Claude McGrath

Claude F. McGrath (March 29, 1904 – February 24, 1989)^[1] was a college basketball coach and athletic director at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. He was the head coach of the Bulldogs from 1932^[2] to 1942. McGrath served in the military during World War II and returned to Gonzaga in 1946 for three seasons.^[3] His overall record as head coach stands at 129-133 (.492).^[4]

Born in Spokane in 1904, McGrath was a four-sport athlete at North Central High School and graduated in 1923.^[2] He initially attended the University of Idaho in Moscow to play college football as a quarterback for the Vandals under head coach Matty Mathews.^[5] He soon returned to Spokane and enrolled at Gonzaga, where he played football under head coaches Gus Dorais and Clipper Smith.^[5]

McGrath graduated in 1929 and taught at Mead High School, where he became principal and later the superintendent of the school district.^[6] He coached multiple sports at both Mead High and Gonzaga University and became the Bulldogs' head basketball coach in 1932^[2][7][8] and added the duties of athletic director in 1939.^[9] McGrath spent over three years in the U.S. Army Air Forces as an athletic trainer in the Second Air Force and was discharged as a major. He returned to Gonzaga in 1946, then resigned both positions after three seasons in April 1949 to work in the private sector.^[3]

McGrath later became a purchasing agent for the Spokane school district in the late 1950s,^[10] and retired in 1969. He died in Spokane at age 84 in February 1989.^[6]

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