Hall of Fame
David F. Lozo ’51 – Class of 1984
Doing What Has To Be Done…
It was Le Moyne College’s third year of intercollegiate basketball competition, and the team that was striving to build a winning tradition had fallen on hard times. They did not know that the current campaign was destined to be the darkness before the dawn, one of only two losing season for a generation.
They did know that John Carroll University was coming to town with a highly-rated team and with them one of the nation’s premier big men, a giant in his time, 6’9” Ed Roper. And they knew they needed a bright spot, one of those victories which could mark the possibility of future greatness.
Coach Niland, ever keen to marshalling his team’s talent in the most effective way, saw a possibility: His lightning quick 5’8” guard was a man who could not be intimidated and never failed to respond to a challenge. Dave Lozo was installed in the pivot, giving up more than a foot in height to his opponent. That game typified Dave Lozo’s basketball career. He did what had to be done. Le Moyne’s number 5 poured 36 points through he net against John Carroll that night, leading the Dolphins to an 11-point victory and the bright spot they so desperately needed. His four-year career with the pioneer team resulted in 1,100 points and the abiding respect of everyone who watched him perform. But when Dave Lozo left Le Moyne and returned to his native area, the Niagara Frontier, he knew there was more done with his talents.
He earned a Masters’ Degree from Buffalo State College and joined the Lewiston-Porter School District, sharing his special nature with young people as a teacher, administrator and football, baseball, basketball and track coach. At one point his football teams lost only five games in a seven year span, and his tenure included four undefeated seasons. He served as the Village of Youngstown’s director of recreation for 20 years. In 1969 he was appointed assistant principal of Lewiston-Porter Central High School.
Just as his 1,100 point basketball career at Le Moyne only provides a glimpse of what this man meant to his team, such accomplishments are only a shadow of his real worth. A man devoted to his wife, Mary Ellen, his sons, Timothy and David, and his daughters Michelle, Colleen and Denise, Dave Lozo was still able to share himself with countless others. A winning season meant little if his players did not develop in ways more important than athletic.
When fatally stricken with a heart attack at the age of 48, Dave left an enormous legacy. Said the superintendent of schools, “We can never really replace him.” Said his principal, “I have met few men who had the welfare of young people at heart to the extent he did.”
The Le Moyne Community joined in sadness at his passing. But the sadness was tempered by an understanding that Dave Lozo’s spirit would live in those who wore the green and gold for generations to come. On the court and in their lives after graduation, Dave Lozo’s life offers a challenge: Do what has to be done.
To ensure that that challenge never be forgotten, it is appropriate that David F. Lozo be inducted into the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame
May 5, 1984
