Frazier to honor long-time basketball coach Henry DiVirgilio
PERRYOPOLIS – It has been said that every man has his 15 or so minutes of fame, and then leaves his footprints in the sands of time, a great philosophical observance, to be sure, and in many cases absolutely true and then some. But how about a man who had a half-century of fame, is still highly respected, has left prints a foot deep in time and is slated to receive even more honors in recognition of a career in which he brought so many honors to his school and touched so many young lives in the process.
Friday, Jan. 21, the Frazier School Board will honor long-retired basketball coach Henry DiVirgilio by naming the high school field house in his honor.
On that night, the Commodores are scheduled to host Clairton, and the recognition for Coach DiVirgilio is scheduled for halftime.
Arrangements are still being made by the school board and will be announced when completed.
Board member Bill Vargo said, “Recognizing Henry is something that came up about a couple of years ago. The idea was batted around; we talked to several people, and in the process, it was pointed out that Belle Vernon recognized Jim Weir and Uniontown recognized Bill Power by naming the football fields for them. Many felt that here was a man who had given so much to Frazier basketball over the years, so why not honor him.”
Vargo added that the board discussed the idea in a recent work session, and the naming of the facility will be made official at the next meeting.
Of his honor, DiVirgilio said, “I didn’t have any idea, I didn’t know a thing about it. They (board) told my wife and she knew about it, but nobody ever let on a thing to me.”
For 30 years DiVirgilio and Frazier basketball were synonomous, and when he retired in 1984 after those three decades of coaching, his teams had won 457 games, putting him in a very unique circle of coaches in this corner of the state.
In Fayette’s long basketball history, he is one of only four coaches to reach 400 career wins.
His Commodores also won 12 section championships, plus a WPIAL title and second place in the state for 1969, WPIAL runner-up in 1975 and semifinalists in 1966, 1971, and 1974, PIAA (state) Western Regional semifinals in 1975 and quarterfinalists in 1974.
Looking back, DiVirgilio said, “We had some great years and some great players, players who went out on the floor ready to meet anybody. They didn’t care who they had to play, they just wanted to get out there and play.”
As he pondered his impending honors, the long-time coach, teacher and administrator, added, “I really feel good about all this. I’m very happy. A lot of people have been involved, then and now, and I am very appreciative of all they have done.”
Sometimes when coaches retire, they stay away from games for a while, or they might go and spend part of the time mulling over the strategy in front of them, or in Henry’s case, just enjoying a night out.”
He laughed, “No, I never second guess the coaches. I just go to the games and enjoy them, and I like to talk to the people at the games. I will watch a game, and in my own mind I might be thinking strategy, but that’s as far as it goes. I just like to sit there and enjoy the games.”
Some men are fortunate if they can coach 457 games.
Henry DiVirgilio’s teams won that many, and now he is going to be recognized for that success by having a facility named in his honor with appropriate permanent notation in front of the building so that anybody going in or coming out will know of the respect the district still has for one man who made Frazier academic and athletic success synonomous.