When looking back at his accomplishments, Angelo Pezzuolo knows he couldn’t have achieved much without support of family and friends.
Pezzuolo, one of 13 distinguished inductees into this year’s Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame, is truly thankful for all the sacrifices his family and friends provided through the years.
“I am honored,” Pezzuolo said. “It’s a credit to my family and my neighbors. Growing up, not only did my older brothers and sisters make a lot of sacrifices on behalf of the younger ones in the family, but the neighbors did the same. They were there whenever we needed them.”
One of 10 children, Pezzuolo was one of six boys who lost his father at and early age, and it was his brothers who guided him, not only in life, but also in sports, particularly on the football field.
A native of Bessemer and 1951 graduate of Bessemer High, Pezzuolo was a 12-time letter winner, earning four letters apiece in football, basketball and baseball. But it was on the gridiron where he truly excelled.
A four-year starter at both fullback and linebacker, Pezzuolo scored the second-most touchdowns, trailing only his older brother, Henry, in Bessemer history.
“My five older brothers were all good athletes who played every sport. Any one of them could have gone on to college on a scholarship, but because of our financial needs at home when each graduated high school, he took a job to support the family,” Pezzuolo explained. “The tradition was there. I saw my five older brothers get involved and do well in all sports.”
After high school, Pezzuolo followed his brother to Youngstown College — now Youngstown State University — where he continued to have success on the football field right from the start. At the time Youngstown had freshmen and varsity teams. Pezzuolo proved skilled enough to be a varsity starter from that first season.
A 2004 YSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, Pezzuolo started at end, a modern-day wide receiver as well as linebacker for the Penguins from 1951-54. During his four years, Youngstown recorded a 20-12-1 mark, including a 14-3 record during his final two seasons.
“He was a good athlete,” said Jim Verlotte, Pezzuolo’s cousin and teammate at both Bessemer and at Youngstown. “Angelo was a strong runner and very hard-nosed. He was usually one of the leaders on the team in high school and college. But in college, he fit right in with (head coach Dike) Beede’s offense.”
As a freshman, Pezzuolo was Beede’s leading receiver with 11 receptions for 140 yards and one touchdown. As a sophomore, Pezzuolo caught a touchdown pass against St. Francis (Pa.), and during his junior season he had the game-winning reception against Gustavas Adolphus.
“Dike Beede was kind of like (Ohio State University’s) Woody Hayes. He didn’t have much use for passing,” Pezzuolo explained. “I was the leading receiver on the team with 11 receptions. Nowadays, a receiver could have that in one game.”
While at Youngstown, Pezzuolo had the opportunity to play against some of the games very best, including NFL legends Don Shula and Roger Staubach. Pezzuolo also played on the other side of the ball as a linebacker, something very unheard of nowadays beyond the high school level.
“Today it’s really a game of specialists,” Pezzuolo said. “There are players who go down on special downs only. When I played in high school and college, you played both ways the whole game.”
After receiving a degree in Education from Youngstown and later a Master’s in Administration from Westminster College, Pezzuolo began a life-long career in administrative education.
“What the historical society does in regards to the Hall of Fame is a great contribution to the community,” Pezzuolo said. “I know everyone goes into the Hall with certain achievements, but in every case when you’re inducted you don’t really think of yourself as being inducted because of what achievements you had in a given sport.
“What you do is you look back on those who helped you get where you are.”
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Hall of Fame Inductee: Pezzuolo says family, friends were key to athletic success
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