Hall of Fame
Known as the father of JCU athletics, the Reverend Edward Bracken of the Society of Jesus was named the first Director of Athletics of John Carroll (then known as St. Ignatius College) in 1919. Â
Before arriving at St. Ignatius College, Bracken spent time as a military chaplain during World War I and had also been Director of Athletics at St. John's College (now known as St. John's Jesuit High School) in Toledo.
Also the Dean of the college, Bracken considered athletics a top priority as he deemed it was vital to school spirit. He quickly began to organize student support for creating the school's first football team which kicked off its first season in October of 1920. A year earlier, Bracken helped establish the school's first basketball team in December of 1919. Both teams had winning records in their first seasons.
There were many growing pains in the years of Bracken's tenure with JCU athletics. There was constant turnover in coaching staffs with the football and basketball teams, and the college never had athletic facilities on campus. The football team played in various parks throughout Cleveland during this stretch.
In the summer of 1930, the Society of Jesus transferred Bracken back to St. John's College which ended his tenure as Director of Athletics. He passed away in 1955. However, his legacy was not forgotten as he was enshrined as a charter member of the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame on December 9th, 1964.
Around the time of his induction, the idea of an athletics complex on the east side of Belvoir Blvd. was close to becoming a reality. Led by former JCU football coach Ralph Vince, the Bracken Fund was established to raise $250,000 as part of the stadium project.
Once Wasmer Field had been built, the rest of the complex remained under the Bracken Athletic Field name. There would be a baseball field, a soccer field, and eventually a softball field that would occupy the space between the stadium, Belvoir Blvd., and Washington Blvd.
The Bracken name still adorns the softball field as the last vestige of the Bracken Fund. The baseball field is now Schweickert Field (dedicated in 1992), and soccer (both men and women) moved into Don Shula Stadium at Wasmer Field permanently in 2002.
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