William Fox, Philadelphia superior school basketball coaching legend, dies at 70

William D. Fox Jr., 70, a famous superior college basketball mentor who led Father Judge’s crew for three many years, died Sunday, July 18, in his Philadelphia house of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s Illness.

Considerably cherished and revered, Mr. Fox served as a school member and head basketball mentor at Father Choose High Faculty for 29 yrs. For the duration of that time, he touched the lives of many players, college students and fellow coaches.

At Father Choose, he served steer his team to a few Catholic League championships, as properly as 26 playoff appearances.

In 2007, Mr. Fox was inducted into both equally the CYO Corridor of Fame and the Father Judge Superior University Corridor of Fame.

For Mr. Fox, being a coach was about additional than just the sport. It was about setting up character.

“It was about educating and grooming younger adult males to be men and to develop and to educate them the principles of being accountable, staying there for 1 a further,” explained his son Brendan. “It was normally much more than about basketball for him. The Father Choose basketball community turned like a family.”

Raised in Philadelphia’s Somerton section, Mr. Fox was just one of five children born to William Sr. and Madeleine Fox. He graduated from La Salle Significant University in 1969. He then attended La Salle University, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1973.

Though a university student at LaSalle, Mr. Fox performed varsity basketball for all of his four several years. In his senior time, he was named co-captain of the staff and acquired the Huge 5 Unsung Hero Award, Wish and Perseverance Award.

Just after college or university, Mr. Fox worked as a coaching graduate assistant at American University from 1973 to 1974.

But his correct career home was Father Judge, the place he served as chair of the enterprise department and taught accounting and organization law. Although at Father Judge, he also labored 20 several years for Philadelphia’s Section of Recreation — section-time all through the college yr and whole-time for the duration of summers.

In later on several years, from 2000 to 2005, he was the city’s assistant director of commerce. And from 2005 to 2018, he labored for the Faculty District of Philadelphia as director of real estate.

At Father Decide, Mr. Fox cared about all the students, not just the athletes, his family members said. He noticed kids who were being struggling socially or had other issues and he invited several of them to be workforce supervisors.

“When they had been supervisors on the basketball team, they ended up addressed like a player, and they ended up component of the basketball family,” mentioned Brendan Fox.

Numerous of those people previous supervisors came to spend their respects when their mentor died.

“He usually designed a stage of seeking to get people fellas and help them out and make them component of a thing larger than by themselves,” his son mentioned. “He always prided himself on that.”

As much as Mr. Fox gave to the gamers he coached as perfectly as to the other youthful men and women whose lives he touched, his key precedence was often his family members. He built certain he was existing at the several sporting gatherings, dance recitals, musicals, and graduations of all his young children and grandchildren.

“‘Family is every little thing,” was a thing he reported generally.

Among the his most cherished memories had been coaching each of his sons during their high school professions.

Mr. Fox also enjoyed touring with his wife, Maryellen, traveling to 43 of the 50 states, as nicely as paying summer in Sea Isle Town. Though he was there, he was normally seen sporting a T-shirt that said, “Life is Superior.” . He experienced a whole lot of them since he considered in the message.

In addition to his son, Mr. Fox is survived by his wife one more son, Brian daughters Bridget Gossner and Maura Crisanti his mom eight grandchildren and other family members. His father died earlier.

Mr. Fox’s funeral and interment was Saturday, July 24. A visitation was held the evening prior to in Invoice Fox Gymnasium at Father Choose Significant College, as his family felt was fitting.

Donations in the coach’s memory might be created to the Good friends of Father Choose, Father Choose Large College, 3301 Solly Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19136-2396, or on the web at https://www.friendsoffatherjudge.com/donate.html.