Honoring Joe McCourt for his record-setting career at Lafayette College and for being selected by the Maxwell Football Club as the 2004 Tri-State Player of the Year.

WHEREAS, Joe McCourt was born in Philadelphia on July 4, 1983 to Marian and Joseph McCourt and grew up in the Juniata section of Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Joe graduated from Holy Innocents Grade School and went on to attend Roman Catholic High School, where he was a four-year member of the football, basketball and baseball teams; and

WHEREAS, in 2000 as a high school senior, Joe rushed for a single-season record of 1,780 yards and scored 173 points along the way to helping lead Roman Catholic High School to the Philadelphia Catholic League Championship. At season’s end, Joe finished his career at Roman Catholic as the all-time leading rusher in school history with 3,315 yards and at season’s end, was recognized as the High School Player of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club; and

WHEREAS, Joe continued to excel in football after high school as a tailback for Lafayette College becoming one of the best running backs in Patriot League history by finishing his career with 4,474 rushing yards, second all-time at Lafayette and fourth in the Patriot League. In addition to those impressive records, Joe also set the school and league scoring mark with 326 points and his 50 rushing touchdowns is yet another Lafayette record; and

WHEREAS, Joe’s performance in the 2004 season enabled him to average 103.9 rushing yards per game and culminated with him being selected as the 2004 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year as well as earning a spot on the American Football Coaches Association Division 1-AA All-America Team; and

WHEREAS, Joe has always recognized the importance of performing well not only on the playing field but also in the classroom and is currently scheduled to graduate from Lafayette College in May of this year with a degree in Anthropology and Sociology; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Honor Joe McCourt for his record-setting career at Lafayette College and for being selected by the Maxwell Football Club as the Tri-State Player of the Year.

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