Andy Dougherty, St. Joe’s much-loved athletic historian, dies at 79


Talk about a life well lived.

Andy Dougherty’s resume took more than two pages to condense. He was a fixture in the Philadelphia sports scene for close to six decades. He was as respected a human being as one could imagine.

On Oct. 4, the former St. Joseph’s sports information director and University athletic historian and father of five succumbed to complications of gallbladder surgery. He was 79. When word got out that Dougherty had died, his son Larry Dougherty said, the outpouring of support was instant and touching, and it won’t be forgotten.

“My dad touched a lot of lives,” said Dougherty, who was one of his dad’s biggest fans. “I think one of the reasons people liked my dad a lot was because he didn’t treat anyone differently. Whether you were a star player or coach, or just a guy on the street, he treated you just the same.”

This, despite the fact that Dougherty was, in his own way, a star as well. He served in numerous organizations, usually in prominent roles. He was secretary of the Markward Club from 1969 to 2002, and it seemed that all who attended were acknowledged by their first name, even if they had met Dougherty just once before.

Personally, he had been inducted into several halls of fame, including two particularly huge honors: He entered the Big 5 Hall of Fame in 1989 and, what many close to Dougherty said was his most cherished honor, into the St. Joseph’s University Hall of Fame in 2005. An ailing Dougherty was unable to attend the ceremony, so Larry Dougherty accepted the award for his dad and brought him a tape of it to watch at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

“It was so thrilling for him,” Larry Dougherty said. “It meant more to him than anyone could imagine.”

Dougherty might have been surprised to learn how much he meant to St. Joe’s. At the ceremony, he was described as someone who did whatever was necessary — no matter what the task, big or small. Those who reminisced about Dougherty’s life often used the term when they described it.

“It’s hard ... to think about Andy Doc and not get a smile on your face,” said St. Joe’s men’s basketball coach Phil Martelli. “He was a one-of-a-kind individual.”

Among his long list of jobs was writing about sports for The Catholic Standard & Times from the mid 1960s to the mid 70s.

Reached by telephone in Rome, the newspaper’s former editor and a native Philadelphian, Archbishop John Foley, who is now president of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, lauded Dougherty for his conscious effort to acknowledge as many players as possible in his sports columns.

“I must confess, I’m not a sports fan,” chuckled the Archbishop, who served as The CS&T’s editor from 1967 to 1984. “But I always appreciated what Andy was able to do with what he wrote. He was an ambassador for our youth, and that is such an important ministry.

“There is so much tradition among the many Philadelphia high schools. Being able to provide deserved recognition to the hard work of students and coaches is a wonderful gift,” the Archbishop said. “That’s why I’ve always been in favor of sports-reporting in the diocesan newspapers.”

Archbishop Foley and Dougherty also shared neighborhood roots, both having grown up in Darby. Like Dougherty, Archbishop Foley — a native of Sharon Hill and product of since-closed Holy Spirit parochial school — was also a St. Joseph’s Prep graduate; Dougherty graduated from the Prep in 1944, Archbishop Foley in 1953.

When he learned Dougherty had died, Archbishop Foley immediately sent a letter to Larry Dougherty. It’s a practice Archbishop Foley has employed throughout his priestly ministry.

“When people are going through tough times, it’s so important to let them know they’re in your thoughts and prayers,” Archbishop Foley said. “The Dougherty family has every reason to be proud of the life Andy lived.”

Andy Dougherty is survived by his wife, Jane; sons Larry, Andy, Brian and Brendan, and daughter Mary Ficco; three sisters; nine grandsons, and a great grandson. Funeral services took place Oct. 10 at St. Dorothy’s Church in Drexel Hill.

(Do you have a response to this or a tip for a future article? Send e-mail to jknebels@comcast.net.)