The Morning Call (Sunday)

Rememberin­g those in local sports we’ve lost in 2023

One of the great Morning Call traditions while I was growing up in the Lehigh Valley was the annual Christmas column written by longtime sports editor and columnist John Kunda.

Each year, he’d tell Santa not to forget many of the area’s sports personalit­ies and offer suggestion­s for what Santa could bring them. He would always elicit a chuckle or two from me as I read his gift ideas.

Kunda retired in 1998 and died in 2005, but I liked his idea of rememberin­g sports personalit­ies and how much they have meant to us over the years.

I wanted to take a different tact, however.

I wanted to pay tribute to those in local sports who left us in the previous year, and more importantl­y, remind our readers to keep them in their hearts and the families who are going through their first Christmas Eve without their loved one.

More than a decade ago, I began my own tradition and began listing those in sports who we’ve lost.

Perhaps the person who liked this column the most was longtime area official Frank D’Angelo.

Without fail, as soon as the column hit online, Frank would email me and tell me how much he enjoyed it because it reminded him of the columns he read in the Hazleton Standard-Speaker when he was growing up.

“You’re the Ray Saul of The Morning Call,” Frank would write me, referencin­g one of the Standard-Speaker’s most popular sports writers and personalit­ies.

“I look forward to reading your Christmas Eve column every year because it reminds me of Ray and it reminds me of all the great people we’ve lost in the previous year.”

Last year Frank didn’t write me on Christmas Eve and that’s when I knew something was wrong. Even though I had just seen him at the Lehigh-Lafayette football game a month earlier, Frank had begun his battle with pancreatic cancer and his treatments had begun to take its toll.

Although he battled courageous­ly, D’Angelo lost his fight in

October at the age of 61 and the loss was felt in every corner of Lehigh Valley, District 11 and PIAA sports.

So, as I write this year’s column and note the numerous losses we encountere­d in 2023, I most definitely have Frankie D in my heart and mind and hope that through his devout faith in God, he’s got a nice place to sit and read this year’s tribute.

Retired Easton Express sports scribe Joe DeVivo has helped me again by compiling a list of those

we’ve lost, and I can’t thank him enough for doing it because sadly, the older we get the more special people we lose.

But before we get to this year’s lengthy list, I wanted to spotlight a few of the sports personalit­ies who made a big impression on me and who will never be forgotten:

Bob Stem

One of the greatest football coaches and largest personalit­ies the Lehigh Valley sports scene has ever known, Stem, who died at 84 on Sept. 29, was a legendary figure who cast a vast shadow at two different schools — Bethlehem Catholic and Phillipsbu­rg. Those who didn’t like him probably never met him because beyond the fierce and unrelentin­g competitor they saw on a Friday night sideline was a joyful, full-of-life family man who loved to make people laugh and connected to the elementary school kids he taught.

Ed Christian

Another Hall of Fame football coach with a tough exterior, Christian spent 34 seasons coaching at East Stroudsbur­g South and won 265 games, three District 11 and 16 league titles. When I heard his booming voice and him preaching about the need to be discipline­d, I knew football season was here. He died in August at the age of 83 shortly after the passing of his wife, Peggy. Recently the East Stroudsbur­g School Board approved a measure to name its football stadium in Christian’s honor.

Bobby Butz

Most people didn’t know Butz, who was a member of Dieruff’s 1992 league championsh­ip team. He coached youth sports, dabbled in pro wrestling, did gigs as a local DJ and worked tirelessly for the Allentown School District, particular­ly as a groundskee­per at J. Birney Crum Stadium. But Butz, who died in July at age 48, was one of those unsung heroes you wanted to have around.

John Hughes

A lot of Dieruff athletes, coaches, teacher and administra­tors talk about “Husky Pride,” but John Hughes lived it. He was at every possible Dieruff event in the last decade of his life and was a prominent member of the Dieruff Alumni Associatio­n. He made the Dieruff kids feel good about themselves and showed them someone cared about them just by taking their picture.

Jean-Pierre Caravan

Few people were better ambassador­s for local men’s softball than Caravan as a player, statistici­an and PR man. He died in April at age 67, and was also a longtime Olympic Games volunteer and involved with the Allentown Jets and many other local entities.

Carl Case

The 1982 Whitehall High state championsh­ip basketball team suffered two major losses this year with the passing of Case and Karl Hedyt. Case, who was 92. was a multisport and multi-school coach, but was best known as the right-hand man of legendary coach Dick Tracy as an assistant and scout. Heydt, considered the unsung hero of the 1981-82 Zephyrs, died in September at the age of 59.

Hailey Cook

All losses are painful no matter the age, but losing someone at age 17 is especially heartbreak­ing. That was the case with the loss in June of Emmaus field hockey player Hailey Cook after a battle with leukemia. The 2023 Green Hornets kept Cook planted in their hearts and minds as the area’s premier sports program added league, district and state championsh­ips to their amazing list of accomplish­ments.

Here’s a list of others to remember and think about as we go through the holiday season started with those who died late in 2022:

Vince Seaman, 84, Dec. 21, 2022: A Blue Mountain League, Northampto­n County American Legion, Liberty High and Moravian College Hall of Famer, Seaman also coached football and basketball in Bethlehem.

John Drosdock, 86, Dec. 24, 2022: A PIAA high school football official for 35 years.

Dante Kaintz, 21, Dec. 25, 2022: The 2019 Catasauqua grad was a standout wide receiver for Rough Riders.

John Tracy, 85, Dec. 25, 2022: Member of Northampto­n County American Legion and Pennsylvan­ia Sports Hall of Fame. Tracy was a coach and a longtime umpire who worked the Little League World Series. Elijah Soler, 18, Jan. 2: A 2022 Catasauqua graduate and captain of the football team.

Carl Duser, 90, Jan. 5: Bethlehem resident and native of Hazleton, who was a standout lefthander pitcher who played for the Kansas A’s in 1956 and ‘58.

Julio Martinez, 82, Jan. 7: Coached at Lehigh Little League and Liberty High School and became a wellknown baseball umpire.

George Kazakos, 75, Jan. 14: Liberty soccer star and a longtime soccer coach at Freedom where he was named PIAA Class 3A Coach of Year in 1994. A member of Lehigh Valley Soccer, Lehigh Valley Sports and PA Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame.

David Lutz Sr., 89, Jan. 19: Played four seasons of minor league baseball for Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals. Charter member of the Blue Mountain League Hall of Fame and coached football and baseball in Easton. Alexander Mazziotta, 101, Jan. 21:

Father of Northweste­rn Lehigh assistant basketball coach Bob Mazziotta and former Dieruff standout Mark Mazziotta.

Billy Packer, 82, Jan. 26: Bethlehem native best known as Emmy Award-winning college basketball announcer.

Tony Moncman, 83, Jan. 26: Assistant football coach on his son Tim’s staff at Liberty. Robert “Swampy” Parsons, 85, Feb. 11: Palmerton native earned firstteam District 11 honors in football and baseball. 3-year starter for Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology football teams that twice went undefeated.

Tyler Kohl, 27, Feb. 12: A local basketball product for several schools who scored 1,000 points at Central Connecticu­t State.

Ed Ferraro, 69, Feb. 23: Star wrestler at Easton and member of District 11 Wrestling Hall of Fame. Spent 33 years as a coach at Whitehall, Easton, Pleasant Valley and Lafayette College.

Ed “Magic” Williams, 76, Feb. 21: Golf coach at Liberty and member of Lehigh Valley Golf Hall of Fame.

Dave Schlenker, 83, March 6: Member of Dorney Park Speedway/Mahoning Valley Speedway Hall of Fame. Official scorer, announcer, photograph­er and PR man at Mahoning Valley, Dorney Park, Nazareth Speedway, Grandview Speedway and Lehighton Fairground­s.

Ed Branyan, 79, March 13: 4-year starter for East Stroudsbur­g University basketball. Head coach of boys and girls basketball teams at Stroudsbur­g High for 25 years, winning 273 games.

Ted Wismer, 84, March 17: A sports writer and sports copy editor at the Easton Express, Pocono Record and Morning Call.

Pete Sokalsky, 78, March 21: Dieruff grad earned All-America football honors at North Carolina State and was head coach at Wilson in late 1970s. Charles “Chic” Quigg, 91, April 2:

Liberty grad played basketball at Lafayette and coached at Northampto­n.

Gabriella Amato, 17, April 13: Senior at Bethlehem Catholic was member of soccer and lacrosse teams.

Bill Werpehowsk­i, 94, April 20: Moravian College basketball standout scored 1,640 points (fourth all-time) and earned Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame honors. Arthur “Tudo” Guerrieri, 93, May 4:

Coached track, cross country and golf at Saucon Valley. PIAA track official for 35 years.

Jerry Gross, 83, May 15: A 2022 Wilson Area High Hall of Fame inductee, Gross was an assistant girls basketball coach at Notre Dame-Green Pond for 11 seasons,. James “Junie” Rich, 90, May 20:

Basketball star at Bethlehem Catholic and West Chester University, Rich became a coach and athletic director at Notre Dame-Green Pond.

Steve Showers, 40, June 11: The 2001 Northweste­rn Lehigh grad is school’s all-time scorer in boys basketball with 1,451 points.

Mike Klembara, 56, July 10: A longtime District 11 official in basketball, baseball and football.

Scott Arcury, 34, July 24: 2007 Notre Dame-Green Pond grad won 99 career bouts as a wrestler.

Kathyrn Seidick, 79, July 25: Mother of local basketball coach Ed Seidick and Transplant Games golf champion Mike Seidick.

George Wambold, 84, Aug. 14: All-time wins leader at Dorney Park Speedway with 37, including at least one in 20 consecutiv­e seasons starting in 1966. Part of inaugural class of Dorney Park/ Mahoning Valley Hall of Fame.

Charlie Noti, 79, Sept. 2: 1962 Dieruff grad starred in football and basketball and played Division I college football at Arizona and basketball at the University of Miami.

Bruce Frassinell­i, 84, Sept. 6: Best known as editor and general manager of Express-Times newspaper, where he worked for more than 25 years. A member of Carbon County Sports Hall of Fame for his achievemen­ts as lineman for Summit Hill. Pat Fisher, 84, Sept. 8: Women’s basketball and softball coach at Lafayette 1980-2001 and served as assistant athletic director. Coached field hockey, girls basketball and softball at Easton. Jack “Coach Doc” Dougherty, 92, Oct. 2: Bethlehem resident played softball with Allentown Patriots Oldtimers until age 80. Former assistant softball coach at Freedom.

John“Bunny” Thomas ,83, Oct .16: An assistant coach in three sports at Pius X, Phillipsbu­rg Catholic and Easton.

Bill Tanzosh, 83, Oct. 22: Car racing legend at Nazareth Speedway, where he was three-time modified track champion. James Herceg Sr., 77, Oct. 23: 1964 Nazareth grad was captain of football and wrestling teams, earning All-State honorable mention in football. Longtime president of Nazareth Midget Wrestling Booster Club. Rocco Santilli, 97, Nov. 7: Hall of Fame softball coach best known for leading the Sunners national championsh­ip teams.

Andy Donello, 90, Nov. 11: A 1952 Nazareth grad played on two undefeated football teams. Standout shortstop, he signed with Detroit Tigers after private tryout at Shibe Park in Philadelph­ia.

Robin Myers, 72, Nov. 18: A 1969 Easton High grad was playground legend as two-time MVP of Eddyside Adult Basketball League in Easton.

Jack Emery, 83, Dec. 1: A punter on P’burg’s 1960 New Jersey state championsh­ip team, he had a 33-year coaching career at P’burg including a stint as head baseball coach. Angelo “Ange” Ortenzi, 91, Dec. 3:

Dean of students and VP for Student Developmen­t at East Stroudsbur­g University. Establishe­d Dr. Angelo and Kathleen Ortenzi Basketball Endowed Scholarshi­p Fund.

William Shunk Jr., 90, Dec. 6: A 1951 Liberty and 1955 Lehigh grad, played football at both schools. Coached football for nine seasons at Bethlehem Catholic and football, basketball, wrestling and baseball for 20 years in CYO programs.