Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Athletics

Of RPI’s top athletes, John Inglis lived in Troy, and was prepared at Lansingburgh High, where he starred in sports. Troy was at that time in the Golden Age of Basketball with her world champion teams, and Jack was one of the finest players of this era. He entered the Institute in the class of 1911, and played football, basketball, track, and baseball, although his greatest fame came in basketball. He coached the Colgate “Red Raiders” football team in 1915, and in 1916 returned to RPI to coach football and basketball. During most of the years following his graduation, Jack played professional basketball, up to the time of his death from influenza during the epidemic of 1918, when he was in service. He played with Ed Wachter on the Troy team of the New York State Basketball league, which held the world championship for three years. When the New York State circuit disbanded, Inglis accompanied Andy Suils to Carbondale, where he starred for the Pioneers in two seasons. 

Nat Holman of CCNY said about Jack: “… one of the best dribblers the game has ever developed… slip away from his pursuers like the morning mist… Inglis made more spectacular shots with a varied degree of consistency, than any other player will ever be able to duplicate…. was ranked in the premier category because he was a master of dribbling, an excellent shooter, a wonderful team man, steady, aggressive, sure and fast of foot, and had a well regulated mind.”