James B. Connolly
James B. Connolly was an influential American writer and athlete, born on October 28, 1868, in South Boston, Massachusetts, into a devout Irish Catholic family. His early life was shaped by his family's maritime background and experiences at sea, which inspired his later writing. Connolly's athletic career began in Savannah, Georgia, where he not only played sports but also ventured into sports journalism. He gained notable recognition at the 1896 Athens Olympic Games, where he won the first gold medal with his performance in the triple jump, in addition to earning medals in the high jump and long jump.
After serving in the Spanish-American War, Connolly turned his attention to writing, particularly focusing on sea stories drawn from his extensive conversations with local fishermen. His most celebrated work, "Gloucestermen," published in 1930, showcased his commitment to realism in literature, avoiding romanticized depictions in favor of authentic storytelling. Connolly was married to Elizabeth Frances Hurley and had one daughter, Brenda. He remained active in writing until his later years and is remembered as a significant figure in the genre of sea literature. Connolly passed away in 1956 at the age of eighty-eight.
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James B. Connolly
Writer
- Born: October 28, 1868
- Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
- Died: January 20, 1957
- Place of death: Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts
Biography
James B. Connolly was born on October 28, 1868, in South Boston, Massachusetts, one of twelve children of John and Ann O’Donnell Connolly, devout Irish Catholics. He was a descendant of generations of seafarers on the Aran Islands. His parents left Ireland when James was young, but his father, who sailed with a Boston fishing fleet, and his uncle Jim, who sailed with the Gloucester fleet, kept him close to the sea. Early in life, Connolly sailed with his uncle during summer vacation. These experiences, plus listening to the tales of his relatives, provided the seed for many of his future stories.
Connolly attended Notre Dame Academy and the Mather and Lawrence grammar school. He worked as a clerk for an insurance company in Boston and for the U.S.Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia, where he later became an inspector. In Savannah, Connolly did his first sports writing. His athletic career began when he helped to form a football team in Savannah; soon he was elected captain of the CLA Cycling Club. Dissatisfied with his work, he applied to Harvard University, where he studied for only one year before requesting a leave to compete in the Athens Olympic Games in 1896, the first Olympic competition held in 1,527 years. His request was denied, and he declined the option of resigning and applying for reentrance later. Connelly made history at the Olympics by earning the first gold medal of the games with his triple jump in what was then-called the hop, skip, and jump event. He also placed second in the high jump and third place in the long jump.
On his return home, he continued to combine journalism and athletics until he joined the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry to fight in the Spanish-American War at San Juan Hill. After recovering from typhoid malaria, he sailed to Liverpool before going to Gloucester, where he spent much time on the docks talking with fishermen and participating in fishing trips. A friend suggested he write down the tales he had heard and told; doing so launched his career as a writer of primarily sea stories. The best of his stories were collected in the 1930 collection Gloucestermen. Connolly was not interested in experimentation, but tried to let the stories tell themselves directly, with little authorial comment. In this respect, he furthered realism in literature and rejected romanticizing or sentimentalizing his accounts.
In 1904, he married Elizabeth Frances Hurley of South Boston; they later had a daughter, Brenda. In 1905, Connolly was a guest speaker at the Harvard Union and later attended the fiftieth reunion of his Harvard class, where he was awarded an honorary varsity letter. Soon thereafter, Harvard University offered Connolly an honorary doctorate, which he declined. By 1930, he was acclaimed as the finest modern writer of sea stories. He continued to write into his seventies but never surpassed his stories of the Gloucestermen. Connolly died in the Veteran’s Administration Hospital at Jamaica Plain, New York, in 1956, at the age of eighty-eight.