By Marc Raimondi
So Curran, Archbishop Molloy's boys' basketball and baseball coach, addressed an envelope to Lubbock, Texas and slipped the photo inside. The recipient? Bobby Knight. A few days later, Curran checked his mail and saw that the legendary coach of Indiana University and Texas Tech sent him a package back with a Texas Tech golf shirt and a long letter.That is a remarkable story to most people. But to Curran, a living legend in his own right, it has become commonplace. Curran calls Lou Carnesecca a close personal friend and has the private line for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, whom he called last year to help one of his players (Dennis O'Grady) get a spot on the Blue Devils baseball team.There was nothing common, however, about this past Friday night. Molloy honored Curran for his 50 years of coaching at the Briarwood school after the Stanners' 45-41 victory over St. Francis Prep. More than 300 former players, alumni, friends and family joined together after the victory to honor him at a reception.”It was overwhelming,” said Curran, who has no immediate plans on retiring. “I hate to inconvenience them to come here just to talk to me.”After the game, Molloy also unveiled a banner inside Jack Curran Gymnasium with his image and a replica of his signature will be emblazoned on the court, only steps from the Stanners bench Curran has sat on since 1958, the year he took over for Carnesecca.Once inside the reception, Curran was given citations by local politicans, including Molloy graduates state Sen. John Sabini (D-Jackson Heights) and City Councilman Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach). State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, another Molloy grad, could not make the ceremony, but sent a citation, as well.”You're not going to see anyone like this again,” said Sabini, who graduated from Molloy in 1974 and had Curran as a physical education teacher.That's a statement that would be difficult to dispute. In basketball, Curran's teams have won five city championships. He's been named city coach of the year 22 times, national coach of the year in 1990, coach of the decade (1980-1990) and coach of the century by Scholastic Coach Magazine. Friday night's win over St. Francis Prep marked 898 for his career and he could still reach the 900 milestone this season.”I don't think anyone has done what he's done in two sports,” Carnesecca said. “It's unheard of.”In baseball, the numbers are even more impressive. The Stanners have won the CHSAA city championship an unprecedented 17 times and their 68 consecutive league victories over the course of a several seasons was a national high-school record that stood from 1970 to 2005. Curran was named CHSAA baseball coach of the year 25 times and he was named national coach of the year in 1988. “He's still the measuring stick for all other coaches,” said Kevin Joyce, who played for Curran and went on to star in the ABA for the Indiana Pacers. “None of them matched up.”He is the winningest coach in New York State in both baseball and basketball. Curran's 2,491 victories in both sports combined are the most in U.S. history.”There's been so many games,” said Curran, 76, who was working in West Springfield, Mass., selling building materials in 1958 when he read in a newspaper that Carnesecca was leaving Molloy to take the men's basketball coaching job at St. John's University. “All those championships were great.” But championships aren't everything for high-school coaches. More than 500 of his former players have gone to college on athletic scholarships and more than 40 of his former players have followed him in the coaching profession on either the high-school or college level.That list includes John Dunne of St. Peter's College in Jersey City and George Mason coach Jim Larranaga. St. John's coach Norm Roberts, who was in attendance Friday, was once the Molloy freshman coach.”By the time I graduated, you were the most influential person in my life,” Larranaga wrote in a letter that was read by Molloy president John Sherry. “You were and still are my role model.”Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
