ToquiNotes: Recalling James Matthew “Jim” Ash's Life and His Wonderful Legacy of Decency and Kindness
By Jeff Toquinto on August 24, 2024 from ToquiNotes
Bridgeport lost a good person recently. It was on August 12 to be exact when James Matthew “Jim” Ash took his last breath.
Some may know the name and the person. Some may not.
I knew the name. I knew the person. And as I scoured the obituaries a few days after his passing, I saw the name and paused not believing it was who I thought it was.
Although I had not seen him in a few years, I knew he was young. Too young, it seemed, that the person listed as 63 years old was the same Jim Ash I knew. I only had to scour the obituary to see the family members when I knew it was indeed my friend.
As I would find out in short order from members of the family, Ash passed after a battle with cancer. While reading it, and the time I found out what led to him passing away at a still relatively early age, I kept thinking back to one thing.
Jim Ash was a kind man, a decent man. In fact, he was one of the adults and/or parents in my decades of covering high school sports whose company or conversation I enjoyed. As a writer over the years, I have been cursed at, belittled, had multiple things said behind my back and just as many things said to me face to face or online, even recently. It is part of the job.
At the same time, I have made wonderful friendships. Jim Ash is one of those people whose company during the times I ran into him when his kids were playing prep sports that I treasured. It was the same for many years later when I would see him at events, usually watching his friend Robert Shields coach the BHS baseball team or hanging at Bridgeport football games.
I had not seen him for some time, primarily due to me rarely venturing out for high school sports with Chris Johnson on the beat. And seeing he had passed and knowing it had been a while since we had a pleasant conversation, deepened the sadness.
I talked with his oldest son Logan earlier this week. I asked him about his father’s demeanor, which I saw as calm and generally reserved. 
Logan assured me that while his dad would occasionally get wound up at a game, my observations were correct.
Logan assured me that while his dad would occasionally get wound up at a game, my observations were correct.
“He was very laid back and kind of accepted what happened. He didn’t do a lot of screaming, but just kind of let us, his sons, do our thing,” said Luke. “I think he didn’t want to take away from our attention.
“Growing up, I think there were times we thought he was being hard on us, but it was tough love to help us be good people,” Luke continued. “He was a Mutt Ash disciple.”
Mutt was one of Luke and his brother Logan’s grandfathers. It was Mutt that led me to meeting Jim Ash by way of the work landline.
It was in the early 2000s, and he called my old office at The Blake Center when I worked for The Bridgeport News. Jim Ash apologized to me. The reason? His father, the late and legendary “Mutt” had me as a guest in his home after his paper did not make it there and I opted to deliver the missed paper personally, and, well, Mutt liked to talk.
I kind of chuckled because I enjoyed the banter with his father who I had known earlier as the gatekeeper of the press box at Wayne Jamison Field. I would go into their kitchen at their house on Crestview Terrace and sit at the kitchen table and chat. Sometimes for 10 minutes, sometimes for up to an hour whenever the paper did not make it there. Never once was I without a smile when leaving.
His son made me smile too. Just by being kind. And by being kind, he made a tremendous impact that people do not forget.
Count my good friend John Minnocci among them. Minnocci spent years as an assistant coach at Bridgeport Middle School where, many years, up to 100 kids would try out. That meant having to cut a lot of kids. That also meant having to deal with a lot of upset parents. In Logan’s seventh grade year, he got cut from the squad.
“I never heard a word from his father. He didn’t give anyone one on the staff grief. He didn’t even make a phone call,” said Minnocci.
However, what he remembers most is a year later, at eight grade night, when Logan was on the team and was one of the best players, if
not the best, along with his cousin Ryan Powers and a host of others.
not the best, along with his cousin Ryan Powers and a host of others.
“He had gotten into shape, worked so hard on his game, and was a fantastic player and I remember wondering if we missed something. When I shook (Jim Ash’s) hand that night when we honored the eighth graders, I told him maybe we shouldn’t have cut Logan last year,” said Minnocci. “He smiled, looked at me and said, ‘he wasn’t ready last year.’ I had the honor of dealing with many good parents, but I can easily say he was among the best ever.”
Maybe it was because he had coached too. He coached Bridgeport Little League for several years. The stint of coaching included the 11-12-year-old Bridgeport state championship team – where his son Luke was on the squad – that advanced to the southern region where he was joined by his friends Pat Oliverio and John Koon on the coaching staff in 2006.
He also coached Pee Wee football for a long time in Bridgeport. He spent time helping Jeff Hathaway when his sons played and for many years when they did not.
“He loved coaching, and he’s always loved baseball,” said Logan. “He loved helping Robert in keeping the fields in good shape. He helped cut the grass at the baseball field and even did it for Little League. He also lined the fields. He made the best lines in the state.”
He loved it because he was helping a friend. He loved it because he loved the game. And he loved it because it benefited the kids and the community.
“Back in June, he was pretty sick, but he was down at the field for the last time, and he was cutting the grass,” Logan said. “He loved 
doing that.”
doing that.”
It was also in June when battling late stages of cancer, Jim Ash and his wife Kelly O’Mara Ash were joined by Logan and Luke for a trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. Despite what they knew lay ahead, it was a good trip for all of them.
“It was a fun time, and it got me to thinking then, and particularly now, how blessed we are to have had him as a father because he had such a good heart. If you were a friend and you needed him, he was there,” Logan said. “He got that from his mom and dad (Jim and Janet Ash), and I know he picked up stuff from mom’s parents (Pat and Joan O’Mara). I guess I’m lucky, and I’m glad to be in a position of living up to what they did.”
It is a legacy of being decent and being kind. As a parent, as a fan, as a coach and, most importantly, as a person.
I have met plenty of people like Jim Ash. The only problem is there just are not enough of them.
Thanks for setting the standard. Rest in Peace my friend. Your boys will carry the baton from here.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jim an Kelly Ash with Luke and Logan at the Pro Football Hall of Fame with their Steelers gear on in June, while he is shown handing out some batting practice in one of his favorite places in the second photo. Third image is a family head shot of Jim, while his is shown coaching the Bridgeport District 5 Little League Champions, back row middle, in the bottom image. Photos courtesy of the Ash family.
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