Born June 28, 1943, Tony Congemi joins his father, John “Ace” Congemi (1981- football) and daughter, Melanie, (2013-track and field) as three generations of family members to have been so honored by the area’s most prestigious athletics hall of fame.
A 1961 graduate of Ursuline High School, he starred on the gridiron for Fighting Irish head coach, Tom Carey, from 1957, his freshman year until his senior campaign in 1960.
Those were Carey’s last four seasons as the program’s head grid coach – Jerry Hanlon then became UHS head coach in 1961 and lasted until 1963 before Carey once again took over in 1964, remaining UHS head coach until the 1968 campaign – with Congemi helping the team to a 26-13-0 overall mark in 39 overall games played, a sparkling .667 winning percentage.
The team went 6-3-0 his freshman season, followed that up with a 4-6-0 mark in 1958 then went 8-2-0 during both his junior and senior campaigns, closing out his stellar scholastic career by going 16-4-0 (.800) over his final two seasons.
For his efforts, he was a four-year letterwinner – he also earned four letters as a member of the UHS track and field team for a total of eight overall letters earned – helped the team to the City Series championship in both 1959 and 1960, earned all-City Series laurels as a senior and was named the team’s “Best Offensive Back” in 1960, as voted on by his peers.
Upon graduation he went on to play collegiately for then Youngstown College and legendary head mentor Dwight “Dike” Beede, helping the Penguins to a 23-10-3 (.681) overall mark during four seasons of play.
After receiving his BS degree in 1966 – he has earned 15 certificates, post-graduation as well – he began teaching in the Youngstown Diocese and has earned the distinction of being the second longest tenured teacher in the Youngstown Diocese with 54 years of service.
He still actively serves as a substitute in the schools when called upon for his services.
He served as an assistant football coach at CMHS – he coached both offensive and defensive backs for the Cardinals – from 1970 to 1988 under their late, great head coach Don Bucci, helping the program to nine play-off appearances and four state championships, those coming in 1973 (Class AAA), 1980 (Division II), 1982 (Division II) and 1987 (Division III).
During his time at Cardinal Mooney, he also spent 27 years as an assistant baseball coach to head coaches Ron Stoops and Tom Flynn while helping the program to multiple conference titles and tournament crowns.
He is proud of the fact that he has mentored several head football coaches and teachers that have held positions at the high school, collegiate and professional football (NFL) levels, earning mention in numerous books, newspaper articles and radio-television interviews by those same athletes as the one person who has had a profound influence on their lives and career paths.
Although he could have held head coaching positions in both football and baseball, he preferred to be an assistant coach because it enabled him to get to know his student-athletes better, providing him the opportunity to lead and mentor those athletes more effectively.
Well-known for being a member of one of the most successful coaching staff’s (football and baseball) in the Mahoning Valley, it is for his ability to lead and mentor students to become a better version of themselves for which he is most recognized.
The mark of a great mentor is when your former students stay connected and many of those of which he has led and guided during their formative years keep in touch with this year’s inductee to this day.
He has been recognized with induction into both the Cardinal Mooney (2005) and Ursuline (2019) Athletic Halls of Fame for his efforts.
The father of three daughters, Melanie, Lauren and Katie, and a son, Dean, he resides in Boardman.
