JOHN KURTY
WESTFIELD – Westfield State University is mourning the loss of retired Coach John Kurty, 86, who was fatally injured in a bicycle/pickup truck accident while riding his bicycle on Western Avenue near Stanley Park on Tuesday afternoon.
“John Kurty was a highly respected coach and mentor whose impact and influence on the students he taught will long be remembered. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family – wife Rita, son Jack, daughter Carol and her husband Hal – at this very sad time,” said Westfield State University President Evan S. Dobelle.
Coach Kurty was the first coach inducted into the Westfield State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1994 as a member of the charter class. Coach Kurty, who retired from the Westfield State faculty as a physical education instructor in 1988, compiled a brilliant record of 153 wins, 36 losses and 13 ties in coaching the Westfield men’s soccer team from 1966 to 1977.
At the time of his retirement, his .790 winning percentage was the highest of any coach, active or retired, in all New England divisions. Coach Kurty led the Owls to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and three New England state championships. Coach Kurty’s 1974 team finished third in the nation.
Paul Whalley, a senior captain on the 1974 Westfield State team, recalls Coach Kurty as the perfect mentor.
“Coach Kurty was a great coach and even a greater person,” said Whalley. “He taught us to win and lose with class, dignity, and grace. When I became a coach he was the standard for the way I wanted to behave. I never reached that level, however, he inspired a clear vision of what a coach should be.
“In the 41 years that I’ve known Coach Kurty, no matter who I mentioned him to they said what a great guy he is. No one ever had a bad thing to say about coach probably because in my 41 years I never heard him say a bad thing about anyone.”
Coach Kurty also coached golf for 10 years and volleyball for seven years at Westfield State, and was a volunteer assistant for the baseball team. Coach Kurty came to Westfield from his hometown of Ludlow, where he coached the high school soccer team to a 10-year record of 150 wins, 19 loss and 19 ties and three consecutive state championships.
A standout athlete, Coach Kurty graduated from Penn State University and was a member of a NCAA national championship soccer team.
“Coach Kurty was an amazing and very humble man,” said Whalley. “I played soccer for him for four years and one year of volleyball. I never knew that he won a national soccer championship at Penn State and was an All-American there until years later when I was submitting a recommendation for his entry into the National Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Whenever he talked, he talked about his players and how they made him successful.”
In his retirement years, John was an avid golfer and an umpire for local college and high school baseball games.
“The Westfield State athletics department is deeply saddened by the death of Coach Kurty,” said Westfield State athletics director Richard Lenfest. ”He was a legendary coach but he was an even better person who was very loyal to Westfield State, even in his retirement years. A scholarship fund at WSU is being established in his name.”
