Jack Turner, 88, of Ambler, Hall of Fame football coach, onetime athletic director, math and physical education teacher, and former star athlete at Germantown Academy, pitch chart coach for the Phillies, Hall of Fame football and baseball player at the University of Delaware, retired construction company vice president, and Army veteran, died Saturday, Sept. 20, of age-associated decline at his home.
Born in Philadelphia and reared in Olney, Mr. Turner was a math and physical education teacher, football, baseball, and basketball coach, and innovative athletic director at Germantown Academy from 1963 to 1988. His football teams won a school record 103 games and Inter-Academic League championships in 1966 and 1973.
He coached baseball and basketball at several levels, was active with fundraising and alumni affairs, and renowned for getting maximum effort and results on and off the field. “There’s no reason why talented athletes can’t be brilliant students,” he told The Inquirer in 1984.
His football record was 103-89-2 over 23 seasons, and his 1973 team went 8-0. He coached three all-star football games in Montgomery County and told the Daily News in 1987 that he missed only one day of football practice ever. That was for the birth of his son Michael on Nov. 9, 1972.
“So many great things happened to me because of GA football,” he told the Daily News. “I can think of a lot of thrills and, of course, some heartaches. That just comes along with being a coach.”
As athletic director, he hired other successful coaches, oversaw player eligibility and complicated game scheduling, established daycare programs and summer camps, and supervised the pool, the gym, and the fields. As a teacher, he worked one-on-one with students at all levels of athletic and academic ability.
He and his family also created the Jack Turner ’56 Endowment Fund for qualified GA students who demonstrate “excellence in athletics.” His family said in a tribute: “His true victories were the young lives he shaped. His players knew that Jack believed in them, not just as athletes, but as people called to live with integrity, discipline, and heart.”
Mr. Turner was replaced as the GA football coach by a new headmaster after the 1986 season, and new Phillies manager Lee Elia, a childhood friend and onetime roommate at Delaware, hired him to chart pitches and throw batting practice for the 1988 Major League Baseball season. It was the dawn of analytics, and his job was to record every pitch of every Phillies game and feed the data into the team’s computer analysis.
“The only difficult part of the job is the fact that you can’t leave your seat,” Mr. Turner told The Inquirer in 1988. “You may not go to the bathroom. Your concentration for the game has to be there.”
In 1989, he left GA to work for the Klein Co. as a construction manager and vice president. He retired for good in 2008. “Whether on the field, in the classroom, or on the job site, Jack led with fairness, high standards, and genuine care,” his family said.
Mr. Turner played football, baseball, basketball, and track at Germantown Academy in the 1950s. He starred on the 1952 football team that went 8-0, made all-league as a senior, and was inducted into the school’s inaugural Hall of Fame in 1995. He earned a football scholarship to Delaware and was a second-team All-America running back and hard-hitting baseball infielder from 1956 to 1959. He was inducted into the Delaware Hall of Fame in 2021.
He spent training camp and the preseason with the pro football Houston Oilers in 1960 after college and then sold insurance until he went to GA. He served in the Army reserves from 1961 to 1978.
“His athletic achievements earned him a place in Delaware’s Hall of Fame,” his family said. “But more importantly, they revealed the passion and determination he carried into every pursuit.”
John Joseph Turner Sr. was born Aug. 31, 1937, in Philadelphia. He and his younger brother, Paul, spent idyllic summers swimming in the Neshaminy Creek, fishing at Long Beach Island, and playing ball in city streets.
His grandfather and brother attended Germantown Academy, and all four of his children are graduates. His father, John, died when Mr. Turner was 15, and he grew even closer to Elia and his family.
He met Dolores Guinan at a St. Patrick’s Day parish dance in 1954, and they married in 1960. They had a daughter, Mary Jo, and sons John Jr., Jim, and Michael, and lived in Philadelphia, Fort Washington, Surf City, and Ambler.
Mr. Turner doted on his family, and they spent many sunny summers together boating, crabbing, and tubing in Surf City. He loved ice cream, followed the Eagles and Phillies, and survived throat cancer in 2019.
He was handy around the house, and neighbors said they called his home the Turner Inn because it was warm, welcoming, and always open.
“He was hardworking, demanding, yet deeply caring,” his family said. “His optimism, humor, and faith carried him and his family through challenges with grace.”
In addition to his wife, children, and brother, Mr. Turner is survived by nine grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, and other relatives.
Visitation with the family is to be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18, at St. Genevieve Church, 1225 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown, Pa. 19031. A funeral mass is to be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, at St. Genevieve. A reception is to follow at the PineCrest Country Club, 101 Country Club Dr., Lansdale, Pa. 19446.