Legendary Tennis, Squash Coach Dies at 92

Jack Barnaby ’32, a legendary coach of Harvard’s squash and tennis teams, died Feb. 13 in a nursing home in Lexington. He was 92.

John M. “Jack” Barnaby was the most successful coach in Harvard history. He headed the men’s squash and tennis teams from 1937 to 1976 and then coached the women’s squash team for three years.

In his 42 years of coaching, Barnaby’s teams racked up 745 victories, 17 national squash championships and 16 Ivy League titles. His overall squash record was 346-95, an astonishing .785 winning percentage.

In addition to fielding successful teams, Barnaby also coached many squash players who went on to have successful sports careers after college. Among these players was Victor Niederhoffer ’64, who had no squash experience prior to coming to Harvard but under Barnaby’s tutelage won the national intercollegiate championships in 1964 and became one of the world’s top players.

“Jack was like a piano teacher, breaking the game down into exercises,” Niederhoffer told squashtalk.com.

Dave Fish ’72, the Harvard men’s tennis coach and former men’s squash coach, said coaches, as well as players, benefited from Barnaby’s instruction.

“So much of what I do is what Jack taught me to do,” Fish said. “It’s an invaluable help to the start of your own career to have a coach who’s coached for 40 years.”

Fish called Barnaby the “John Wooden of racquet sports,” referring to a legendary UCLA basketball coach.

“He always taught ethics and principles along with skill,” Fish said. “He always believed that there wasn’t any use in developing a skill a if it didn’t turn you in to a better person. He was an unabashed believer in that.”

According to Fish, Barnaby gave his predecessor, Harry Cowles, credit for his own success.

Fish said Barnaby even authored the 1935 book, The Art of Squash Racquets, in Cowles’s name and, when Barnaby handed a draft to Cowles for editing, Cowles published Barnaby’s work unchanged.

“He never had that raging ego that you see among many coaches today,” Fish said.

Barnaby’s beginnings as a squash coach were modest. When he coached at the Harvard Club of Boston in the ’30s, squash pros received little respect and Barnaby was even required to enter the building through the back door.

As a result, Barnaby was a strong supporter of the development of professional squash in the ’70s and the formation of the World Professional Squash Association. He was also a pioneer in developing a system for the certification of squash pros.

Barnaby’s 1979 book Winning Squash Racquets passed on his knowledge of the sport and remains well-regarded today for his focus on the mental aspects of the game.

According to Fish much of Barnaby’s coaching genius, however, could not be translated into writing.

“He analyzed every shot’s risk-versus -reward ratio,” Fish said. “He reminded me of a zen master. He’d close his eyes and show the shot, perfectly.”

From the earliest moments of his career, Barnaby demonstrated the dedication that made him a legend. During WWII—when Harvard fielded no squash teams—he aided the war effort by working in a fastener factory. He earned a high position in the factory and was offered a lot of money to stay, but he turned his employers down.

“What he loved was coaching,” Fish said. “He was a born teacher. Whether you were a complete newcomer or champion didn’t matter.”