By Msgr. Noel Burtenshaw

In 1982 he was The Georgia Bulletin Man of the Year.

In the last 20 years he has been Georgia’s high school Coach of the Year.

In St. Pius X High School he will always be “favorite of all time.”

He is Georgia Maloof – the Coach – and after 26 years of service to the famous Catholic High School in Northeast Atlanta he is leaving.

“Of course, it is a difficult time for me,” says the Holy Cross parishioner. “I have such wonderful memories of this school. But the time has come.”

George Maloof, native of Atlanta and schoolboy All American when he played for Marist in the forties, was the very first employee of St. Pius when the doors opened in 1958. “Monsignor Moloney called me,” remembers Georgia, “and it was a high honor to be trusted and chosen to play a founding part of this great school.”

In 1958 Georgia Maloof was assistant coach at his alma mater, Marist, when it was still situated on its downtown location. “I had spent two years in the service,” says the well known St. Pius coach, “and was beginning my new career in youth work. Marist was a place I always wanted to be a part of but the new opportunity was great too. I took it, of course, and began to build the new program at St. Pius.”

It would be four years before the new daughter school would face the venerable Marist boys on a football battlefield. The contest would take place on the Decatur High School field and before a full stadium of cheering fans from many Atlanta parishes, the first Catholic football face-off ended in a tie. “I remember well,” grins George Maloof.

He has other memories too. “The kids,” he says again and again, “the kids are the best memories. Almost 40 of them played in some college in the nation and others achieved academic honors to make any teacher happy. As long as they become good Christian men and women and do their best, I am proud. So many of them have achieved this.”

Throughout the country, wherever St. Pius graduates live, word that Coach Maloof is leaving St. Pius will come as a surprise. He was always that wonderful gentleman who was approachable, paternal and kindly to a fault.

Over the years Georgia Maloof has received many honors. He was a brilliant scorer of points in the fifties for Georgia Tech, was All-Conference and honorably mentioned in the All American lists. He has received All High School coaching awards and was Man of the Year in the archdiocese two years ago.

However, the honor most mentioned by George was the Benamerenti medal which was conferred upon him by Pope John Paul II in 1982. “I will always cherish that honor,” says Coach Maloof.

Maloof will not be moving too far away from his St. Pius Golden Lions. Henderson High School has asked Maloof to accept a position as math teacher and assistant coach of the football team.

He and his wife, Dolores, will be missed at St. Pius and in Joe Bean stadium, where the Golden Lions of St. Pius do battle, this man will long be remembered.