CM legend O’Connor passes away
The high school athletic world lost one of its great ambassadors early Saturday morning as legendary former Catholic Memorial football coach and athletic director Jim O’Connor passed away at the age of 87.
Described by many as the face of Catholic Memorial, O’Connor began the football program at the school in 1961 and served as head coach until 1979. He won 144 games and a pair of Super Bowl titles as well as a Class C title. He would later be inducted into the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 1983.
He also served as the school’s athletic director from 1972-92, where he oversaw countless championships in a variety of different sports. As much as O’Connor enjoyed successful programs, he demanded the school did the right way, hence his wellknown catch phrase ‘Poise and Class.’
“He just commanded respect, he had a big, booming voice and a big personality,” said David St. Martin, who played basketball at Catholic Memorial from 1987-91 and currently serves as an assistant hoop coach at the school. “Everyone at the school just looked up to him, he expected students to behave and act the right way.”
Three years into his time as an athletic director, O’Connor took a chance on a young city kid to take over the hockey program. Billy Hanson took the program to legendary heights, winning 608 games and 17 state titles (13 of them in the Super 8) in his 38 years at the helm.
“Coach (O’Connor) was one of a kind, he was like a second father to me,” an emotional Hanson said Saturday morning. “One thing about coach was that he always had your back no matter what. I screwed up a few times along the way as a youngster and coach always found a way to be there for me — he was there for everyone.”
Current boys basketball coach Denis Tobin remembers when he was hired by O’Connor as an assistant coach in 1985. He fondly remembers the interview and what was and wasn’t said during the meeting.
“Coach had two days to hire a junior varsity coach because he found out right after Thanksgiving that Brother Crowley wasn’t going to be able to do it,” said Tobin, who has been the head coach for the past 22 years. “He didn’t care one bit about the wins and losses, he just cared about you representing the school. He wanted to make sure we represented the school with poise and class, which was very important to him.”
Vin Catano spent four decades coaching cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track at Catholic Memorial before retiring two years ago. He fondly remembers the way O’Connor treated everyone, regardless of who they were.
“Jim was such a great guy, always so pleasant,” Catano said. “He treated everyone with courtesy and respect, he just had all the attributes.”
After leaving Catholic Memorial in 1992, O’Connor spent 10 years as the athletic director at Framingham. He also served as the MIAA Tournament director in football as well as the Division 1 Super 8 tournament.
“I always remember going to the MIAA meetings before the Super Bowl and Jim was always there with his red sweater,” said John DiBiaso, who coached at Everett for 26 years before taking over at CM in 2018. “He treated every team and the players who were there with respect, just a great guy.”
The school renamed the football field in 2011 in O’Connor’s name. He was extremely grateful and humbled by the honor, the pride in his voice was easily noticeable.
“I’ve had a great run at Catholic Memorial,” O’Connor told the Herald shortly before the ceremony 12 years ago. “Coming here was the best decision I ever made, I never regretted one single day of my time here.”
Even in retirement, O’Connor was a regular presence at many Catholic Memorial events until recent health woes made those appearances
more scarce. DiBiaso recalled the last time he saw O’Connor a few months ago.
“He showed up at our freshman football game on a Saturday morning after the LaSalle game,” DiBiaso said. “He sat on one of the benches with his son and was smiling the whole time. I took him into the bubble and introduced him to our players.
“He’s always going to be a legend at Catholic Memorial.”