Lansdale Catholic coach Algeo announces retirement

AS LANSDALE Catholic High's 2010 football season ended, Jim Algeo figured he'd coached the team for the final time.

He knew he would soon be retiring as a teacher, and he believed a double cut-the-ties would make the most sense.

Then came the following Monday . . .

"In school that day," Algeo said, "James Ward [now a junior two-way back] asked me if I was going to open the weight room. I always encourage the kids to take some time off. But there he was, raring to go. When we got in there, I looked around and there were 20-25 kids. And it stayed that way. Three days a week. Twenty to 25 kids in the weight room.

"As the year went on, I gave it more and more thought. I knew we'd have a very young team. I decided it wasn't a good time to leave. I wanted to be here with them."

Though the passion hasn't changed, the body is now less cooperative.

Jim Algeo, 75, LC's head coach for 44 years and an assistant for 9 years at three schools beforehand, has announced his retirement, effective at the end of this season. He told his assistants Monday night, informed principal Tim Quinn, one of his former players, on Tuesday and heads-upped his players after yesterday's workout.

At Tuesday's practice, Algeo said, "I just feel tired. Your perspective of yourself is different than the kids' perspective. I still feel like I could get down in a stance and knock everybody off the ball. But . . . "

While Algeo does not move quickly anymore, his voice retains its boomer quality and his mind puts tacks to shame.

At that practice, he looked at the defensive players and rattled off classes for every one. Later, in a discussion of LC's drawing area, he mentioned that some kids reside in Quakertown, then proceeded to pinpoint which ones. Also, he knew the names, positions and destinations for all of Archbishop Wood's Division 1 commits and had no problem providing names/schools for the LC guys now playing college football.

"I'll be able to go watch their games next year. That'll keep me busy, right?" he said, smiling. "And my grandson [Sean Algeo] plays soccer in high school. He's a junior and I've never seen one of his games. Now, I'll get to see those, too."

Algeo and his wife, Mickey, celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary Monday. They have nine children, ranging in age from 51 to 33 (son Danny is Cardinal O'Hara's head coach), and 18 grandchildren. Two of his assistants are named Mike deMarteleire; they're a son-in-law and grandson.

Algeo, a native of Sharon Hill, Delaware County, is a product of Holy Cross Seminary (on the campus of Notre Dame) and Pennsylvania Military College (now Widener). He assisted for two seasons at Cardinal Dougherty, four at Sun Valley and three at Penncrest before assuming command at LC for the 1968 season.

His record is 293-181-15 (11-26 in year No. 4 of Catholic League membership) and his Crusaders have captured nine championships in assorted leagues. His 2004 squad won the PIAA Class AA state title.

Algeo caught the coaching bug as far back as grade school.

"There was a magazine called The Catholic Boy, published by the fathers at Notre Dame," he said. "We used to get that at my grade school and it had a comic strip about the football coach at St. Polycarp High School.

"I used to love reading that. It gave me my first inkling, 'I think I wanna do that someday.' When I went to the seminary, the editor of that magazine was my first spiritual adviser."

Said Quinn: "Mr. Algeo's a great man. I'm heartbroken over this. That's the word I keep coming back to - heartbroken. He cared so much about the kids and the school, which is why he stayed around so long."

Algeo said he decided to announce his retirement now so LC can have his replacement in place shortly after the season ends, thus making for a smooth transition.

As much as possible, he added, he is trying to keep his emotions in check.

"It's hard if you let yourself get carried away, and don't put it into the right kind of perspective," he said. "The kids have been great. The parents have been great. It's been a wonderful experience."

Recently, he said, he attended a funeral Mass for the wife of a former player/assistant coach and was struck by something he read on the last page of the booklet.

"It said, basically, that people won't remember you for how much money you made or what kind of house you had," he said. "But if you somehow impacted someone favorably, that's a good thing."

For Jim Algeo, you're talking "thousands of someones."

Online high school coverage at philly.com/rally.