Hall of Fame
Joseph Ficcaro ’52 – Class of 1997
Over the distance…
As the construction project on Syracuse’s Eastern Heights blossomed into a college, its early student-athletes were a mix of youth and maturity. Exuberant teens shared green and gold uniforms with young men who had grown beyond their years in their country’s service.
In no sport was the combination of youth and maturity to build a more memorable tradition than cross-country. A young man with an infectious smile that belied the tenacity of an accomplished boxer and war veteran set a standard for his less hardened teammates. He often showed up for his first class of the day with ten miles of training behind him. It was said that he warmed up for competition by running six or seven miles. He championed the concept of over-the-distance training by example, and became an accomplished marathoner-finishing in the top twenty in the sport’s marquee Boston event.
A cross-country team’s achievement is measured by the contribution of all its members. The youthful members of early Dolphin teams responded to his example by demanding more of themselves, and under coach Dominick Patrick Hughes established Le Moyne as a legitimate force, competing with distinction across the Northeast.
Upon graduation, he took over Hughes’ coaching responsibilities and laid out the original cross-country course on the Heights in preparation for the first Le Moyne Invitational held on campus. As a coach at Le Moyne and later at Utica College, Utica’s Notre Dame High School and the Utica CYO, he continued to lead through example and an uncanny sense of the flow of a meet. A Le Moyne runner, back in the pack at a major meet, recalls his coaching telling him “pass the fellow ahead of you and we win.” He did. And Le Moyne won.
A Syracusan by birth, he settled in the Utica area, building a career at General Electric and a family with wife Veronica. He has made his name synonymous with his sport in his adopted city. He has been inducted into three local halls of fame and is recognized as the “founding father of long distance running in the Greater Utica area.” His legacy includes a series of firsts: establishment of the Utica Pacemakers distance running team – which sheparded scores of high school athletes into college: a Development Run program in which as many as 1,000 young people participate each week; founding the nationally-recognized Utica Boilermaker run.
Ardent runner, accomplished coach, civic leader, he is a man whose example of Catholic Christian living is acknowledged by all who come to know him. For setting a standard that challenges us to set our goal over the distance in all our endeavors,
Joseph Ficcaro ’52 is inducted into the
Le Moyne College Athletic Hall of Fame
February 1, 1997
