By Joseph Staszewski
Jack Curran set an extraordinary example of how to live a meaningful life that impacted many in a positive way.
The legendary Archbishop Molloy coach, who died in his sleep at age 82 March 14, never left the bench, never lost the respect of his peers and will forever be revered by everyone who came in contact with him.
“I was in his office before with Mike and nobody wanted to sit in his chair,” Molloy assistant basketball Coach Fran Leary said, referring to the school’s athletic director, Mike McCleary.
That’s the kind of respect 55 years of coaching at the same school, 2,680 combined baseball and basketball wins, 22 total city titles and a lifetime of helping people get you.
“He was a mentor to many players and coaches,” St. Francis Prep baseball Coach Brother Robert Kent said. “He was a rock.”
Everyone was treated equally, from stars to the last kid on the bench. If a young person, whether a student at Molloy or not, needed help finding a college or a job later in life, Curran was always willing to pick up the phone.
“He was like a one-man employment agency,” close friend and basketball talent evaluator Tom Konchalski said.
Curran was the standard to which all the other CHSAA coaches aspired, Xaverian boys’ basketball Coach Jack Alesi said. It was one they could never meet, just hope to emulate.
What made Curran great was not only his astute fundamental understanding of the sports he coached, but also his innate feel for people. Brother James Vagan, his baseball assistant coach since 1986, said Curran didn’t like cutting players for a reason.
“He had the unique ability to look at a kid and see something in him that other people couldn’t see,” Vagan said. “He’d say, ‘Maybe in another year he will be a player for us.’ More often then not it happened.”
It was that quality which drew players to Curran. He instilled a confidence in them that remained throughout their lives. There was always a gathering of the night’s alumni in Curran’s office after Molloy basketball games. He usually sat at his desk smiling, cracking a few jokes and making dinner plans.
Curran battled kidney failure, cancer multiple times and was in rehab after a broken kneecap to stay in that seat where no one should ever sit again. He never showed any signs of slowing down or even wanting to.
“Everyone expected him to live forever,” said senior baseball captain Chris Piteo.
The man who sat at that desk for 55 years is no longer there — a huge loss for the New York City high school community. What is not lost is the wisdom and lessons he passed on from that seat. Those remain forever.
