:John Scannell

{{Short description|American football player, coach, and physician (1872–1951)}}

{{for|the New York City politician and fire commissioner|John J. Scannell}}

{{Infobox college coach

| name = John Scannell

| image = John_Scannell_(American_football_coach).png

| alt =

| caption = Scannell in The New Hampshire College Monthly of March 1903

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1872|1|27}}

| birth_place = Newmarket, New Hampshire, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1951|10|2|1872|1|27}}

| death_place = Rialto, California, U.S.

| alma_mater = Phillips Exeter Academy
Colby College
Baltimore Medical College

| player_years1 = 1894–1895

| player_team1 = Exeter

| player_years2 = 1896–1898

| player_team2 = Colby

| player_years3 = 1899–1901

| player_team3 = Baltimore

| player_positions = Tackle, guard

| coach_years1 = 1902–1903

| coach_team1 = New Hampshire

| overall_record = 4–9–2

| bowl_record =

| tournament_record =

| championships =

| awards =

| coaching_records =

}}

John Thomas Scannell (January 27, 1872 – October 2, 1951) was an American player and coach of college football, and also a physician. He was the first head coach of the football team now known as the New Hampshire Wildcats.

Biography

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| align = left

| total_width=120

| image1 = John_Scannell_at_Phillips_Exeter_Academy.jpeg

| image2 = John_Scannell_on_Colby_1896_team.png

| footer = Scannell at Exeter in 1894 (top) and at Colby in 1896

}}

Scannell was from Newmarket, New Hampshire, and was an 1896 graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy. He then attended Colby College in Maine, before earning his medical degree in 1902 from Baltimore Medical College.{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/generalcatalogu00acadgoog/page/n178/mode/1up/ |title=General Catalogue of the Officers and Students of The Phillips Exeter Academy 1783–1903 |page=164 |publisher=Phillips Exeter Academy |date=1903 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=Wayback Machine}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50105855/ninety-two-to-be-doctors/ |title=Ninety-two to be Doctors |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=8 |date=April 22, 1902 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com |quote=J. T. Scannell, New Hampshire}}

Scannell played football at Exeter, Colby and Baltimore, serving as captain on each of those teams.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50041609/john-t-scannell-honored/ |title=John T. Scannell Honored |newspaper=The Boston Globe |page=2 |date=December 12, 1895 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite book |url=https://issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary/docs/oracle_1899/96 |title=The Colby Oracle |date=1899 |page=97 |publisher=Colby College |via=colby.edu |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |quote=Season of 1898: J. T. Scannell, 1900, Captain}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50047085/meds-and-yale-today/ |title=Meds and Yale Today |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=6 |date=October 11, 1901 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} He was also captain of the Exeter baseball team.

Scannell played right tackle for Exeter, including a game against New Hampshire in 1895 during which he scored a touchdown and three conversion kicks.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/newhampshirec18951896newh/page/31/mode/2up |magazine=The New Hampshire College Monthly |volume=3 |number=3 |date=November 1895 |title=N. H. C. v. P. E. A. |pages=31–32 |accessdate=February 23, 2020 |via=Wayback Machine}} He captained the Exeter squads of 1894 and 1895. At Colby, he played right guard on the teams of 1896,{{cite book |url=https://issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary/docs/oracle_1897/100 |title=The Colby Oracle |date=1897 |page=77 |publisher=Colby College |via=colby.edu |accessdate=May 2, 2020}} 1897,{{cite book |url=https://issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary/docs/oracle_1898/96 |title=The Colby Oracle |date=1898 |page=101 |publisher=Colby College |via=colby.edu |accessdate=May 2, 2020}} and 1898,{{cite book |url=https://issuu.com/colbycollegelibrary/docs/oracle_1899/98 |title=The Colby Oracle |date=1899 |page=98 |publisher=Colby College |via=colby.edu |accessdate=May 2, 2020}} serving as captain in the lattermost season. In 1896, during the first-ever meeting of the Colby and New Hampshire programs,{{cite web |url=http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/n/new_hampshire/opponents_records.php?teamid=748 |title=New Hampshire vs Colby (ME) |website=College Football Data Warehouse |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915004520/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/n/new_hampshire/opponents_records.php?teamid=748 |archive-date=September 15, 2015 |via=Wayback Machine}} he again scored a touchdown against New Hampshire.{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/newhampshirec18961897newh/page/29/mode/1up |magazine=The New Hampshire College Monthly |volume=4 |number=2 |date=November 1896 |title=N. H. C. v. Colby University |page=29 |accessdate=February 24, 2020 |via=Wayback Machine}} He returned to playing right tackle for the Baltimore teams of 1899,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50106183/the-baltimore-medical-college-wins-again/ |title=The Baltimore Medical College Wins Again |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=6 |date=October 26, 1899 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} 1900,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50106266/tigers-play-rank-football-winning-11-0/ |title=Tigers Play Rank Football Winning 11-0 |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |page=10 |date=October 13, 1900 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} and 1901,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50106371/yale-5-baltimore-0/ |title=Yale, 5; Baltimore, 0 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |page=6 |date=October 12, 1901 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} serving as captain during his final season with the program.

In 1902, Scannell became the first head coach of the New Hampshire football team at New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in Durham, New Hampshire. The college would become the University of New Hampshire in 1923 and would adopt the Wildcats nickname in 1926. As head coach for the 1902 and 1903 seasons, Scannell compiled a 4–9–2 record.{{cite web |url=https://issuu.com/unhathletics/docs/unh_football_media_guide_2017_web |page=66 |title=2017 New Hampshire Media Guide |publisher=University of New Hampshire |year=2017 |accessdate=April 26, 2020}}

Scannell died in Rialto, California, in October 1951; he had lived in California for 29 years.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50041259/john-t-scannell/ |title=John T. Scannell |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun |page=9 |date=October 3, 1951 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} He was an elder in the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50091435/zions-league-will-attend-its-district/ |title=Zion's League Will Attend Its District Conclave at Beach |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun |page=6 |date=November 11, 1939 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50091103/miss-scannell-george-nesser-wed-in/ |title=Miss Scannell, George Nesser Wed in Church |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun |page=14 |date=December 17, 1943 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} His wife, Myrtle, had died in 1938.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50042734/myrtle-scannell/ |title=Myrtle Scannell |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun |page=11 |date=December 26, 1938 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} They had two children; a son, John R., who was killed in action in Italy in December 1943,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50089750/john-scannell-death-reported-to-his/ |title=John Scannell Death Reported To His Family |newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun |page=9 |date=January 25, 1944 |accessdate=May 2, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} and a daughter, Mary.