Joe Marcino, Wantagh’s first football coach, dies

Wantagh High School’s first warrior, former football coach Joe Marcino, died on Oct. 20. He was 91 years old.

Marcino, known by his players as “Coach,” began the football program at Wantagh High School in 1954. The program, according to an article written in the June 10, 1954 edition of The Citizen, was an attempt to help keep teenagers safe from “juvenile delinquency.” The first football game of the 1954 season was a match with East Rockaway at the Beech Street field. “The boys need considerable work to be fully capable of taking on the varsity schedule ahead,” reads the article. “The lack of weight is a critical factor but this can be overcome by speed.”

But coach Marcino and his “Marcinomen” proved up to the challenge. They won the first game 25-20 and by the end of that first season, were a team to be reckoned with. By 1955, the Warriors “Scalp East Rockaway,” then “Licked Lynbrook” but were finally defeated when the Warriors “Bowed to the [Massapequa] Chiefs in a 14-13 Heartbreaker.”

And the public enthusiastically embraced their new coach whose backyard on Daffodil Lane faced the football field. By 1957, you could buy season tickets to five home football games for $3. Seats were in a reserved section between the 40-yard lines. Thirty-nine boys reported to coach Marino that season.

“I was always impressed by the way Joe conducted himself,” said Don Snyder, former president of the Nassau County High School Football Coaches Association. “He never embarrassed his kids and he always gave his knowledge generously. The boys loved him.”

The Marcinomen did well under the coach’s watchful eye. In 1957, student Tony Conzo was the first Wantagh player to make the All-County first team. During the 1958 season, the Warriors beat Seaford, tied Massapequa and had one of its best seasons since football came to Wantagh. The Warriors won the South Shore Athletic League Section II Championship with a 6-0 conference record and an overall record of 7-1. By 1963, the last year coach Marcino led the Warriors, the team had finished its fifth consecutive winning season and placed second in the South Shore Athletic League Section III with a league record of 4-2-1. During his tenure, 1954-1963, the team had 50 wins, 26 losses and three ties, according to Bill Bogatz.

“Wantagh High School was recognized as a football powerhouse when under his leadership,” said Charles Kalinowski who worked at Wantagh High School with Marcino. “He and the team were respected by all the schools in the county. He was a leader amongst the coaching ranks.”

“Joe was a great man, a gentleman” said Joe DelGais, a coach who worked with Marcino at Freeport High School during the 1970s. “He had a way with the boys, like a father figure. He would mentor them, tell them there was a right way to do things. He believed in discipline. His teams were organized.”

“He was a leader who led by example,” said Tim Halvorsen, one of his football players from Freeport who is now the junior varsity football coach at Freeport High School. “He never asked you to do something he wouldn’t do himself. It’s one of the reasons he got so much from his players. He expected you to follow the rules and guidelines. It’s how he did things in his life.”

Marcino was born on May 25, 1923, in Whitehall, New York. He graduated from Whitehall High School and then enlisted in the U.S. Marines Corps, serving in World War II, and achieving the rank of sergeant. While serving with Company A, Fifth Tank Battalion, Fifth Marine Division on Volcano Islands on Iwo Jima, on March 18, 1945, his tank became disabled forward of the enemy lines. Under heavy enemy fire, he and his crew dismounted the tank and made repairs, enabling them to continue on their mission. For his devotion and courage, he was awarded the Bronze Star.

Upon returning home, Marcino enrolled at SUNY Cortland, receiving his master’s degree in education. He was first employed at Lindenhurst High School, where he taught and coached the football team. Taking the opportunity to develop its football and wrestling programs, Marcino moved on to Wantagh High School. He spent his remaining years at Freeport High School as the athletic director.

After he retired, Marcino continued coaching football for Clark High School in Whitehall, C.W. Post University, and St. John’s University. He also spent time in Finland with the St. John’s team implementing their football program.

In 1990, Joseph moved back to his hometown of Whitehall, got himself a parcel of land and fulfilled his dream of building “a cabin on the hill” with the help of his three sons, spending his days tending to his apple trees and garden, enjoying visits with family and reminiscing with long time friends, said his obituary provided by the Angiolillo Funeral Home in Whitehall.

  Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his brother, Melio “Duce” Marcino; his three sisters, Mary Osowicki, Rose Ross and Esther Ross; and one grandson, Nicholas Marcino. 

Survivors include his three sons, Michael J. Marcino and his wife Chiara of Newton, N.J.; Brian J. Marcino of Pembroke Pines, Florida; and Joseph J. Marcino and his wife Charlene of Middle Granville, N.Y.; two daughters, Maria J. Marcino and Vicki J. Marcino of Massapequa; and one sister, Anne Soothcage of Glens Falls; as well as seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and several nieces, nephews and cousins also survive him. 

“Coach Marcino was truly a legend at Wantagh High School,” said Kalinowski. “We will all miss him.”