To most Cape-Atlantic League fans, Al Angelo was a father and grandfather who spent his retirement years watching his son, Skip, coach and his grandsons, A.J. and Chris Harris, compete. But, before he retired to Upper Township, Angelo, who died over the weekend at age 77, earned the reputation as one of the finest football coaches in the Delaware Valley.

At Frankford High School in Philadelphia, Angelo won 184 games and lost just 39 in 21 seasons. His teams won 10 Public League championships and, in 1978, became the only Public League school to win a city championship in the final nine years of the series.

Gary Degenhardt, who became a pretty successful football coach himself, was part of Angelo’s first teams at Frankford, the teams that laid the groundwork for the future championships. “Back then I just saw him as a football coach,” Degenhardt said, “and I didn’t know exactly where he was coming from. But, as time passed, you began to understand what he was teaching. And, before you knew it, he became a mentor.”

Gary Hegh, the baseball coach at Mainland, gained 2,595 yards rushing for Frankford during his three seasons in Angelo’s lineup, including two Public League champions. “He had very good discipline techniques,” Hegh said. “He was a great communicator with kids, the best I’ve ever seen. He made us believe in ourselves. You never heard him swear and he always told you the truth, but he told it in a way that was beneficial to you.”

Dr. Al Harris was a very successful football player, playing on a national championship team at Penn State. He is married to Angelo’s daughter, Alisa, and is the father of A.J. and Chris Harris. He never played for his father-in-law but he knows from being around him why he was so successful. “He was very detail oriented,” said Harris. “He really cared about his players and was willing to work hard for them. He knew what football meant to his players and he was always there for them, always interested. He taught his players how to get the most out of themselves.”

John Pierantozzi, the retired football coach from Vineland High School, will never forget the way he met Angelo. “I was at a Penn State coaches clinic,” he said, “and when it was my turn, I stood up and told everyone about this old coach from Philadelphia who did three things we’d begun doing in Vineland – building a tackle pit, holding four tackling drills every day and, after their final game, we took our seniors back to the practice field for a ceremony and one last visit. When I finished, everybody was laughing. I couldn’t figure it out. Then this man raised his hand and said, ‘I’m the old coach from Philadelphia’. That was how I met Coach Angelo. It was an embarrassing start but we became good friends. He’d sometimes come to our Vineland practices and offer his comments.”

A former manager of Angelo’s teams in the mid-1970s, Michael Weick, offered some online comments at TedSilary.com about Angelo. “I met Al Angelo for the first time in the gym at Frankford. I was a skinny, painfully shy 15 year-old sophomore student. With knees wobbling and palms sweating, I somehow worked up enough courage to ask him if I could help out as team manager. Sensing my nervousness, Mr. Angelo put his arm around my shoulder, introduced me to his assistant, Ron Howley, and welcomed me to the Frankford Football fraternity. As you well know, we enjoyed great success, thanks to our beloved coach. We all know about the many championships but the real measurement of the man was that Mr. Angelo was a true gentleman who worked to ensure we all studied hard in school and represented Frankford in the proper way. Next to my dad, he was my hero growing up.”

Degenhardt, who went from Frankford to the University of Miami, used a lot of what he learned at Frankford in his own coaching career. “He believed in being tough,” Degenhardt said, “and executing properly. He wanted every kid to feel special. He especially took the time to reach out and make the role players feel special. I was lucky to have him as a mentor, lucky to have his son as a fellow coach and a friend. When Mr. Angelo talked football, if you listened, you’d always learn something.”

Hegh, who went on to Wake Forest after his successful high school career, talked about how Angelo had a strong effect on his personal life. “My dad passed away when I was a freshman in college,” he said, “and what he taught me got me through that. Then, within a year, a close friend also died and he helped me keep it together. I owe so much to him. He’s the reason I’m a teacher and a coach. There aren’t many Al Angelos around.”

During his 16-month battle with the cancer that took his life, Angelo kept pushing ahead. “He wanted to go down to Elon to see A.J. play,” said Harris, “but traveling wasn’t easy for him. So, we rented an RV and we just had a great time. Throughout his fight with cancer he was constantly setting goals. He’d tell me his next goal was to see A.J. play, or to see Chris play on Thanksgiving, or to be around for the Christmas tournament, or see a baseball game. His positive approach infected everyone around him.”

When his son, Skip, who is Ocean City’s golf coach, was the offensive coordinator of Degenhardt’s Raider football team, Angelo would often act as an advisor. “To have had him coach me when I was in high school and then to return to help me coach the Ocean City players was a great transition,” said Degenhardt. “He didn’t want to get in your way, he just wanted to help. Mr. Angelo never had bad words to say. He’d never disrespect you when he offered comments or criticism. He was a special man.”

In addition to Hegh and Degenhardt, at Frankford Angelo coached Blair Thomas, a star running back at Penn State who was No. 2 in the 1989 Heisman voting and a first round draft pick of the New York Jets. And he coached 11-year Detroit Tigers outfielder Bobby Higginson in football.

Those are great resume items – the championships, the professional athletes who came through your program, the great winning percentage. And he obviously had a powerful impact on a number of our area coaches. But for those of us who didn’t know Al Angelo as the coach at Frankford, those of us who saw him in the bleachers at CAL football and basketball games, he was just a gentle, caring man who treated everyone as though they were somebody special.