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With the school year underway, Mount Carmel High School athletics is starting football season without a cherished team member. The school announced Sunday the death of Jim Morrissey, a volunteer statistician for the athletics department since 1986.
“He was a perfect gentleman, always friendly to everyone,” said Mount Carmel President Brendan Conroy. “You could count on him from everything from stats for our student-athletes to bringing doughnuts for the coaches.”
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His dedication to his role and the school showed in those moments when he was the first one in and the last one out of the coaches room, Mouth Carmel athletic director Dan LaCount said.
Morrissey insisted on doing the stats by hand, choosing a clipboard and pencil over the tablet he was offered on the sideline. Every Saturday morning in the coaches room was the same for Morrissey. He would sit at his desk to work on the stats and turn on the radio to listen to Northwestern football games.
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Morrissey graduated from Mount Carmel in 1975 and remained committed to the school.
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“He loved this school,” said LaCount. “He was part of an era of people that were dedicated to their school … and never asked for anything in return.”
He learned his craft from his predecessor Frank Kiszka, another dedicated Mount Carmel graduate who kept statistics for the athletes full time and took Morrissey under his wing. LaCount said Morrissey had a picture of them together on his desk.
Morrissey had the respect of the students, and LaCount said this season will feel different.
“We will just miss him, it’s an empty feeling without him,” he said.
According to LaCount, he suffered a severe heart attack earlier in August that he failed to recover from. He was 64.
The school will be sharing funeral arrangements when they are finalized. In the meantime, the football team will be sporting commemorative stickers on their helmets this season to remember Morrissey’s quiet, constant presence.
