HS Wrestling: North Schuylkill coaching icon Cesari passes away
Joe Cesari Sr. speaks at North Schuylkill's new mat dedication, where the Spartans brought back members from the 1983, 1989 and 1995 state championship teams. (Photo courtesy of North Schuylkill Athletics)
Another Schuylkill County coaching legend has passed away.
Joe Cesari Sr., the iconic North Schuylkill wrestling coach who led the Spartans to national acclaim, passed away early Wednesday in Las Vegas. He was 84. Cesari’s passing comes less than two weeks after the passing of legendary Pottsville Area High School football coach Kevin Keating.
Cesari’s family posted the following message on social media:
“Friends, it is with heavy heart that we share that our dad, Joe Cesari Sr., passed away peacefully today in Las Vegas, with his sons Joe Cesari Jr., Steve Cesari, and Mark Cesari by his side. Please pray for my mom and sister and our family. It’s been a day of experiencing the full range of human emotions. In honor of dad, we ask that you hug a loved one, mend a relationship, and find a really good buy one, get one free deal! We appreciate all your thoughts, prayers, kind words and stories and shared them with dad over the past few days. It is amazing to us how many lives he touched in his 84 years on earth.”
Cesari’s passing hit the North Schuylkill family hard.
“I was very saddened to wake up to the news of Coach Joe Cesari’s passing this morning,” North Schuylkill athletic director Jim Gross said. “Mr. Cesari (as I still respectfully called him) meant so much to not only our wrestling program, but also to our school district as a whole. He made North Schuylkill a household name through our wrestling program, putting us on the map in this area and beyond. North Schuylkill became known throughout the county, the district and state levels, and even nationally through the ‘Sports Illustrated’ article that he was featured in.
“For ‘Sports Illustrated’ to come in and do a story about him and our program just goes to show how much of an impact he made,” Gross continued. “He was such a great ambassador for North Schuylkill and for the sport of wrestling. But it goes much beyond that — Joe Cesari was much more than a legendary wrestling coach. He was a husband, father, administrator, mentor and just a tremendous person. He always made it a point to drop in for random visits during the season, and I will miss those times of catching up with him. I always found it amazing, that at 84 years old, that he was still so active — running a business, occasionally officiating and just staying around the sport he loved so much. He left a lasting impact on our school district, our wrestling program and our school community, and he will be missed by so many. Our school district passes along our condolences to his wife, children, and friends at this difficult time.”
Current North Schuylkill head coach Corey Fetterolf is one of just five head coaches in the 58 years of North Schuylkill wrestling:
**Joe Cesari — 1966-1989
**Rick Edwards — 1989-2004
**Dave Brown — 2004-2012
**Chris Edwards — 2012-2017
**Corey Fetterolf — 2017-present
“Words can’t really describe how everybody’s feeling today,” Fetterolf said. “I was not privileged to be coached directly by Joe, but his legacy and everything he did is embodied in North Schuylkill wrestling. What he started — the way he carried himself with passion, grace and integrity — the four coaches after him continue his legacy and always will. He set the standard for North Schuylkill wrestling. North Schuylkill wrestling is what it is because of him. He’s one of a kind. He affected not only North Schuylkill wrestling but wrestling throughout the state of Pennsylvania.
“He did it all, inside and outside of the wrestling community,” Fetterolf added. “We toss around the word ‘legend’ a lot these days, but he will always be a legend.”
In 2015, North Schuylkill’s gymnasium was dedicated as the Cesari-Hope Gymnasium, honoring the wrestling coach and legendary basketball coach Lafay Hope.
Edwards had the unique experience of wrestling for and later coaching with Cesari, starting with the very first edition of the Spartans. After college, he joined Cesari’s staff and was a trusted assistant for many years. Edwards then took over as head coach and had a highly successful stint carrying on the North Schuylkill wrestling tradition.
“It’s a heartbreaker,” Edwards said. “To lose somebody of that caliber … he had a long, successful life, but it’s still a shocker when it happens. To be involved as a wrestler was a treat. You’re talking about a man who touched so many lives and impacted me in so many ways. Being the first to step on the mat as a JV 85-pounder, it was a great experience to work my way through and have him as my coach.
“Later it transformed into a mentorship,” Edwards added. “He’s the most influential person in my life in addition to my wife. To be associated with him was an honor.”
Edwards stressed the values of the Cesari family, wife Sandy, daughter Lisa and sons Joe Jr., Steve and Mark.
“I saw him in many, many different ways,” Edwards said. “The guy was a legend. He’s a once-in-a-lifetime person that you meet and get the privilege to work with. When he was done coaching, he became one of best referees around and did many other things. Every wrestler who ever stepped on the mat at North Schuylkill knows who Joe Cesari was, and that goes for Pennsylvania and in the nation. He mentored many and gave them the ability to be a better person. I know he did that for me.
“Joe and Sandy are terrific parents, terrific people,” Edwards added. “You couldn’t meet nicer people. There are a lot of emotions tied to this. His kids grew up with the North Schuylkill wrestling program, and all three of the boys, Lisa and Sandy were heavily involved in everything Joe did. He was my mentor, and my life turned out for the better because of him.”
Cesari’s wrestling coaching career spanned 27 years from 1962-1989.
During that time he compiled an overall record of 357-31-2, a .918 winning percentage.
Cesari began his career at Cuba Central High School in Cuba, New York, where he was head coach of wrestling, football and track. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1964 and coached football and wrestling at Ashland Area High School. In 1966, North Schuylkill merged into one school district.
During his coaching career at North Schuylkill, Cesari won 19 league championships, eight District 11 team championships and five regional championships. He led his team to state championships in 1983 and 1989 and to runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1988. His teams were ranked in the top five in Pennsylvania from 1980-1989.
Cesari had eight undefeated seasons and was featured in a four-page article in “Sports Illustrated” on Jan. 16, 1989.
He coached 10 individual state champions, and six of the 10 titles were won by his sons. Joe Jr. was a three-time state champion while Mark was a two-time champion and Steve was a one-time winner. Joe Jr.’s career record was 154-5-1 from 1980-84 while Steve had a 155-22-2 record from 1981-85 and Mark had a 137-8-0 record from 1985-89. All three sons attended North Carolina State and were four-year varsity lettermen for the Wolfpack.
In 1983, Cesari’s state championship team finished the season with a 27-0 record for a Pennsylvania dual meet title. During his tenure, Cesari’s teams had streaks of 76 consecutive dual meet victories, 127 straight Schuylkill League dual meet victories and 12 Schuylkill League championships in a row.
