John Greene Sr. is being inducted into the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame this spring for his standout football career at Ursuline High School, part of a program with a long and storied gridiron history. Born March 23, 1945, Greene earned four letters in football and three in basketball for the Fighting Irish, beginning his football career at St. Brendan’s Grade School alongside future Curbstone Coaches Hall of Famers Dennis Killiany (Class of 2011) and Dick Angle (Class of 2009).
As a freshman, Greene helped Ursuline finish 8-2, winning its first four games by shutout while outscoring opponents 99-0, before closing the year 6-1 in the City Series. As a sophomore running back and safety, he helped the Fighting Irish match that 8-2 mark, going 6-1 in the City Series with the team’s lone league loss coming against Rayen.
His junior season saw a coaching change when Jerry Hanlon took over for Tom Carey mid-year; the team responded by winning its final six games to finish 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the City Series, holding five of its last six opponents to eight points or fewer. That year Greene broke out as a star, rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns, highlighted by a 212-yard, 296-all-purpose-yard game against Rayen that included a 55-yard touchdown run and an 84-yard kickoff return. He earned second-team All-City and first-team All-Diocesan honors and was named the team’s Offensive Back of the Year.
As a senior in 1962, Greene again drew the attention of opposing defenses but still rushed for 725 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per carry, while also catching eight passes for 90 yards. Ursuline finished 5-2-2 overall and 4-1-2 in the City Series, and Greene repeated as Offensive Back of the Year, earning first-team all-City Series and all-Diocesan honors, honorable mention all-State, and a spot as an alternate on the North team in the North-South All-Star Game.
Over his high school career, Greene helped Ursuline to a 27-9-2 overall record, a 2-2 mark against archrival Cardinal Mooney, and a 21-5-2 record in the City Series, anchoring a defense that held opponents to single digits in 22 of 38 games.
A heavily recruited prospect after graduating in 1963, Greene drew interest from Penn State, Michigan State, Alabama and Syracuse, among other major programs, before choosing the University of Georgia. His decision was influenced by his father and a chance meeting with former Youngstown natives and Georgia Bulldog standouts Anthony “Zippy” Morrocco and George Poschner.
At Georgia, Greene played offense and defense under head coach Johnny Griffith as a freshman, then under a young first-year head coach named Vince Dooley as a sophomore, rushing for 63 yards in a game against Clemson as a member of the freshman team. He earned all-Southeastern Conference freshman team honors at linebacker, but a back injury as a sophomore cut short his promising collegiate career.
Greene returned to Youngstown, where he continued his education in business at Youngstown University, and was inducted into the Ursuline High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 1985.
An avid golfer and bowler in his later years, Greene has recorded a hole-in-one on the 18th hole at Mahoning Country Club and rolled an 815 series (259-277-279) in bowling at age 77. He spent more than 30 years in the automobile business. He and his late wife, Candy, were the parents of two sons, John Jr. (Carrie) and Richard (Alycia), and the couple has two grandchildren, John and Lauryn. Greene resides in Girard with his wife, the former Gail Arneson.
