Villanova Univeristy Athletics

A standout tackle for Villanova who played both offensively and defensively in his three varsity seasons, Joe McCarthy’s career spanned the head coaching tenures of future Hall of Famers Maurice “Clipper” Smith and Jordan Olivar. McCarthy played on the Wildcats varsity squad from 1941-43 and graduated in 1944 with a degree in Economics. He was inducted to the Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1989.
 
McCarthy gained recognition as a “60 minute player” during his career for his ability to line up on both offense and defense during a time when college football generally used the “two platoon rule” which allowed for mass substitutions between plays. Villanova was 13-11 during his three varsity seasons and posted large scoring margins over its opposition all three years.
 
As a sophomore in 1941, McCarthy contributed to a Wildcats defense which gave up just 7.3 points per game and held both Centre (38-3) and Florida (6-0) without touchdowns in the first two games of the year. The next season, 1942, was the last in the seven-year coaching stint of Clipper Smith, and McCarthy helped Villanova roll to a 116-66 scoring margin in eight games. After the Wildcats lost two of the first three contests of the season, they went on to tally consecutive wins over Manhattan and Iowa State at Shibe Park by a combined total of 57 points.
 
McCarthy’s senior year was the first in former Villanova standout Jordan Olivar’s coaching career and the team posted a 5-3 record on the season while outscoring opponents by nearly a touchdown per game. The offense averaged 20.9 points per contest and the Wildcats closed the season with impressive road wins in two of their final three games at Princeton (45-12) and Temple (34-7).
 
During his time on campus McCarthy was a three-year member of the Spanish Club and he graduated early in February 1944 with a degree in Economics. The native of Stamford, Conn. achieved the rank of 1^st Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and was a World War II veteran who served in the Pacific theater with stints in Okinawa and Chian during the war.
 
McCarthy finalized his training at the U.S. Naval Gunfire Liaison School at the Coronado Amphibious Training Base in San Diego and soon after sailed to Hawaii for final deployment to the South Pacific. He was a forward observer whose job was to land first on the islands and work his way to a higher elevation and radio back coordinates of the Japanese installations.
 
After the war ended, McCarthy was part of the 1^st Marine Division which led forces protecting Chinese citizens from non-surrendering Japanese soldiers in and around the city of Tientsin, North China. In his downtime he started a boxing program and competed with some of the best-known boxers in the South Pacific. He was later promoted to Captain USMC and was recalled during the Korean conflict.
 
McCarthy had a long career in the food industry and was notably the 1972 Man of the Year Award winner for the National Conference of Christians and Jews in New York, as well as the 1981 Man of the Year for the Catholic Institute of the Food Industry. Earlier in his career, McCarthy worked for Finast (First National Supermarkets) which was the dominant food retailer in New England at the time. He was selected to represent the company at the International Food Congress in 1955 and helped set up the first supermarket in Rome, Italy.
 
McCarthy retired in 1990 and was honored in 2005 with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the New Jersey Food Council. He passed away in Naples, Fla. in 2013 at the age of 91.