Princeton Mourns Eddie Donovan
September 21, 2001 | General
Edward Donovan, 91, a longtime coach at Princeton University, died March 15 at his home in Princeton.
During a period of 55 years, Donovan coached baseball, football and basketball and taught squash, tennis and golf. He continued to work with student athletes until he was 88.
"Ed Donovan was a terrific leader," says athletic director Gary Walters. "He was a man of few words but of great character. By his actions, he spoke volumes."
Donovan was born in Newport, R.I., and he graduated from Holy Cross in 1932. He first taught at Rogers High School in Newport, where he coached three sports. He joined the Navy in 1942 and graduated from the Officer's Commission School at Harvard in 1943.
The same year he was placed in charge of athletics in the Navy V12 program at Princeton, where he assisted the football, baseball and basketball teams. He was the head baseball coach from 1952 to 1975, posting a career record of 322-273-13 that included four 20-win seasons and two EIBL championships. He also coached the junior varsity football and freshman basketball teams.
In addition, Donovan taught squash, tennis and golf with the University's physical education office from 1946 to 1998. He and his wife Betty wrote a book about his experiences titled "My 55 Years at Princeton," which was published last year.