Career
Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Ireland was an All-American basketball player at the University of Notre Dame during the 1930s. His first coaching job was at Marmion Military Academy in Aurora, Illinois, which he led to 262-87 record from 1936 to 1951. In 1951, he succeeded John Jordan, a former teammate at Notre Dame, as head coach at Loyola University Chicago, and he remained at Loyola until 1975.
Ireland encouraged full-court press and a high-speed style of play.
In 1962, he became the first coach of a major National Collegiate Athletic Association program to use five African American players in a game at the same time. (This was particularly notable at the time, as some schools refused to play against a team with even one black player)
The highlight of Ireland"s coaching career occurred in 1963, when he guided the Loyola Ramblers to the national collegiate championship.
Ireland"s team, led by Jerry Harkness and Les Hunter, compiled a 23-2 regular season record and finished first in the country in scoring. Loyola trailed Cincinnati by 15 points with 10 minutes left in the game, but the Ramblers rallied to force an overtime session, winning the game 60-58 with a last-second tip-in by Vic Rouse.
The 1963 Loyola team also broke racial barriers by being the first National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I team to have four African-American players in the everyday lineup.
Under Ireland, the Loyola Ramblers returned to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament in 1964, 1966, and 1968, although they never repeated the success of 1963. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ireland coached LaRue Martin, who became the first overall pick of the 1972 National Basketball Association Draft. However, Martin"s National Basketball Association career lasted just four seasons, prompting analysts to call him one of the biggest busts in National Basketball Association history.
Ireland retired in January 1975, 14 games into the 1974-1975 season, with a 321-255 record, good for a.557 winning percentage.
He later worked as a volunteer coach for mentally-handicapped children in Skokie, Illinois. On September 14, 2001, he died at the age of 88 in Addison, Illinois.
