Born January 12, 1956, to the late Lydia and John Butera, Sr., he is one of three contributors in this year’s class, the seventh time since the 1958 charter class was installed that three contributors will be honored in the same year.
A 1974 graduate of Crestview High School, he is a 1982 graduate of Youngstown State University where he earned his BS degree in elementary education.
While sports has been his first love as long as he can remember, keeping statistics and helping the media at all athletic events was his calling.
During a stellar scholastic career – he graduated with a 3.25 cumulative grade po0int average – he served as sports editor of both the CHS school newspaper and yearbook, was a two-year member of the football team while earning three-varsity letters as a basketball statistician.
He jokingly admits that he was the only person at Crestview High School to go pro in the sport in which he lettered.He served as vice-president of the Key Club, becoming the only person in school history to place in the talent show at its highest level of competition.
A Dean’s List honoree while at YSU, he served as statistician for the Kent State-Salem basketball team and was a longtime sports correspondent for The Vindicator, doing everything from calling in scores, keeping statistics to covering games for multiple sports editors over his six-decade media career.
The former sports editor of the Morning Journal – he was the youngest to hold a sports editor position at that time in the entire state – he covered the state basketball tourney for the former and state baseball tourney for the latter.
He announced and served as color analyst on all four games during Lisbon High’s state championship run in 1995 and has worked as a freelancer for ESPN since September of 1979, their initial foray into what has become a billion dollar business of covering and televising all levels of college football and various other sports.
In addition to his behind the scenes and under the radar expertise for ESPN and their college football coverage, he has also worked lacrosse, volleyball championship matches, wrestling championships, college baseball and softball games as well as their National Football League telecasts, Flag Football, Arena Football League and ‘3 on 3’ hockey events.
He has been selected to work multiple pro football hall of fame events, also working Mid-American Conference and Big-12 college basketball championships as well as 20 NCAA first-round basketball tournaments.
In addition to his stellar work for ESPN, he has traveled and worked with FOX Sports, ABC and CBS Sports where he has been selected to work 46 post-season college football games including multiple Sun Bowls, Gator Bowl, Outback Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Music City Bowl, Alamo Bowl, Motor City Bowl, Meinecke Car Care Bowl, Independence Bowl, Orange Bowl (BCS play-off game) and Citrus Bowl games, also working three games in Hawaii as well.
He has worked five Stagg Bowls (NCAA Division III national football championship games) and is credited with working two Blue-Gray College All-Star post-season football contests.
His time as a correspondent and freelancer has been spent working with a ‘Who’s Who’ of the media and those who have excelled in their respective sports.
This year’s honoree has worked with and assisted 13 members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, along with members of the baseball and basketball halls of fame, too.
In addition to the aforementioned assignments, he has worked both the opening round finals of the NHL Stanley Cup, NBA All-Star Weekend and MLB All-Star Game as well as covering one Super Bowl (XIII between Pittsburgh and Dallas in Miami in 1979) for the Morning Journal and a regional women’s college basketball tournament.
He has worked on over 100 different college campuses for football and was assigned to work four football bowl games in one week, that coming in 1996.
Additionally, he is credited with working multiple NFL regular season games and six AFC championship contests.
His football rivalry games include Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama, USC-UCLA, Tennessee-Georgia, Michigan-Notre Dame, Washington-Washington State and Georgia-Georgia Tech, among others.
A tireless worker for area athletes, coaches and causes, he has helped raise over $400,000 for scholarships that have been awarded to local athletes.
Notable announcers who have counted on his statistical expertise include but is not limited to Bud Wilkinson, Heisman Trophy winner Andre Ware, Chris Schenkel, Curt Gowdy, Gary Bender, John Sanders, Craig Bolerjack and Steve Zabriskie.
A career highlight was being able to work a college tournament basketball game with his sister, Kathy.
A devout Catholic, he is a member of the Knights of Columbus and New Waterford Eagles, he has also been selected to the Columbiana County Coaches Association Hall of Fame (inaugural class, 2023), was named to the Crestview High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame (2023) and this past year, was honored with selection to the Quad County Football Coaches Hall of Fame.
He resides in New Waterford.
Doors open at 4 p.m., dinner will be served at 5 p.m. with the program set to commence at 6 p.m.
Individual tickets are $60 each, tables of eight $480 and will be available after February 1.
Further information can be obtained by calling 330-506-6774 or by visiting the organization’s website at www.thecurbstonecoaches.org.
