Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly 1914-1965 MS.1986.192 https://hdl.handle.net/2345.2/MS1986-192 Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 library.bc.edu/burns/contact URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 4 Biographical note ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 5 Arrangement ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Collection Inventory ....................................................................................................................................... 7 I: Limelight .................................................................................................................................................. 7 II: Newspaper clippings .............................................................................................................................. 7 III: Correspondence ..................................................................................................................................... 7 IV: About Connolly ..................................................................................................................................... 7 V: Writings .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 2 - Summary Information Creator: Connolly, James B. (James Brendan), 1868-1957 Title: Boston College collection of James B. Connolly ID: MS.1986.192 Date [inclusive]: 1914-1965 Physical Description .5 Linear Feet (1 box) Language of the English Material: Abstract: The collection contains materials about James Brendan Connolly (1868-1957), an Irish-American athlete and author. It includes writings by and about him, newspaper clippings and ephemera, and a full run of Limelight magazine for which he served as an editor. Preferred Citation Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, Boston College collection of James B. Connolly, MS.1986.192, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 3 - Administrative Information Publication Information Processed by Steve Conway, 1996; revised by Rachael Young and Nick Arata in 2019. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace. Restrictions on access Collection is open for research. Provenance Because the current accessioning system was not used until January 1986, it is not possible to know exactly the dates of acquisition of materials received before that time. However, correspondence on file indicates that portions of this collection were gifts of James B. Connolly (1952) and James A. Healy (1965). Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials. Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 4 - Biographical note James Brendan Connolly was born on October 28, 1868, in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents, John and Ann (O'Donnell), immigrated to Boston from the Aran Islands in the late 1850s. After completing grade school, Connolly worked as a clerk for a Boston insurance firm before joining the Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Georgia. Largely self-educated, he eventually passed the entrance exam for Harvard University but withdrew in March 1896 to participate in the first Olympic Games in Greece. Connolly received a gold medal in the triple jump, making him the first American to win an Olympic medal in the modern games. Connolly served in the Ninth Massachusetts Infantry during the Spanish American War and was present at the Siege of Santiago. Connolly sent home his accounts of the experience to the Boston Globe, which published them as Letters from the Front in Cuba. He later attended the 1904 Summer Olympics as a correspondent and covered the First World War for publications such as Harper's and Collier's. Connolly emerged as a respected novelist. His stories featured themes of the sea and fishing and generally centered on the coastal town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. In addition to his writing, he edited and contributed articles to the Boston magazine Limelight throughout the 1930s. Connolly was eventually conferred honorary degrees from many New England colleges, including Boston College. Notably, he did not accept Harvard's offer. Connolly died on January 21, 1957, at the age of 88 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Sources: "A Great American: James B. Connolly." The Heights, Feb 2, 1951. "Author Connolly Dies; Ist U.S. Olympic Champ." Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960), Jan 21, 1957. "Connolly, James Brendan." Colliers New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier and Son Company, 1921. "James B. Connolly." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors. Detroit, MI: Gale, 2007. "Jim Connolly 85 Today." Daily Boston Globe (1928-1960), Oct 28, 1953. Scope and Contents The Boston College collection of James B. Connolly includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, and writings by and about Connolly. Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 5 - Correspondence includes communications with Connolly's literary agent, James A. Healy, regarding the placement of Connolly's work in libraries. Additional correspondence includes letters to Father Terence Connolly of Boston College regarding Limelight magazine. Newspaper clippings primarily document the life of Connolly, from his rise to local fame through his participation in the Olympics and to his death. Various book reviews treat Connolly's professional experience as an author and often include brief biographical sketches. Other clippings include research done on Howard Blackburn, a fisherman from Gloucester, Massachusetts. This file consists of a reprint of Blackburn's autobiography edited by Connolly and reviews of a similar book written by Joseph Garland. Additional materials include a biography Connolly wrote of his mother and grandmother, stories about his family, a notebook, and a photo of the diploma he was awarded at the Olympics. Arrangement The collection is arranged in five series: I. Limelight, II. Newspaper clippings, III. Correspondence, IV. About Connolly, and V. Writings. Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 6 - Collection Inventory Series I: Limelight, 1933-1934 Arrangement Chronological "The Limelight" Volume 0, 1933 November box 1 folder 1 "Limelight" Volume 1, Numbers 1-14, individual issues, 1933 box 1 folder 2-15 November 29-1934 March 7 "Limelight" Volume 1, Numbers 0-13, bound, 1933 box 1 folder 16 November-1934 February Series II: Newspaper clippings, 1901-1963 Arrangement Alphabetical Biographies, 1901, 1921, 1943-1958 box 1 folder 17 Book Reviews, 1927, 1943-1953 box 1 folder 18 Honors, 1949-1959 box 1 folder 19 Howard Blackburn, 1961-1963 Shared box 315 Obituaries, 1957 box 1 folder 20 Series III: Correspondence, 1922-1965 Arrangement Chronological From and about Connolly to James A. Healy (copies), 1922-1965 box 1 folder 21 From Connolly to Terence Connolly, SJ and Thomas Herlihy, box 1 folder 22 1933, 1950-1959 From Ellery H. Clark, Jr. to John W. Higgins, Jr. about Connolly box 1 folder 23 (copy), 1959 Series IV: About Connolly, 1951-1954 Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 7 - Arrangement As received Exhibition on Connolly, ephemera and opening address, Villanova box 1 folder 24 University, 1959 March Congressional Record, tribute to Connolly by Mr. McCormack, box 1 folder 25 1960 March 29 Song - parody tribute to Connolly done by the Clove Club of box 1 folder 26 Boston, 1954 March 13 Photo and translation of Connolly's diploma from the Olympics, box 1 folder 27 1896 Comics: Topix, 1951 February 19 box 1 folder 28 Series V: Writings, 1951 Arrangement As received Notebook, undated box 1 folder 29 Stories of O'Donnell and Connolly family for Dial Press, box 1 folder 30 annotated typescript, 1951 February 13 Boston College Collection of James B. Connolly MS.1986.192 - Page 8 -.