By JOE RYAN
Norwalk-The FCIAC Hall of Fame will finally include Jim Moriarty and it is one of the most well-deserved honors in my opinion.
I only got to cover his teams for eight of his 33 years but it was long enough to admire a man who seemed to be doing the thing which was his destiny. Moriarty was a born teacher and coach.
Call it inspiration, communication or whatever but he was able to see inside a player and get the most out of thier skills. His teams were always the “team you least wanted ” on your schedule. A Black Knight game gave other coaches plenty of sleepless nights trying to prepare for what the wily Irishman had in store.
The Black Knights teams garnered 445 victories. Stamford High was FCIAC runnerup five times. He finally won a league crown when Stamford outlasted Trinity Catholic in double overtime for the 2008-09 FCIAC championship. The game was a classic and is still talked about as one of the greatest. The Black Knights won the 1992 Class LL championship.
It was always a sight to see him work the sidelines during a game. His palms down wave of disgust at a bad call or play. His one legged jig or stamping of his foot which became a full-fledged Riverdance some nights but always entertaining.
Moriarty was one of my favorite interviews always like there was any doubt. An Irishman can always tell a tale. He would fill my recorder with basketball gems not platitudes and cliches but a streetyard wisdom which brought the game to life.
One of Moriarty’s favorite quotes came from the movie Hoosiers. He said he always began each season thinking of Gene Hackman’s quote:
“Lets see what kind of hand I’ve been dealt.”
Whatever the hand, Moriarty made the most of it but he never really talked about the wins or losses. He would talk about the players like David Fields going on to be the captain of the Columbia University team and a success in the business world. He would talk about the players from his iconic FCIAC championship win but not about what they did that night. He would talk about how they all went on to success after graduating from Stamford.
The FCIAC finally out Coach Mo in the Hall of Fame. Most people knew he was a Hall of Famer a long time ago.
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