Corcoran was born in Boston and played baseball and football at Princeton Preparatory School[n 1] and Georgetown University.[2] He received the nickname Bunny in high school due to his speed.[3]
Playing career
Baseball
In 1915, Corcoran had a solid year for the Queen Quality team in Massachusetts. On September 9, 1915, Philadelphia Athletics manager Connie Mack gave Corcoran a tryout.[4] He put him in the lineup for that day's game at Fenway Park and Corcoran went 0–4 with two strikeouts.[5]
Corcoran played for Fordham in 1917 and 1919 and received a tryout with the Detroit Tigers after a strong year with the Portland Blue Sox of the New England League.[6][7] Corcoran never again appeared in a major league game, but continued to play minor league baseball until 1921.[8]
In 1919, Corcoran played for the Canton Bulldogs, an Ohio League football team managed by Jim Thorpe.[15] In 1920, the Bulldogs moved to the new American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football League). In 1921 he followed Thorpe to the Cleveland Indians, where he scored his only NFL touchdown. He played for the Akron Pros in 1921 and 1922, the Buffalo All-Americans in 1922, and the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1923.[1][16] In 1924, he was a member of the Providence Steamrollers, then an independent club.[17]
Coaching
Corcoran began his coaching career when he assisted his former Fordham coach Frank Gargan for the first few weeks of the NYU Violets' 1920 football season.[18] In 1923, he and Gargan both returned to Fordham.[19]
In 1926, Corcoran became the ends coach at the College of the Holy Cross. During the Crusaders' November 5, 1932 loss to Brown, head coach John McEwan got into an argument with trainer Bart Sullivan which led to McEwan's indefinite suspension. Corcoran finished the season as interim head coach.[20] He was not retained by McEwan's successor, Eddie Anderson.[21]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
^John McEwan served as Holy Cross's head coach for the first seven games of the 1932 season before he was suspended. Corcoran was appointed interim head coach for the final three games. Holy Cross finished the year with an overall record of 6–2–2.[24]
References
^ ab"Bunny Corcoran". Pro Football Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
^ abcd"Arthur Corcoran: Prominent Grid Coach, Pro Baseball Player". The Boston Globe. July 28, 1958.