DA N Z OT TAR ELL I WRESTLER, TEACHER, HALL OF FAMER, FATHER

BY EMIL IMBRO, VICE PRESIDENT ITALIAN HERITAGE

In the fall semester of 1968, I was in an 8 a.m. economics class at West Virginia University. The student sitting beside me kept falling asleep.

I decided to wake him up. From that moment on Dan Zottarelli and I became friends. I brought him up to the Pi Chapter fraternity house where he pledged the following semester, and we became brothers.

My little brother Danny graduated from W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, Long Island, New York, where he earned varsity letters in wrestling, football, and lacrosse. His love for the sport of wrestling though became his lifelong passion. He knew he wanted to teach and coach wrestling. Unbelievably, his guidance counselor told him, “Son you are not college material.” Imagine that? Was he ever wrong!

You see, Danny came from a family of fighters. His grandfather Joseph Rockwell Zottarelli Sr. was world amateur flyweight boxing champion from 190 6 – 1911. His friends and family called him “The Champ.”

The Champs’ grandfather, Rocco Zottarelli, emigrated to America with his wife Sadie from PietraPertosa, Potenza, Italy, in 1879. His son Pasquale married and had 16 sons. The Champ had three sons Robert, Joe Jr. and Richard. Joe Jr., was Danny’s father.

Danny grew up hearing stories from his father about how The Champ and his wife Florence would take his three sons to the city every Sunday after Mass from their apartment in Woodside, Queens. Their first destination was to visit the bronze statue of the heroic husky “Balto,” near the Children’s Zoo in Central Park. The husky was one of the lead sled dogs to lead the mushers on a 674 mile trek through a blizzard to Nome, Alaska, to deliver serum to save the town from a diphtheria outbreak in 1925. The lesson as they got up on the back of the statue was to serve as an example to the boys to never give up in hard times.

From the park they would stroll down Fifth Avenue and turn along 47th Street to walk through the theatre district where The Champ was a backstage hand. Joe “Rocks” Jr., as his father became known, also became a stagehand working for The Ed Sullivan Show for many years. He became friends with Richard Burton, Jackie Gleason and numerous other celebrities of his era.

Danny got into Beckley Junior College and after a year transferred to WVU.

He earned a varsity letter in wrestling, achieving a career mark of 94 –18 on the mat. He graduated in 1970 with a BS in Health and Physical Education. After graduation, he accepted a teaching and coaching position in Kent County, Maryland. The following year the high school opened, and Danny formed the school’s first wrestling program.

In his 38-year career, Kent County High School became one of the top in the state although being in the smallest county. His coaching record upon his retirement in 2002 was 309-88-4. When you walk into the school gym today the walls are covered with banners and trophies won by the school’s wrestling teams. His teams won three state championships and had four second place finishes. He coached the Special Olympics for 21 years.

In 1990, Dan Zottarelli was inducted into the Maryland Public Schools Athletic Association Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted into the West Virginia University Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2001, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Okla. for his Lifetime Service to Wrestling. Also in 2001, he was recognized as Coach of the Year by The National Wrestling Coaches Association and Wrestling USA magazine.

Beyond these achievements, if you ask Danny what he values most he will say, “It’s the students that came back to see me years after graduation to say ‘thanks coach! You were the father I never had growing up. I succeeded in life because of the example you set and the discipline you taught me.’ (His teams would walk into all their matches in white shirts and ties)

I still ask Danny, after 54 years of friendship and brotherhood,

“Where would you be today if I hadn’t woken you up in economics class?”

And as for that high school guidance counselor, hang your head in shame!

William “Bill” Randall, Psi ’08 (Duquesne), passed away April 5 in Pittsburgh. Bill was only 32 years old and suffered from Huntingdon’s Disease. Bill was a beautiful soul who battled the disease for 11 years and always had a smile on his face.

Charles P. Mirarchi, III, Beta Delta ’68 (Temple) died April 7 in Philadelphia. He was a member of the Delaware Valley AC and the son of our late brother Charles P. Mirarchi, Jr., Beta Delta ’41.

Gustine “Gus” Pelagatti, Beta Delta ’56 (Temple), died April 1 at the age of 82 in Philadelphia. Gus graduated from Temple as both an undergraduate and from their law school. He served in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and became a Center City trial lawyer in private practice concentrating on civil and criminal law.

Sam Rogers, Beta Omicron ’56 (Youngstown), passed away April 18 in Youngstown at the age of 85. Sam enjoyed a long career as an educator, coach and athletic director. He was a long-time member of the Youngstown Alumni Club.

John J. Santoro, Beta Delta ’62 (Temple), passed away February 7 in Sewell, N.J. at the age of 78. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering, John enjoyed a prosperous career in real estate and insurance sales for many years. He had a passion for helping people and could create connections and warm relationships in a moment, which made him a natural talent in the sales world. He was a member of the Delaware Valley AC.

Richard Guglietti , Beta Xi ’64 (NJIT), passed away March 11 at the age of 76. Richard was living in Fallbrook, Calif.

Gerald “Yonk” DiLoreto , Beta Theta ’57 (Steubenville), died Friday May 28, 2021 in Steubenville, Ohio. at the age of 83. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Education from the College of Steubenville and his Masters Degree in