A native of Portsmouth, Virginia, Robert Lee “Jack” Boone served as head football coach at East Carolina College from 1952 until 1961, advancing Pirate football from relative obscurity to the cusp of national prominence. The foundations for the grand achievements realized by the gridiron team in the 1960s and beyond were laid during Boone’s era as the Bucs rose to new levels of competition at the then newly constructed College Stadium on the east end of the main campus and throughout the region.
Following his graduation from Elon College where was co-captain of the school’s football team his senior year, Boone signed with the Cleveland Rams and played professional football briefly. During WWII, he served in the U.S. Navy. In 1948, he took a dual position at ECC as head coach of the baseball team and as assistant coach of the football team. Following head coach Bill Dole’s move to a position as head coach at Davidson College, Boone was named, in 1952, head coach of the Pirate football team.
In 1953, in his second year as head football coach, Boone guided the Pirate gridiron team to its first North State Conference championship. The same year, he was voted North State coach-of-the-year. In 1952, Boone’s first year as head coach, the Pirates played in the Lions Bowl, the school’s first bowl game, against Clarion State College. The following year, the Pirates were invited to the Elks Bowl to compete against Morris Harvey College. Although the Pirates lost both games, Boone had led the team, with successive bowl appearances in 1952 and 1953, to a new level of national competition in college football. By 1955, Boone’s Pirates were recognized as one of the nation’s strongest small college teams.
Although his accomplishments as head coach were groundbreaking, Boone was dismissed following the 1961 season, when the Pirates finished with a 5-4-1 record. In part, the new prominence achieved during the Boone era (49-45-4) led many to aspire for even grander levels of athletic success. A rival head coach in North State competition, Clarence Stasavich at Lenoir-Rhyne College, had in the meantime distinguished himself by leading his team, the Bears, to eight conference championships, three bowl games, and two NAIA national championships. Stasavich was hired as the new ECC head coach shortly after Boone’s departure at the close of the 1961 season.
During Boone’s decade-long tenure as head coach, ECC attained another noteworthy milestone, membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Boone also campaigned vigorously for ECC membership in the Southern Conference, and was a vocal advocate for a new stadium for Pirate football. In many respects, Stasavich was hired to further the work that Boone defined for East Carolina: membership in the Southern Conference and greater prominence in national bowl matches. According to the East Carolinian, Boone had succeeded, most importantly, in putting East Carolina on the map as a competitor in college football. Following his tenure as head coach, Boone was appointed to a professorship in the Department of Health and Physical Education.
In 1972, Boone was inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at Elon College, his alma mater, and in 1981, into the ECU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Sources
- “Boone Warns His Bucs Guilford Can Be Tough.” Rocky Mount Telegram. September 24, 1959. P. 20.
- Boyd, Richard. “Coach Boone Retires After Placing ECC On The Map.” East Carolinian. Vol. 37, no. 12. December 8, 1961. P. 6. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38726
- Boyd, Richard. “Sports Review.” East Carolinian. Vol. 37, no. 11. December 5, 1961. P. 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38725
- “East Carolina Coach Jack Boone Dismissed In Surprising Move.” Daily Press (Newport News, Va.). November 26, 1961. P. 35.
- “East Carolina Coaches Feature Tonight’s Sportsmen’s Meeting.” Rocky Mount Telegram. September 26, 1955. P. 9.
- “ECC Again Pushes For SC Membership.” Daily Press (Newport News, Va.). January 30, 1960. P. 11.
- “ECC Coach Jack Boone To Speak Here Tonight.” Rocky Mount Telegram. October 17, 1960. P. 10.
- Griffin, Bill. “Stasavich Fills Vacancy.” East Carolinian. Vol. 37, no. 11. December 5, 1961. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38725
- “Jack Boone.” ECU Athletics Hall of Fame. https://ecupirates.com/hof.aspx?hof=13
- “Jack Boone Is Dismissed As Coach At East Carolina.” Rocky Mount Telegram. November 24, 1961. P. 10.
- “Jack Boone Named Grid Coach At East Carolina.” Montgomery Advertiser. April 20, 1952. P. 33.
- “Jack Boone Signs with Ram Eleven.” Asheville Citizen-Times. January 23, 1942. P. 14.
- “Man of the Hour: Jack Boone.” East Carolinian. Vol. 29, no. 9. November 6, 1953. P. 3. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/38333
- Williams, Bob. “Bobbin Along.” Rocky Mount Telegram. August 24, 1955. P. 12.
- Williams, Bob. “‘Bowl Fever’ Hits East Carolina, ‘We’ll Play Anybody’ Coach Jack Boone Says.” Rocky Mount Evening Telegram. November 5, 1953. P. 2B.
- Williams, Bob. “Maybe You Can Look TOO Good, ECC Looks For Games, And Possible Grid Foes Look The Other Way.” Rocky Mount Evening Telegram. December 8, 1953. P. 2B.
- Williams, Oliver. “Boone Says ECC Ready To Go Big-Time In Athletic Setup.” Rocky Mount Telegram. October 18, 1960. P. 9.
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1955 Buccaneer, page 198
Citation Information
Title: Robert Lee “Jack” Boone
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 7/8/2019