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Bob Hurley, the Sage of St. Anthony

March 27, 2011 5:08 PM

Tiny Catholic high school St. Anthony in Jersey City doesn't even have its own gym, but it has Coach Bob Hurley, who has taken the team to 24 state championships. Steve Kroft reports.

Coach Bob Hurley: The Sage of St. Anthony
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by brighterday1975 January 28, 2012 9:58 PM EST
while most can appreciate the "perfect" story portrayed here, there is a flip side to every story. With my child as a product of this program he did grow fundamentally as a player. the reality is that academia is not at all a primary concern for any of the basketball players. God bless them if they were able to graduate and be at all prepared for college. Here, I am speaking from experience. If I had 5 more boys that were 7 feet or better the last place I would think to send them is to this school that almost ruined my son's potential college career. thankfully others believed in him because Hurley turned his back every time. and no he wasn't a bad kid either, I promise you that. Came into the school as a solid B student. St Anthony's does have to invest in more than it's basketball program.
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by jeff1770 June 22, 2011 1:44 AM EDT
That is a great man. Wow, awesome story.
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by mardizzone April 7, 2011 3:50 PM EDT
Let's address some of these ignorant comments. First, doubters, please watch a documentary on St. Anthony's called "The Street Stops Here." It will address a lot of your misperceptions. In addition, St. Anthony's can only get students into college and prepare them as much as possible--how the students fare is up to them. However, if you watch "The Street Stops Here," you will hear first-hand from some of Hurley's former players who have succeeded in other walks of life. St. Anthony's is NOT simply a basketball factory. Coach Hurley changes his players' lives for the better-the criticisms here seem to be fueled by jealousy or prejudice. His players come from all over the tri-state area, and typically NOT from the somewhat expensive (and often still very run-down) sections of Jersey City. Also, he doesn't coach exclusively African-American players, he coaches White kids too, including both of his sons. It's amazing, and tragic, that small-minded people can find fault with even the best of success stories.
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by alsointerestedinoutcomes April 1, 2011 10:13 PM EDT
I too am interested in outcomes. Coach Hurley stated that all but 2 of his players in 20 years have gone on to college. As someone who works with inner-city high school kids in Denver, CO these are very impressive numbers. How many of these kids actually received a college degree? Athletics get these kids into college but for most of them that will not put food on their tables. Does anyone respond to these comments or do we have to email the school?
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by AngryOldWhiteGuy March 30, 2011 1:21 PM EDT
My son was a three sport athlete and at 6'6" 225 he was no slouch in Basketball...and I have to choke on 60 Minutes saying "Small struggling Catholic School" in the Twin Cities of Minnesota there is no such thing. My son went to a private protestant school and every Catholic School was a sports powerhouse giving athletic scholarships to African American kids who were good at sports and none what so ever for Academic African American kids! Hypocrites and the church is now paying the price with all the abuse lawsuits!
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by rodrigo4410 March 29, 2011 8:04 PM EDT
Outstanding segment. Someone should produce a DVD featuring Coach Hurley. In it, let him talk about the benefits of discipline, not only in sports, but in the classroom and the long term benefits in life. Parents, educators and students need to hear this man. And what a pleasure it was to see these articulate, clean cut young students wearing a school uniform. Studies have shown that where school uniform programs have been implemented, wearing a uniform can give students a sense of purpose and improve school performance.
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by AvgMom2 March 29, 2011 10:15 AM EDT
I'm always in awe of someone like Coach Hurley. Why isn't he motivated by greed and self-promotion like so many people nowadays? What's in it for him to stick it out in place like St. Anthony? I'm glad 60 Minutes did a story on him. Coach Hurley deserves every accolade we can give him for his unselfish devotion to those students. My faith in humanity is restored!
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by jamiegbf March 28, 2011 5:13 PM EDT
I cannot believe the negative comments here being critical of this story. Why don't you people go suck some lemons. Instead of seeing how this man and this school is helping these kids you criticize them. Unreal.
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by dobsonse March 28, 2011 11:21 AM EDT
I don't think CBS did their research. They claimed that the school is in a run-down neighborhood? Hamilton park Jersey City is an upper class area with million dollar homes, a beautiful park and numerous construction projects. It hasn't been run-down for many years.
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by ramzisaleh March 28, 2011 8:30 AM EDT
I respect coach hurley his commitment is the the key success in this school and the people
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