Traverse City St. Francis longtime coach Jim Carroll built a lasting legacy

Nov. 12—TRAVERSE CITY — He was "Mr. Gladiator." "Mr. St. Francis."

No matter what, folks seem to put "Mr." in front of it.

Longtime Traverse City St. Francis football coach Jim Carroll passed away last week at age 82, leaving a legacy with coaches and players — a lasting legacy deserving of more than a simple title.

That's why "Mr." fit so well.

"He was Mr. Gladiator," St. Francis coach Craig Bauer said. "I was blessed that I had two of the best coaches around to mentor me — Larry (Sellers) and Jimmy."

Visitation for Carroll is slated for 4:30-8:30 p.m. Nov. 19 at Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home in Traverse City, with visitation at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Catholic Church and service to follow at 11 a.m.

Over 62 years as an assistant coach with St. Francis, the Gladiators produced a record of 514-146-2, winning eight state championships and playing in the title game a dozen times.

"What a loss," said Joe Forlenza, who coached alongside Carroll from 1987-2020. "There wasn't anything he couldn't build. He was a Mr. Fix-It kind of guy. If you needed it, he'd build it."

That included a lot of things for the Gladiators football program.

Carroll constructed a portable hydration station for the Glads to take to practice, the spirit store, much of the four locker rooms inside St. Francis' gymnasium and even a parade float for St. Francis to be in the Cherry Royale Parade at the National Cherry Festival.

A 2015 inductee into St. Francis' Hall of Fame, Carroll also coached basketball for 28 seasons and track for 14. That included seven years as the Gladiators' varsity basketball head coach.

Carroll's father passed away when he was 17, so he took over the family bakery, finished high school and passed up going to college to run the business. He started coaching at St. Francis immediately after graduation in 1959 after a four-year playing career as a running back for the Glads.

Carroll either played with or coached alongside every head coach in St. Francis history.

"He never made it through a banquet without breaking down crying," Forlenza said. "It came to be expected. That's how much he cared about the kids."

St. Francis Athletic Director Aaron Biggar played under Carroll and all his sons were coached by him.

"Jim was always a behind-the-scenes guy," Biggar said. "I called him a servant-leader. He was a perfectionist and challenged you to be the best you can be. When you get up there in your coaching tenure, you understand what's important through consistent trial and error."

Carroll didn't coach the last two seasons as his health declined, but he showed up at practice as the Gladiators prepared for the 2022 state championship game.

"He was a guy that — other than his family, which was absolutely a passion in life — he loved being around kids," St. Francis head football coach Josh Sellers said. "He never ever looked for the spotlight."

Carroll, who coached the Gladiators' running backs and defensive backs, drove the school bus full of players to practice every day for decades. Current St. Francis offensive coordinator Josh Ludka is Carroll's nephew, as is Biggar by marriage.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn. She passed in January of 2021 during the playoffs, as the football season was delayed by the COVID-19 epidemic.

"That year was something. He definitely needed to rely on the kids," Josh Sellers said. "Normally, it was the kids relying on him, but he needed it that year. ... It's kind of a comfort for us that he's reunited with his wife."

Greg Vaughan played for Carroll on varsity from 1992-94 and coached the Gladiators from 2008-14.

"The biggest thing is his devotion," Vaughan said. "He was deeply devoted to his wife Carolyn. And he was absolutely devoted to St. Francis. It really wasn't about him. He just wanted to make the players the best he could."

Carroll took Vaughan to the Rose Bowl back when Max Bullough was playing at Michigan State. Vaughan said people decades younger had a hard time keeping up with Carroll.

"He's the youngest old guy you'll ever meet," Vaughan said. "He was absolutely incredible."

Bauer coached alongside Carroll for most of five decades after his hire at St. Francis in 1977.

"He was one of the first guys that welcomed me to St. Francis football," Bauer said. "Jim Carroll and his wife Carolyn, because I was a young coach out of college, they just welcomed me in. I was like an adopted son."

Carroll has a room in his home that's essentially a St. Francis football museum.

The shrine features an archive of St. Francis game footage, photo books, a turfed floor, fencing from Thirlby Field and numerous Record-Eagle articles on the Gladiators.

"If you ever needed someone to talk to, he was there," Bauer said. "He would drop everything and come over to your house. Maybe there are a lot of coaches like that, but to me, that stood out."

Follow @Jamescook14 on Twitter.