March 25, 1924 - Aug. 17, 2012

Frank Basilone was such an outstanding football player, he was recruited by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1945, but he was unable to sign with the team because he had to help support his family in the wake of his father's death.

That didn't stop Mr. Basilone, of Springdale, from devoting much of the rest of his life to playing and coaching sports and mentoring young baseball players and coaching his three sons into attaining sports scholarships to college.

Mr. Basilone, 88, died Friday at Family Hospice Canterbury Center from heart valve problems, said his son, Tim, of Springdale.

Mr. Basilone spent 35 years working for Duquesne Light, retiring as a supervisor.

But his avocation was playing semi-professional sports and then coaching and helping to coach American Legion baseball and high school football and affecting the lives of hundreds of young athletes from the 1960s until about 1995, according to his son.

Mr. Basilone was a fullback on the Duquesne University football team when he was called to serve in the Army during World War II. His military service was cut short because his father died, and as the eldest son, he returned home to help support the family.

But he continued to play sports, largely in semi-professional and community leagues.

Don "Simmy" Simoncic, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1967 and 1968, was coached in American Legion baseball by Mr. Basilone, who he said taught him the skills that got him onto the Pirates farm team from which he was called up.

Mr. Simoncic said Mr. Basilone was a tough coach and that not all of his players liked to be pushed to limits that Mr. Basilone pushed.

More here:
Obituary: Frank J. Basilone | Coach devoted life to young players