After an illustrious career as a shortstop at Holy Cross from 1905-08, Jack Barry returned in 1921 to coach the Crusaders. In his first season, he guided the team to a school record 30-win season. Barry would continue to coach the Crusaders for an unprecedented 39 seasons (1921-1960), finishing with a 616-150-6 (.802) record.
He stands as the all-time winningest coach (by both number of wins and winning percentage) in Holy Cross athletics history. Holy Cross had 68 consecutive non-losing seasons from 1893-1960. Barry coached the Crusaders from 1921-60 (40 years) and had two .500 seasons. He never lost more than eight games in a season (and then only once), and his best seasons were 1924 (19-0), 1935 (22-1) and 1940 (15-1). He coached 25 players who played in the Major Leagues.
His 1924 team was undefeated at 19-0. Two other teams finished with only one loss, and eight others had just two losses.
His teams recorded eight Eastern Intercollegiate Championships and made six NCAA College World Series appearances. The 1952 team was the NCAA champion.
Holy Cross would make three more NCAA tournament appearances ('53-56) before returning to the College World Series in 1958. Ultimately, the Crusaders finished as the third-ranked team in the nation. It was Holy Cross' highest ranking since the 1952 national championship team. The 1960 club went 12-5 and returned to the NCAA tournament for the sixth time in nine years in Jack Barry's final season at the helm of the Crusaders.
Barry is a member of the Holy Cross Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
