Jack McCloskey

John William (Jack) McCloskey

Detroit Pistons General Manager (1979 - 1992)

Jack McCloskey was born in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. After a stint in the Marines during World War II, McCloskey went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania playing three varsity sports. His primary sport was basketball where he would go on to become the head coach at the University of Pennsylvania from 1956 – 1966, then serving in the same role at Wake Forest from 1966 – 1972. McCloskey was hired by the Portland Trail Blazers in 1972 and would spend two seasons as head coach. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach before taking on the role of General Manager of the Detroit Pistons, a role he held for 13 seasons. While in this role, through shrewd trading and astute drafting, McCloskey created a roster that would go on to dominate the NBA’s Eastern Conference and win back-to-back NBA Championships in 1989 and 1990. Jack McCloskey was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He passed away on June 1, 2017 at 91 years of age.