Carolina
After coaching North Carolina for one season, Norman Shepard went to the Far EastFar East
The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...
to work as a sales manager for Liggett and Meyer tobacco company
Liggett Group
Liggett Group , formerly known as Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company, is the fourth largest tobacco company in the United States. Its headquarters are located in Durham, North Carolina, though its manufacturing facility is 30 miles to the west in Mebane, North Carolina...
, which left the position of head coach open. Even though McDonald has just graduated from North Carolina and had started to attend medical school full-time, he became the next head coach after Shepard's departure. McDonald was the first former player to become head coach of the North Carolina men's basketball team; Matt Doherty would be the second.
When McDonald took over, there were still many seasoned veterans on the team including Jack Cobb. McDonald continued the team's winning streak from the previous season for the first eight games, but North Carolina eventually lost to the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
basketball team, ending their 34-game winning streak. Although the team would lose another four games, North Carolina went through the regular season unbeaten when playing at its home arena, the Tin Can. That season McDonald's team also managed to win the Southern Conference
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference is a Division I college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision . Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North...
regular season for the second year in a row and win the Southern Conference Tournament beating Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in the finals, which McDonald did not attend due to his medical studies. North Carolina would end the 1924–25 season with a 20–5 record.
Head coaching record
Later years
McDonald gave up coaching after one year and instead focused on attending medical school. In 1926, McDonald transferred to the University of Pennsylvania School of MedicineUniversity of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Perelman School of Medicine , formerly the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, was founded in 1765, making it the oldest American medical school. As part of the University of Pennsylvania, it is located in the University City section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is widely...
and graduated with a medical degree
Medical degree
A medical degree is, broadly defined, any academic degree which places its holder in a position to engage in the practice of medicine. BBC has reported that Medicine related degree programs such as MBBS, BDS and PharmD are the most difficult degree programs of all the other Bachelor degree programs...
in 1928.
After graduating from medical school, McDonald practiced as both a urologist and a surgeon
Surgeon
In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...
. He later worked at a variety of hospitals and clinics including the Protestant Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia, the Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a not-for-profit medical practice and medical research group specializing in treating difficult patients . Patients are referred to Mayo Clinic from across the U.S. and the world, and it is known for innovative and effective treatments. Mayo Clinic is known for being at the top of...
in Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
, NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital is a prominent university hospital in New York City affiliated with two Ivy League medical schools: Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and Cornell University's Weill Medical College. It is composed of two distinct medical centers, Columbia...
, and the Vanderbilt Clinic in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1935, McDonald moved back to North Carolina and joined the practice of Dr. Fred Patterson. McDonald left this practice in 1939 to help the Crowell Clinic. In 1942 he became lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (United States)
Lieutenant commander is a mid-ranking officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, with the pay grade of O-4 and NATO rank code OF-3...
in United States Naval Medical Corps. He transferred to San Francisco in 1944 to work in naval hospital there. He was discharged from the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After the war, McDonald resumed a urology practice in Charlotte and worked with the Crowell Clinic until his retirement in 1969.
McDonald was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame on February 17, 1977. McDonald died seven months after being inducted on September 2, 1977.