John William McCleary, the strict but gentlemanly tennis coach at what is now Towson University for four decades, died in his sleep Thursday at Blakehurst Life Care Community. He was 93.
Mr. McCleary, who also taught European history at the York Road school, was known as a demanding coach during his tenure from 1947 to 1988. For about 30 years, he was head coach.
"He was a very strong-willed person who expected a lot out of his athletes," said his brother, Standish McCleary of Guilford. "He was a taskmaster who was adamant about making people do what they were were supposed to do."
Mr. McCleary was born in Baltimore, grew up in the 1600 block of Linden Ave. in Bolton Hill and attended Robert E. Lee School No. 49. He was a 1921 graduate of City College.
Mr. McCleary was the son of Dr. Standish McCleary, team physician to the Baltimore Orioles in the 1890s, when John McGraw, Wee Willie Keeler and other future Hall of Famers played at Union Park.
Mr. McCleary began his long association with scholastic athletics while an undergraduate at the Johns Hopkins University, where he majored in history and earned a bachelor's degree in 1926.
Some of his earliest swimming experiences were at an outdoor pool at the old Lakewood Swimming Pool in the 2500 block of N. Charles St., where he also coached. After that club closed, he coached the Knights of Columbus Lakers Swim Team and, later, the KC Orchards Swim Team, which produced Olympic-class swimmers.
Mr. McCleary left Baltimore in 1926 to teach at several private schools, beginning with the Norfolk Academy in Virginia, Shadyside Academy in Pittsburgh and St. John's College in Annapolis. He returned in 1941 and taught at the Calvert School until 1947.
He received his master's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1931 and earned a doctorate at the Johns Hopkins University in 1947, the year he began his association with what is now Towson University.
"He was a true gentleman. Life was like a tennis game to him. You played fairly and honestly," said former student Julian L. Lapides, who went on to represent Baltimore in the state Senate. "There were no celebrity members on his team. We had clay courts, and you rolled and lined them."
Mr. McCleary was inducted into the Towson State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1992 and the State of Maryland Swimming Hall of Fame in 1993.
In 1942, he married Blanche Person Anderson, head of girls' athletics at the Calvert School for more than 25 years. She died in 1994.
A memorial service will be held at 10: 30 a.m. May 2 at Towson University's Chesapeake Room.
In addition to his brother, he is survived by a son, John Standish McCleary of Ruxton; three daughters, Jane McCleary Saral of Atlanta, Katherine M. McCleary of Palo Alto, Calif., and Elizabeth Primrose-Smith of Stamford, Conn.; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to Towson University, 8000 York Road, Towson 21204, or to Roland Park Country School, 5204 Roland Ave., Baltimore 21210.