Jack Collins (politician)

John "Jack" Collins (born 1943) has been an American college basketball coach, educator, lawyer, and a Republican Party politician from New Jersey. He was Speaker of the New Jersey General Assembly from 1996 until 2002, making him the longest serving speaker in Assembly history.

Collins was born in Atlantic City and moved to Gloucester City, New Jersey at a young age. He attended Gloucester Catholic High School, where he excelled at basketball. He went on to Glassboro State College (now Rowan University), receiving a B.A. degree in science education in 1964 and a master's degree in student personnel services in 1967. With the Glassboro Profs basketball team, Collins scored 1,038 points in his career, earning him a place in the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame.

After graduation, he taught science and coached basketball at Sterling High School. The following year he was invited to become basketball coach at the newly established Camden County College. A year later he became head coach at Glassboro State, and at 26 was one of the youngest head basketball coaches in the country. As coach he racked up 131 victories and three consecutive conference titles. At Glassboro State he also served in the Admissions Office and worked as executive assistant to college president Herman James.

After retiring from his coaching career, Collins studied law at Rutgers School of Law–Camden, receiving his Juris Doctor degree in 1982. After a term on his local school board, the chairman of the Salem County Republican party asked him to run for the New Jersey General Assembly. Riding the coattails of Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean in 1985, Collins and his running mate Gary Stuhltrager knocked off Democratic incumbents Martin A. Herman and Thomas A. Pankok, helping give the Republicans control of the General Assembly for the first time in more than a decade. He took office in 1986, representing the 3rd Legislative District.

...
Wikipedia