High school coach Jack Curran, who spent five decades overseeing Archbishop Molloy's high school basketball and baseball, died on Thursday. He was 83.

Curran helped Molloy win nearly 1,000 games in basketball and almost 2,000 wins in baseball, according to lohud.com.

When people spoke of Curran, they acknowledged more than his success coaching the sports teams- they remembered his strong desire to help others.

"He was one of the true saints in scholastic sports," said Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame coach Lou Carnesecca via Yahoo. Curran was Caresecca's successor at Molloy. "However, it's what he did for kids that were more important and not necessarily just athletes from Molloy but from the New York area."

Some of New York City's biggest names in high school basketball had Curran as their coach at Molloy, such as 1972 Olympian Kevin Joyce, Brian Winters, Kenny Smith, Kenny Anderson and Russ Smith,

Curran reportedly helped students both at Molloy and other schools get scholarships for college.

The coach recently contracted lung and kidney problems, and underwent dialysis three days a week for the past few years. But Yahoo reported that he rarely missed a day at school, let alone a game or practice.

Curran broke his kneecap last month when he slipped on ice on his way to church. This, however, this did not prevent him from attending the services that day. He had said he was looking forward to getting back to the field as soon as his knee healed.

"He was a hard worker and worked his team very hard," Molloy President Richard Karsten said in the report. "He had the respect of so many young players and the older players would come back to see him."

Curran's death came unexpectedly. "It's a surprise to most," said Stepinac coach Tim Philp, via lohud.com. "The two times we played them in the past, he was always in very good spirits. He looked like he was in good health."

Plans for his funeral were not finalized.