Hall of Fame
Anthony Russo Sr. was hired by fellow inductee, Dr. Ralph Edwards as the first athletic director of KCC Athletics in 1966. Anthony will be remembered as one of KCC Athletics’ most charismatic leaders who, along with Dr. Ralph Edwards, hired KCC Athletics first staff of professors and coaches, several of whom are still employed here at KCC today. Anthony Russo also was the chairperson of the health and physical education department (1969-1971), was KCC’s dean of students (1971-1991) and founded KCC’s men’s soccer and baseball teams.
In terms of athletics, Anthony’s passion was baseball. In Anthony’s playing days, he pitched his way into the minor leagues and made it all the way to the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers before he blew out his arm and was no longer able to pitch. Prior to coming to lead KCC’s health and physical education and athletic departments in 1966, Anthony was the head baseball coach of LIU, and was named NCAA national coach of the year in 1965. A pitcher on Anthony Russo Sr.’s 1965 team was fellow inductee, Lou Shor. With his passion and knowledge of baseball, it wouldn’t take long for Anthony to start KCC’s first baseball team in the same year he entered KCC, 1966. Anthony Russo Sr. was looked up to in New York City as a great baseball mind. Said fellow inductee and former assistant baseball coach Ron Gerwin, “I learned more from being an assistant to Anthony Russo in just two seasons than I learned playing the game my whole life. His perspective on the game was one of a kind, and he was a great teacher.”
Anthony was the type of coach and administrator that was a true motivator. He was always able to get his players and professors to give their all and everyone enjoyed working and playing for him. Anthony worked to establish a rapport with his employees that would develop into friendships and not just working relationships. For example Anthony often organized pickup basketball games after work and his employees felt like a close team, some said working for him didn’t even feel like work at all. While working for Anthony, some of his fellow inductees admitted that they worked for his approval; they wanted to make sure that all that they did what would be pleasing to Anthony, as their administrator. Under Anthony’s leadership, KCC Athletics got off to as strong of a start as possible with all of the coaches supporting each other throughout the day at work, after work at games and practices and outside of KCC as true comrades. He was a special kind of leader.
We thank Anthony for his years of service to KCC athletics, and commend him on his efforts to build a solid foundation on which the rest of KCC Athletics would be built; a foundation that still today contains some of the pieces that Anthony put into place over 40 years ago. It is our honor to induct Anthony Russo Sr. into the KCC Athletics Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class.
