Guardino played, taught right way

The late Joe Guardino was a standout athlete at Watertown High School and St. Lawrence University in the 1940s.

He was called by a former high school teammate, Dr. Eugene Renzi, "one of the best football players ever to come out of WHS.''

"He was the best, at least in my generation,'' Renzi told the Watertown Daily Times in 2005. "Joe would hit a certain hole so fast, and had the ability to cut against the grain. He had great vision and balance as a ball carrier."

Attorney Jack Scordo, another WHS teammate of Guardino's, learned something from his old teammate that he still practices today.

"The thing I remember most about Joe was what happened before a game with Manlius Military Academy,'' Scordo said. "Before the game we were trying to relax in the gym and Joe pulls out a gym mat and is laying there on his back just resting. I said to myself, 'Joe must be onto something,' as most of the guys were pacing back and forth. Joe said, 'Just relax for a while.'''

He played football and basketball and participated in track in high school. In his senior year, Guardino was captain of the football team. He scored seven touchdowns that season.

In 1946, Guardino began his collegiate football career at SLU.

While at SLU, Guardino returned a kickoff for 86 yards, which at the time was a school record. He also played basketball for the Saints.

Guardino also coached the Watertown track and field team and was an assistant coach for the Watertown Red and Black semipro football team.

Many later generations got to know Guardino in another way: He was a physical education instructor in the Watertown School District for many years.

When Guardino died on Dec. 4, 2004, his wife of 49 years received many sympathy cards from former students who wanted to express their condolences. Many offered their own personal notes.

"I think Joe taught at just about every elementary school in the city,'' Helen said in 2005. "Children presented him with many cards over the years thanking him for what he did for them."

Former Watertown High School athletic director and coach Chuck Woodell, in a sympathy card to the Guardino family, called Guardino an inspiration and one of the most popular physical education instructors of his time.

Guardino's widow, through the Northern New York Community Foundation Inc., gives $500 scholarships annually to deserving Watertown High School seniors who have participated in sports and have achieved high academic standards. Chris Day, Jessica Forte, Emily Soderquist and Brandon Stanley have been awarded the scholarships in the past.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com