DECEMBER 8, 2007KING'S HONORS FORMER MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH, ATHLETIC DIRECTOR ED DONOHUE
WILKES-BARRE -- On December 8, King's College celebrated the career of its all-time winningest men's basketball coach, Ed Donohue, at a luncheon in the Sheehy-Farmer Student Center.
Following the luncheon, coach Donohue was presented with a plaque during half-time of the Monarchs' 80-61 victory over Baruch College by King's president Reverend Thomas J. O'Hara and vice president for student affairs Janet Mercincavage.
King's honored Donohue for his 15-year career at the college where he also served as director of athletics for 11 years. Donohue became King's head coach in 1968-69 after serving as an assistant coach and freshman coach at Division I Niagara University for five seasons. He coached the Monarchs for 11 years during King's tenure as an NCAA Division II member and through the college's entrance into the NCAA Division III ranks in 1979-80. His final season at King's was in 1982-83.
During Donohue's tenure, King's played its toughest opposition in program history as his Monarch squads played 88 games against NCAA Division I opposition, yet he still stands as the all-time winningest coach in King's men's basketball history with a 201-172 record. He led the Monarchs to their first-ever NCAA national tournament appearance when his 1973-74 squad earned a berth in the Division II tournament and concluded the year with a 21-7 record, the first 20-win campaign in program history.
When Donohue arrived at King's he would be part of the greatest spectacle in the college's athletic history with the famous opening of Scandlon Gymnasium in 1968. In his first game as head coach of the Monarchs, Donohue's King's squad squared off against the University of Notre Dame and all-American guard Austin Carr. Before a standing room only crowd of over 3,200, King's would fall 84-54 to a Fighting Irish squad that would go on to finish 20-7 on the year, but the game launched the most colorful era of King's basketball.
Among the Division I programs Donohue coached against were St. Joseph's University, Seton Hall University, Temple University, Niagara University, George Mason University, Army, University of Pennsylvania, Marist College, Lafayette College, Holy Cross College, Sienna University, St. Peter's College, Monmouth College, Iona University, Fairfield University, Long Island University, American University, and Colgate University.
While at King's he would coach his son Ed Donohue III who graduated from King's in 1975. His daughter Karen graduated from King's in 1976 and later married former Monarch standout Joe Purcell.
Pat Kennedy, a former player and coach under Donohue, is currently in his fourth year as the head coach at Division I Towson State University, having enjoyed a long and distinguished coaching career at Iona, Florida State, DePaul, and Montana, prior to his arrival at Towson.
In fact, Donohue was instrumental in Kennedy's successful recruitment of former Wilkes-Barre G.A.R. High School star Bob Sura to Florida State. Sura would graduate as Florida State's all-time leading scorer with 2,130 points and went on to enjoy a successful 10-year NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, and Houston Rockets.Donohue owns a long track record in athletics. A 1947 graduate of Poughkeepsie High School, Poughkeepsie, NY, he was a four-sport standout in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Donohue was awarded a football scholarship to attend Niagara University, where, after one year on the freshman team, he was enlisted into the military to serve in the Air Force in 1950 during the Korean War. In 1952, he would marry his wife Ruth and the two remain together today after 55 years of marriage.
After completing his duty in the Air Force, Donohue would resume his education when he attended Syracuse University. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in physical education from Syracuse in 1956, before completing his master of education degree in 1957. While at Syracuse, Donohue was a classmate of NFL legend Jim Brown who would serve as a babysitter for Ed and Ruth's daughter Karen.Upon graduating from Syracuse, he took his first coaching job at Belfast Central High School near Rochester, NY in 1957 where he served as head coach of the basketball, baseball, and soccer teams and promptly lead all three teams to league titles in his first year. In 1959, he became the director of athletics at Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie, NY where he installed the first athletic programs at the newly-opened school. During his tenure from 1959-63, he served as head coach of the basketball, baseball, and football teams.
In 1963, he would return to Niagara University when he was hired as head coach of the freshman team while also serving as an associate professor of health and physical education. In 1966, he successfully recruited NBA Hall of Famer Calvin Murphy to Niagara and served as Murphy's coach on the freshman team. Donohue would remain at Niagara until taking over as the new head coach at King's prior to the 1968-69 season.
After the conclusion of his coaching career, Donohue would return to one of his true passions - sports art. A longtime sketch artist, he began his own company, Pro Art, where he designed awards for a number of high schools and colleges while also doing work with the NCAA and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He would retire full-time in 1993 and moved to his current home of Newport Richey, Fla. in 1997.
Ed Donohue's Year-by-Year Career Record
1968-69: 13-12
1969-70: 8-13
1970-71: 14-11
1971-72: 14-11
1972-73: 14-11
1973-74: 20-7 (NCAA Division II National Tournament)*
1974-75: 13-14
1975-76: 17-9
1976-77: 6-20
1977-78: 15-11
1978-79: 18-8
1979-80: 14-11
1980-81: 9-15
1981-82: 19-7
1982-83: 7-12
Total: 201-172
*First NCAA National Tournament berth in program history.
A number of former players gathered to honor their former coach. Pictured in first row (from left) is Dave Shipula '77, Joe Purcell '79, Guy Leigh '79, former Donahue assistant coach Jack Mascioli, Ed Donahue, Edward F. Donahue '75, Bob Halbriener '75 and Len Eddinger '71.
Second row (from left) George Aldrich '82, John McCauley '86, Ed DeMichele '85, Roland Carpenter '72, Brian Leighton '85, Fred Groser '77 and Joe Hand '80.
Third row (from left) Tony Ferdinand '83, Charlie Lachner '83, Jack McCue '74, Ron Stepney '71, John Leighton '78, Jim Williams '69 and Matt Mihalich '80.
as of 12/5/07
King's College
133 North River Street Wilkes-Barre, PA 18711
1 (888) KINGS PA
Questions or comments to: Bob Ziadie, King's College Sports Information Director
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