Francis Buchy, football star

Francis X. "Bud" Buchy, 87, a former star football player, coach and athletic director, died Saturday, June 5, at his home in Milmont Park of complications from an infection.

Mr. Buchy grew up in Glenolden. His father, Louis, was a football and baseball star at St. Joseph's College and later pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Mr. Buchy was a standout football player at St. Joseph's Preparatory School, though he was only 5-feet-5 and 130 pounds. He would joke that he could run through the legs of bigger players, his daughter Sharon McNulty said.

During World War II, Mr. Buchy served in the Army in Italy. He was wounded, spent three months in a military hospital, and then was sent back to the front lines, his daughter said. He was awarded a Purple Heart.

After his discharge, Mr. Buchy quarterbacked the football team at West Chester State College. He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's degree in education from the school.

For three years, he coached the football team at Prospect Park High School, and several players became his lifelong friends, his daughter said.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Buchy was a faculty member at Pennsville High School in Salem County. He taught physical education and health, and coached football, baseball, and wrestling before becoming the school's athletic director. He retired in 1984.

After his retirement, he enthusiastically followed his grandchildren's athletic pursuits, she said.

In 1995, Mr. Buchy's grandson Sean, then a star running back for Lansdale Catholic High School, told an Inquirer reporter, "After the game, he'll come over to our house and tell me what I did good and what I did bad. I listen, too, because I know he knows what he's talking about."

Since 1950, Mr. Buchy had been married to Rita Regan Buchy. On their first date, he drove her family to an Irish wake. They had a wonderful marriage, their daughter said. "Their hearts were entwined. It was great to see them together," she said.

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Buchy is survived by sons Frank and Michael; daughters Mary Bailey and Nora Savukinas; 20 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Another daughter, Nancy, died in 1990.

Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, June 10, and from 9:30 to 10 a.m. Friday, June 11, at O'Leary Funeral Home, 640 E. Springfield Rd., Springfield, Delaware County. A Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Peace Church, 208 Milmont Ave., Milmont Park. Burial will be in SS. Peter and Paul Cemetery, Marple Township.