By: Greg Gulas
Read Part 1
John Butera, a New Waterford resident is a former sports correspondent for several local newspapers and currently serves as a correspondent for ESPN Sports, FOX, CBS-TV and NBC, among other sports entities, intertwining weekly with some of the nation’s top college and professional coaches.
“I remember seeing coach two years ago at the Canfield Fair,” Butera added. “I asked if we could take a photo together and he was so pleased that I did that. His ‘73 team might just be the best this area has ever seen and he surely is the best this area has ever seen roaming a football sideline on Friday or Saturday night.”
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Ken Brayer was a stringer for The Vindicator who also served as sports information director at Youngstown State University, noting Bucci was in a class by himself when he was being interviewed.
“Don Bucci was one of the most honest and approachable coaches in the area,” Brayer stated. “ When I worked as a stringer for The Vindicator, he always made time for the press. In the week prior to a game, he would give an honest assessment of his opponent and would be very open about the health of his players. Following the game, win or lose, he was always available for post-game comments. He loved praising the performances of both his players and opponents.
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“While working as a yearbook sales rep and calling on high schools in Northeastern Ohio, Don and his Cardinal Mooney teams were also the topics of positive conversations regarding his program and the success they enjoyed. He was truly a great representative for Youngstown and our coaches and was very well-respected.”
Michael Allegretto, who along with his wife, Tessa, own Lariccia’s Italian Marketplace, and Rick Shepas, a former YSU standout who served as a head coach on the high school and collegiate levels, and currently serves on head coach Carl Pelini’s Cardinals football staff, played for Bucci when they attended CMHS.
“Coach Bucci was a man I respected as much as anyone I have known,” Allegretto noted. “I have learned life lessons from him at such a young age and have carried with me to this day. He set the tone for our future successes and our work ethic. I was blessed to be able to continue my relationship with him until the end. I will surely miss him.”
Shepas appreciated his preparation.
“When I asked coach Bucci about his greatest accomplishment or a big win or special team, he surprised me with this statement – he developed a plan and he stuck to it,” Shepas said. “He was proud of the fact that he didn’t deviate or change it. He also loved the Steel Valley Conference and praised Dick Selby for getting both Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline in the conference back in 1970.”
Boardman Spartans and University of Toledo grid standout, Joe Conroy, said you had to be prepared when you faced a Bucci-coached team.
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“Coach Bucci was one of the toughest coaches in the 1970’s,” Conroy added. “His teams were tough, prepared and most of all, talented. I knew many of the players from those teams and it was love-hate with them. They hated practice but they loved winning and winning is all that coach Bucci did over the course of his illustrious coaching career.“He made his name with his coaching style and the talent followed. Many of his players went on to make an impact at the university’s they attended. His name will forever be etched into local coaching annals as the best high school coach in the history of Youngstown while remaining in the conversation as the very best in the state of Ohio as well. He was always kind and remembered me when I saw him in a store or at MVR.”
Dennis Timko played for Campbell Memorial from 1969-71, recalling the games the Red Devils had against the Cardinals during his playing days.
“At Campbell Memorial in the early 70’s, we always had a long, hard week of practice before we would play Mooney,” Timko stated. “The coaches made us understand we would be playing one of the toughest opponents on our schedule and we needed to be ready. We knew Coach Bucci would have his team well-prepared for us with a couple of those games the Steel Valley Conference title riding on the outcome of the game.”
Former Campbell resident, Jack Matzye, who currently lives in Los Angeles, also played for the Red Devils and faced the Cardinals.
“Coach Bucci, what else can you say,” Matzye noted. “Four state titles and a state runner-up finish, you could write a book about his accomplishments. I’m very impressed with his 1987 season as they allowed opponents just 29 total points during the regular season. It’s just so hard to believe that the area has lost two of the most decorated local high school coaches just days apart, the other being Lowellville basketball coach Dick Williams.”
Bob Camardo currently serves as president of the local Curbstone Coaches organization, a group founded in 1958 and an organization that Coach Bucci has spoken to multiple times over the years.
“Going to countless high school football games over the years, I saw Cardinal Mooney play several times as I had a number of friends that went there and followed the team,” Camardo said. “The two things you could always count on were that they would usually win while the majority of Mooney people around us would complain that they ran the ball too much. Bucci’s teams were always well-prepared and were always made up of tough, hard-nosed kids. Like him or not, he is on the Mount Rushmore of local high school football coaches.”
Marco Marinucci currently serves as athletic director at Boardman High School but was an AD in the City Schools, working with Bucci on a variety of projects.
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“Coach Bucci, like A.C. McCullough, these two men are everything this Valley has ever believed in – hard workers, down to earth, passionate, tell it like it is type guys,” Marinucci added. “I worked many years across the table with Don and you always knew exactly where he was coming from because he did not beat around the bush. His success as head football coach in this area and in the state of Ohio, and his impact on student-athletes will never be matched. All of us in athletics will dearly miss Don and everything that he stood for.”
Rocco Nero, who was a member of the OHSAA Northeast Board, called Bucci the ‘Rocky Marciano of our area, a Knockout’ while former area high school basketball coach, Don Andres, stated, “Don Bucci was the icon of throwback coaches and a master gentleman, all in one package. He was a real winner, both in sports and in life.”
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Mike Cefalde, A Woodrow Wilson High graduate, watched Cardinal Mooney transition from the City Series to the Steel Valley Conference from the late 1960’s to the early ‘70s.
“Don Bucci is an icon in high school football,” Cefalde noted. “He touched the lives of many, built a dynasty in high school football yet his passion for excellence was next to none. Coach Bucci was Mr. Cardinal Mooney!”
