We all know Mo, or Coach Joseph Morgan. He has been a Chaminade faculty member for nearly 30 years. He might hit you with his keys or shake his head at you while walking through the hallway, but do you really know him? When people ask you “Do you know Mo?” your answer is always yes, but what you may not realize is that you really don’t know him.
Coach Mo was born and raised in Dogtown in St. Louis city. He went to Southwest High School, which is now Central Visual and Performing Arts High School. During high school, he worked as a busboy in the Arena Club at the old Blues Arena. He was good enough at soccer to go to Forest Park Community College where they were the number 2 ranked team in the country. After one year, he transferred to McKendree University on a soccer scholarship. He studied Psychology and Sociology there and got his degree in Human Relations.
After college, he got a job as a teacher’s assistant in the special school district where he found his love for teaching. He then went back to school at Harris-Stowe University to get his teaching degree. During this time, he worked as a stagehand at concert venues all over the St. Louis area. Some notable bands and artists’ concerts that he worked at were Motley Crue, The Eagles, and Madonna. He also went back to the Arena Club and began bartending there.
After he got his teaching degree, Coach Mo went and coached PE at St. Andrews and St. James the Greater Catholic School. After going back and forth between these two schools, he embarked on his Chaminade career when the head soccer coach, Coach Vader, let Coach Mo know about a PE coach job opening with his name on it. Coach Mo wanted to dip his feet into the water of a bigger school, so he obviously applied and started working in 1996. He started off as an 8th-grade PE coach and then switched to 7th-grade and hasn’t switched since. During the school year, he is obviously working at Chaminade, but Coach Mo also has a summer gig. He has managed the pool and all of the lifeguards at Forest Hill Country Club since 2008. This is where I met Mo for the first time when I was 6 years old as I was a pool member at Forest Hills.
Coach Mo is a living Chaminade legend and will always be one. The reason why I wrote this article was to let people know that Mo has done way more than just be a Chaminade PE coach. He has many stories to tell and that’s why I wanted to share his. Even after his coaching days are over, he will have plenty of time to spend with his grandkids and listen to his all-time favorite band, The Grateful Dead. Well, now that you have read this article, I hope that you can say that you do in fact know Mo.
