Underage football lost one of it’s greatest servants on May 17th, 1998 with the sudden death of Austin Stacks clubman James Hobbert. Indeed his death occurred prehaps as he would have wished it…at a juvenile football match at Gneeveguilla where Stacks Under 12’s were playing the local side.
James joined the Stacks club in 1961 and the rest of his life devoted countless hours to the promotion of football. He was credited with training Stacks teams to 62 County titles in the various age groups, a truly staggering count. Many of the clubs greats were to pass through his coaching expertise in their formative years and it gave him no end of satisfaction to see these players achieve higher honours at club and inter-county level.
James also found time to promote hurling, together with the Scór n nÓg and Scór Sinsear competitions. Irish culture was held in a a very high regard by him, a fact remembered at his graveside when Donal Fallon from C.L.G. Leixlip played a slow Irish air on the fiddle.
In common with many Tralee sportsmen the game of basketball was high on his agenda. He was a founder member of the Austin Stacks Basketball club and was a coach of the Kerry Basketball Team at a time when inter county rivalary in the sport matched gaelic games proportions. Furthermore he coached the Irish Senior Basketball team from 1961 to1964.
In private life, James was unmarried and worked as a caretaker at Presentation Secondary School, Tralee, since 1985 having previously worked at the Kingdom Tubes.
He was buried at Rath Cemetery, his coffin drapped in the Austin Stacks jersey and flag together with the Presentation Secondary School signlet. Tugadh óráid ag an reilig ag Antóin Ó Caoimh, ball de Chumann Aibhistín de Staic and Rúnaí de Choiste Contae Chiarraí, CLG.