Jim Murray, longtime St. Joseph’s Prep athletic director and soccer coach, dies at 82

Mr. Murray stands second all-time in Pennsylvania for coaching victories with 620. An influential athletic director in the Catholic League, he had a 46-year career at the Prep, his alma mater.

St. Joseph's Prep soccer coach Jim Murray and the Hawks celebrate their Catholic League championship in 2010.Read more

by Mia Messina

Published Sept. 9, 2024, 11:56 a.m. ET

Jim Murray, the retired athletic director and boys’ soccer coach at St. Joseph’s Prep who stands second all-time in Pennsylvania for coaching victories, died Wednesday at 82.

Before Mr. Murray retired in 2015, the three-time state coach of the year had a 46-year career at his alma mater, also serving as a math teacher.

He captured 620 wins in his soccer coaching career, including four years at Friends’ Central, and led St. Joe’s Prep to 25 division titles and a Catholic League championship in 2010. The Catholic Standard and Times, the news outlet of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia now known as CatholicPhilly.com, named Mr. Murray the coach of the decade for the 1980s.

During Mr. Murray’s tenure as athletic director, St. Joe’s Prep saw the introduction of wrestling, indoor track, lacrosse, and volleyball. In his 44 years in the position, he held every officer position in the Philadelphia Catholic League and continued to serve as treasurer following his retirement.

Mr. Murray was a soccer player at St. Joseph’s University in the early 1960s. He was cocaptain of the 1962 team, helping the Hawks to a 9-1 finish. Mr. Murray was inducted into the St. Joseph’s Men’s Soccer Hall of Fame in 1998 and the St. Joseph’s Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mr. Murray was a member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Southeastern Pennsylvania Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999.

He also served as the chair of the mathematics department at the Prep for a decade, as well as dean of students in the early 1970s. Mr. Murray was also the longtime president of the Alumni Board of Governors.

Mr. Murray is survived by children Beth, Jackie, Jim, Drew, and Chris; 14 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by brother Brendan and sister-in-law Mary Murray. He was predeceased by his wife, Carole A. (nee Redding) Murray.

Mr. Murray’s viewing will be held Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Rosemont Chapel of St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, 1229 E. Lancaster Ave., Rosemont. A second viewing will be held at St. Thomas of Villanova Church on Villanova University’s campus on Wednesday, from 9 to 10:45 a.m. A Funeral Mass will follow at 11 a.m.