Steve Bongiovi, a 50-year Seaford High School sports announcer, was summoned unexpectedly to the football field during halftime of the Sept. 10 game — because he thought the referees wanted him to make an announcement to the crowd about sportsmanship.
Bongiovi, 76, figured the spectators were being too critical of the officials, who fetched him to help calm them down.
But the move was a ruse to lure him to the center of the field so that the high school could celebrate him for his five decades of service as Nassau County's famed sports announcer.
As he stood in the middle of the football field, Bongiovi, a retired Seaford High School English teacher, apparently had no clue what was in store for him.
At that point, Athletic Director Kevin Witt began speaking about Bongiovi's five decades as the voice of Seaford sports, and then Bongiovi glanced into the stands and spotted his wife and daughter. He didn't expect to see either of them at the game.
"Suddenly I realized what was happening," Bongiovi said.
His wife of 55 years, Judy, had helped keep the secret all week. Looking back, Bongiovi realized that some of her seemingly innocent comments before he left for the game — reminders to wear a good shirt and get a close shave — may have been subtle hints.
For Bongiovi, the surprise was a fitting tribute to a career that has connected his family, his school, and his hometown for half a century. He first got behind the microphone almost by accident, he recalled.
Bongiovi, who joined the Seaford teaching staff in 1972, was assigned to supervise a Saturday afternoon football game. The regular announcer, Ray Molfy, had a scheduling conflict that day, and school officials asked Bongiovi to fill in.
"I filled in and somebody must have liked it and slowly but surely the gig became mine," he said.
Without any grand plan, Bongiovi simply enjoyed himself, filling the game with wordplay and puns and discovering that his background as an English teacher and his love of sports made for a natural combination.
He would go on to teach English in Seaford for 36 years, retiring from Seaford High School in 2008. But he never really left, continuing to announce games after his retirement and eventually expanding beyond Seaford by working at multiple venues for multiple organizations throughout the school year.
He estimates that he announces between 150 and 200 games from September through June. Witt said Bongiovi's preparation, professionalism and personality have made him far more than an announcer.
"He's basically now the voice of Nassau County," Witt said.
Bongiovi was inducted into the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2022. He has announced Nassau County playoff games and championship contests in football, basketball and other sports.
Along the way, the Seaford microphone has given him a front-row seat to generations of the greatest Long Island athletes.
He has announced games involving players such as Wally Szczerbiak, the former NBA All-Star who is now a New York Knicks analyst for MSG Networks, and D'Brickashaw Ferguson, the former Freeport High School standout who went on to spend 10 seasons as an offensive tackle with the New York Jets.
But some of his most meaningful games as an announcer involved those much closer to him.
Bongiovi announced games involving both of his daughters. His daughter Amy played field hockey at Seaford. His daughter Judy Ann was a Seaford cheerleader and captain of the cheerleading team as a senior.
Judy Ann Riccio is now vice president and director of athletics at Sacred Heart University, where she leads the school's NCAA Division I athletics program. She became Sacred Heart's first female director of athletics in 2021 and was promoted to vice president and director of athletics in August 2026.
For Bongiovi, watching his daughter build a career in athletics administration has been another chapter in a family story that began with his own love of sports.
He also has announced games involving his nephew, Joe Bongiovi, a standout running back for Seaford who helped lead the Vikings to a county championship appearance in 2013-14. However, his memories stretch well beyond the athletes.
He remembered the Seaford football team winning Long Island championships and the school's basketball team capturing a Nassau County title. He also recalled that Rocky Valvano, Jim Valvano's father, served as Seaford's athletic director when Bongiovi began teaching.
In addition, he remembered working alongside longtime Hofstra announcer Norm Murray, who became a friend and mentor after Bongiovi began announcing Hofstra sports and Nassau County events.
Even after all those years behind the mic, Bongiovi still comes well-prepared for each game, spending about an hour before each contest researching players and teams and even writing some of his phrasing into his notes.
"Every game is special to the people who are watching it, and I want to do my best possible job for them," he said, displaying an attitude that has made his voice part of the soundtrack of Seaford sports for generations.
And since the Sept. 10 surprise ceremony, Bongiovi said, former athletes have been reaching out to him, sharing memories of games and moments they remember from their childhoods.
For someone who has spent 50 years describing other people's accomplishments, having the attention turned toward him was difficult to process.
"I’m always a Seaford teacher," Bongiovi said. "I’m always a representative of Seaford wherever I go. Whether it’s on the field, whether it’s in the school building, whether it’s walking the aisles of Stop & Shop or whether it’s pumping gas, I’m representing Seaford, and I take that very seriously. And I’m very proud of it.”
Bongiovi has remained deeply involved in the community outside athletics, including with the Seaford High School 9/11 Committee and Seaford Historical Society.
Still, announcing remains the hobby that keeps him connected to the place he has called home for nearly his entire life. Bongiovi moved to Seaford when he was 2 and, except for one year when he lived in Rockville Centre after getting married, has spent his whole life there.
Five decades after stepping in for another announcer, he is still sitting behind the microphone — and he still sounds surprised how lucky he has been.
"It is a privilege and a blessing," Bongiovi said. "Sometimes, I'm thinking to myself, 'How lucky am I?'" Then he laughed. "I'm blessed, as in my retirement, to have a hobby that someone's willing to pay me to do."
But for Bongiovi, the microphone was never just a job. It became a way to stay connected to his hometown, his students, his athletes, his friends — and his family. And after 50 years, Seaford still knows his voice.
