The Martellis: The Good Guys Reflected In Friends at St. Joseph's University

There were a few big upsets during the first day of the March Madness basketball contests. One of those brought back great memories and a reminder that the “good guys can finish first” as a team and as a university.

Phil Martelli, the 71-years old former St. Joseph’s University Basketball team coach, watched his son, Phil Jr., coach of VCU’s Basketball Team win over the Carolina Tarheels. Carolina is one of the powerful sport legacies over the years. Michael Jordan played for this team before turning pro. Every father wants to see his children accomplishing their dream. His son, Martelli Jr. had played for the St. Joseph’s team and then spent 20 years as an assistant coach before coaching at Bryant and then VCU.

I knew Coach Martelli when he coached at St. Joes’s as we had a close relationship with that university. St. Joe’s is a Jesuit institution. The Jesuits would often say to me that they had more in common with me than the “man down the street” who was Cardinal Kroll, the very conservative Archbishop of Philadelphia who lived directly across the street from our former campus on City Line Avenue. When some of my students asked to have him speak in chapel, I invited him to address us.

He arrived with his entourage. I had recently hired the first woman clergyperson at our school which I have written about in an earlier blog. It wasn’t easy. People remember when the first women were ordained, but they forget what those early days were like since women clergy were trailblazers. Her name was The Reverend Daphne Killhour-Polys. I found the archbishop to be arrogant to say the least. When I introduced him to Daphne, he said “that’s no way to kill time.”  I told him I was lucky to have her with me. No one taught him manners. That ended our conversation. He wasn’t used to people disagreeing with him. I chose to honor the office and not the person.

His presence, so close by, just made the relationship between St. Joe’s and EA closer.

President Nick Rashford and I were standing near their new chapel as I was saying goodbye to him when he was retiring. I asked him what his most important accomplishment was. He raised more funds than anyone and updated the curriculum, but he started to laugh and said, “See that overpass over City Line Avenue connecting the dorm to the campus. That took me five variances working with the state, Septa, the township, and the city.” When I was having lunch which Charles Curry, the President of the Jesuit Community, he had to leave for a luncheon. I asked him where he was headed. He reluctantly said, “It is for Mensa, the society for those with the highest IQ(s).” He taught chemistry at the school. These men were my people. Not the cardinal.

When St. Joe’s was making its way during March Madness, they were a Cinderella team in 2003-2004 that found itself on the precipice of the final four. We at EA shared in St. Joe’s incredible story. Not enough people know that Phil’s wife, Judy Marra Martelli, played on the Immaculata College’s Championship women’s basketball teams. One of our EA parents made a movie of her team called the Mighty Macs released in 2009. Vicki and I attended the premier at the Kimmel Center.

When the fervor was at its highest for St. Joe’s and Phil Martelli, and his team returned to the Philadelphia Airport from their previous game. I called Phill on his cellphone to congratulate him on his victory.

Now the lessons for you: I asked him if I could get him to speak to our school community on the character needed to achieve such success. It was another version of David, St. Joe’s against Goliath, the bigger teams. Then, he shocked me! He asked, “What time is chapel today?” I told him, and he said, “I will be there!” Every TV channel was trying to interview him, and he chose to come to EA when he didn’t have much sleep.

Here are his take aways regarding character: Each of us is not only building a reputation, but we are also building a legacy by the way we treat one another. Martelli never forgot where he came from and remembered his neighbor institution.

He did the inconvenient thing to do.

When he spoke, he talked about don’t do something today that may make it difficult for you to achieve your dream. He continued, “Today you are making your future. Right now. Do the hard things now. The rest will come. Do the hard right. Not the easy wrong.”

Will our community remember his words? You bet!

But there is more. Something that I believe as well! If someone inconveniences themselves for me, they will have a friend for life.

This is particularly true of working with young people. I would make it a priority to get to their games, plays, or musical performances even when I didn’t have time to do so as they knew my schedule. The important thing is that they knew I was there as they would thank me the next day. In fact, it is true for all people. Interruptions should be our priority. That is the way to bond with others. Anyone can help another when it is convenient.

When Phil Martelli speaks with his son before a game, he always protects his son’s integrity. He doesn’t it tell him what play to execute. He is not discussing X(s) and O(s). He talked with him about the subjective things like “make sure your guys are blocking out distractions.” Family is important to the Martellis. Martelli’s brother, James, is his associate head coach.

Live your life so that people will love to see you win not because of what you win but who you are that makes a player/students/friend, colleagues, etc. better. Make their good better, and their better the best that it can be.

People still like the good guys and girls on a team.

Do you think it is an accident that we sold our Merion Campus to St. Joseph’s University? I have only been back to the Merion Campus and Christ Chapel once. It was a difficult place to leave, but true legacies are built for change. It was a win for St. Joeseph’s, and the Newtown Square Campus became a win for us. We left because we were land locked. St. Joe’s is still fighting that battle. Hence, President Rashford’s comment about the bridge.