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Father Judge dismisses Mike McKay as head football coach

McKay was Judge's quarterback when it beat Frankford for the 1975 city title. He also played baseball for the Crusaders.

Mike McKay was only the third head football coach for Father Judge in the last 45 years. CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
Mike McKay was only the third head football coach for Father Judge in the last 45 years. CHARLES FOX / Staff PhotographerRead more

Mike McKay was let go as Father Judge’s head football coach after six seasons.

“We appreciate everything Mike has done in his time here, but we just decided to go in a different direction,” Jake Serfass, Judge’s athletic director, said Tuesday afternoon.

McKay’s final game was on Thanksgiving, when the visiting Crusaders cruised to a 40-6 victory over neighboring Abraham Lincoln.

“I’m thankful and grateful for the opportunity I had to coach at Judge,” McKay said. “The administrators have the right, obviously, to decide on the person they want to direct the team."

McKay, 60, was the starting quarterback for Judge when it beat Frankford, 9-6, at Veterans Stadium for the city title in 1975.

Before replacing former coach Tommy Coyle in 2013, McKay served as an assistant at Archbishop Carroll, Northeast, Upper Merion, Archbishop Wood, and the old Cardinal Dougherty.

McKay compiled a 31-38 overall mark at Judge. In the Catholic League, his teams had the difficult task of trying to keep pace with the talented likes of St. Joseph’s Prep, La Salle, and Archbishop Wood.

The Crusaders struggled this season, going 3-8 overall and 1-4 in Catholic League Red Division play.

“I had the chance to coach a lot of great young men and build relationships and memories that will last forever,” McKay said.

McKay was only the sixth head coach in Judge’s 64-year history. His coach when he played for the Crusaders, John “Whitey” Sullivan, was in charge from 1974 to 1999.