Former Marblehead High School athletic director Alex Kulevich, left, is together at Hopkins Field with three of his grandsons – Ben Koopman, Jake Kulevich and Tom Koopman – after they helped lead the hockey team to its first-ever state title in 2011. Alex will be honored on Friday (July 25) at Piper Field, when the town officially renames the MHS Sports Complex after him. The ceremony will begin at 12:30 p.m. COURTESY PHOTO

Alexander Walter Kulevich, Jr. has been a sports legend in Marblehead since the 1970s, when he first came to take over the high school football program. He was also a full-time social studies teacher.

In 10 years as a coach, Kulevich was able to establish a winning culture, before stepping away from the sidelines to become the school’s athletic director, a position that he held for 20 years until he announced his retirement in 2000.

The town will recognize his distinguished career on Friday, July 25, with a formal ceremony at Piper Field, where it will officially announce the renaming of the Marblehead High School athletic complex to the Alexander W. Kulevich, Jr. Athletic Complex. The signage is already in place on the building that houses the school gym and workout facilities. Fans can’t miss seeing it when attending games at Piper this fall.

The School Committee approved the name change this past March.

Alex, who turns 90 on Sept. 20, will be at Piper for Friday’s ceremony in his honor, along with his eight children, and most of his 22 grandchildren and four great grandchildren. It’s slated to begin at 12:30 p.m.

“I can’t say enough about receiving this honor. It means so much to me,” said Kulevich. “I’m beyond words what I can say about it, but it’s so nice that the people of Marblehead would think of me this way.”

The Marblehead legend, who celebrated his 67th wedding anniversary with his wife Barbara on July 5, went on to say that he and his wife and family are “blessed by all of the good things” that he was lucky enough to be involved in over the years, especially here in Marblehead.

“I’d like to thank the parents, players and coaches for being very supportive then and now to me,” Kulevich added. “I have had some great student-athletes here. They all did a great job. I was also fortunate to have Pat Magee as my athletic secretary throughout my years as the school’s athletic director. We all worked together as one team.”

Kulevich also recognized those coaches, who have since passed away, and their significant contributions to the MHS sports program. He remembered two of his football assistants – Billy McCarthy and Bruce Jordan. Jordan, in fact, ended up succeeding him as the football team’s varsity head coach. Kulevich’s teams played their home games at Hopkins Field.

Kulevich also recalled another Marblehead legend Brad Sheridan, who was in charge of the boys basketball program for many years. He, too, had a tremendous impact on the school community.

“I have had so many assistants, who were all loyal to my program, and it’s difficult to list them all,” Kulevich added.

Of all his successes on the gridiron, he fondly recalls beating undefeated Swampscott in the 1973 Thanksgiving Day game. “We not only broke up their long winning streak of, I think, 36 games, but with that win we also tied them for first place in the Northeastern Conference,” Kulevich said.

Growing up in Maynard

Kulevich grew up in Maynard, and after graduating from that town’s high school he attended Worcester Academy for one year to play football, before going on to Boston College. In those days, college athletes played on both sides of the ball, and Alex was a tight end on offense and on defense he was a defensive end.

Mike Holovak, who went on to become the Boston Patriots head coach in the 1960s, served in that same role with the Eagles, when Alex was there. He graduated from the Chestnut Hill campus with a bachelor’s of science in education, while also serving in the ROTC. He then headed to Fort Dix in New Jersey for a two-year stint in the Army, where he became a first lieutenant.

After his military commitment was up, Alex came back home to teach at his alma mater in Maynard. He got his master’s in education at Salem State, and then moved on to Bishop Fenwick, where he became its football coach, while also doubling as a social studies teacher there for nine years, setting the stage to begin his Marblehead career.

“When I was at Fenwick, I saw an opening in Marblehead and took it to move up to another level,” said Kulevich, who had already moved his growing family from Peabody to Marblehead in 1966.

Family testimonials for dad, granddad

Tom Kulevich, the oldest of the four brothers, played three years on his dad’s football team, and he had much to say about him and this honor.

“This is obviously a great honor for my dad,” Tom said. “While my father’s honors and accomplishments speak for themselves, what most stands out for me is his character. He’s humble, unselfish and always willing to help and give to others. This was evident when he was a teacher, coach and athletic director. His students always came first, and he’d help them in any way possible. Professional accolades aside, my dad has been an amazing role model for myself and my siblings. He’d be the first to tell anyone that any of this wouldn’t be possible without his wife Barbara. They’re truly a dynamic duo.”

Grandson Kyle Koopman played hockey for two years at MHS, before transferring to the Berkshire School, and that led him to Providence College and a four-year Hockey East career with the Friars. He also played junior hockey after prep school. His twin brother Matt also followed that same path.

Kyle said of his grandfather: “My grandfather has had such a positive impact on me, as well as on so many others. He has been an important and influential part of my life. He’s always positive, and always willing to help others. Having this Marblehead High School athletic complex named after him is an honor, and it represents what he stands for: hard work, integrity and selflessness.”

Kyle’s twin brother Matt is still pursuing his dream now as a professional hockey player with the Wheeling, West Virginia Nailers of the East Coast Hockey League, a Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate. He just completed his third season with them.

Matt, too, admires his grandfather for many of the same attributes. He said of Alex: “My grandfather is one of the most selfless and encouraging individuals that I’ve ever known. He has served as a role model for me and my brothers. He and my grandmother have travelled a lot supporting me in my hockey career, and having this athletic complex named after him allows what he stands for and his legacy to continue both at the high school and throughout the town of Marblehead.”

One of Alex’s youngest grandchildren, John “JJ” Downey, is going into his senior year at Marblehead High, where he plays both hockey and baseball. JJ also has a great deal of admiration for his grandfather, saying, “As a senior now at the high school, it means so much to me to see the (athletic complex) named after someone who gave so much to this community, and that someone is also my grandfather Alex. He just wasn’t a coach or an athletic director, he was someone who led with kindness. He genuinely cared about every student, every athlete, every person who walked through these doors. To see his name on this building is more than just a tribute – it’s a reminder of the kind of person we should all strive to be like. I’m incredibly blessed to be one of his grandchildren, and to have the opportunity to help carry on his legacy.”

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