Ed Kelleher

Edward Ambrose Kelleher (June 29, 1894 – July 19, 1945) was an American college basketball head coach. He served as the head coach at St. John's University, Fordham University, and the United States Military Academy and amassed an overall career record of 257 wins and 105 losses.

During his tenure at Fordham, Kelleher installed a fast-pace offense that prioritized high-scoring games modeled after the west coast style of play (the east coast played a slower, more defensive-oriented brand of basketball). He coached the famous "Wonder Fives", the teams between 1924 and 1929 who lost only nine total games. During a three-year stretch between 1926–27 and 1928–29, his Rams went 48–4. and was retroactively named the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation. In addition, this team was retroactively listed as the top team of the season by the Premo-Porretta Power Poll. Then, in 1944–45, his Army squad went 14–1, giving his two-year head coaching tenure at Army an overall record of 29–1.

After the 1944–45 season ended, Kelleher went to Europe as a civilian with the United States Armed Forces. He died on July 19, 1945, in Munich, Germany, of a heart attack. He is buried at Lorraine American Cemetery in Saint-Avold, France.

Kelleher is memorialized by the Edward A. Kelleher Trophy, which is awarded each year to the winner of the National Invitation Tournament.

Head coaching record