Before St. Joe’s Prep became a football juggernaut, it was coached in the 1960s by Bob Vincent, a man who drove a hearse to practice, writes Matt Breen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It was assumed Vincent was an undertaker who spent mornings dressing bodies before driving the 12-foot black hearse to practice in Fairmount Park.
Turns out he was just a driver for Frankford Limousine, which also provided hearses for funerals.
Dick Bailey, the team’s quarterback in 1963, remembers hitching a ride to school from a Delaware County neighbor who worked in the city. He was dropped off at 16th and Vine and “thumbed it” the rest of the way.
Vincent played at the Prep in the late 1940s. He was hired to coach the Hawks in 1961.
He brought the team back to the Catholic League in 1963 after it had won only 18 games previously over eight years.
The Hawks, in their first year back in the Catholic League, took the Southern Division title, advanced to the Catholic League championship, but lost there by 22 points.
“We were just thrilled to be there,” Bailey said. “Everyone thought we were a pushover because we hadn’t been around.”
Read more about Bob Vincent in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
