Anthony Guzzo (January 7, 1949 – October 10, 2024) was an American baseball coach. He was an assistant baseball coach Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, a position he had held since 2017. Guzzo served as the head baseball coach at North Carolina Wesleyan University in Rocky Mount, North Carolina from 1979 to 1982, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia from 1983 to 1994, and Old Dominion from 1995 to 2004.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1949 |
| Died | October 10, 2024 (aged 75) Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1968–1971 | East Carolina |
| Position(s) | Catcher |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1972–1976 | Norfolk Catholic HS (VA) |
| 1976–1978 | East Carolina (assistant) |
| 1979–1982 | North Carolina Wesleyan |
| 1983–1994 | VCU |
| 1995–2004 | Old Dominion |
| 2005–2006 | NC State (assistant) |
| 2006–2007 | Boston Red Sox (scout) |
| 2008–2010 | Louisburg (assistant) |
| 2017–2024 | Old Dominion (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 632–552–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 NCAA Division III Regional: 1981, 1982 2 CAA regular season: 1996, 2000 2 CAA Tournament: 1995, 1996 | |
Career
editGuzzo was raised in Elm City, North Carolina, where he played high school baseball for Elm City High School, where he graduated in 1968. Upon graduation, Guzzo played college baseball for East Carolina Pirates, where he was a catcher during his four-year career. Upon graduation in 1972, Guzzo became the high school baseball coach for Norfolk Catholic High School in Norfolk, Virginia, before receiving his first head coaching job, with North Carolina Wesleyan University. Guzzo served as the head coach for NC Wesleyan from 1979 until 1982, where in the final two years, he helped NC Wesleyan reach the NCAA Division III College World Series. He finished with a 102–66 record at NC Wesleyan.
In August 1982, ahead of the 1983 NCAA Division I baseball season, Guzzo was hired by Virginia Commonwealth University to lead the baseball program. At VCU, he finished with a 329–300–1 record. After the 1994 season, he joined Old Dominion University as the head baseball coach.[1] There he coached the program for 10 seasons. During his tenure, Old Dominion won two CAA regular season titles (1996, 2000),[2] two CAA Tournament titles (1995, 1996) and earned three NCAA Regional appearances (1995, 1996, 2000).[2] Notable players that Guzzo coached at Old Dominion included Justin Verlander, Kevin Gibbs, Matt Quatraro, Tim Hummel, and Ron Walker. After the 2004 season, Guzzo left Old Dominion and became an assistant coach for North Carolina State University.[3]
After stints as an area scout for the Boston Red Sox, an assistant at Louisburg College, and high school coaching for Nash Central High School,[4] Guzzo returned to Old Dominion in 2017 as an assistant coach.[5]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops (Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1979–1982) | |||||||||
| 1979 | North Carolina Wesleyan | 18–19 | 5–7 | ||||||
| 1980 | North Carolina Wesleyan | 22–19 | 5–7 | ||||||
| 1981 | North Carolina Wesleyan | 33–13 | 9–3 | Division III College World Series | |||||
| 1982 | North Carolina Wesleyan | 29–15 | 6–2 | Division III College World Series | |||||
| North Carolina Wesleyan: | 102–66 (.607) | 25–19 (.568) | |||||||
| VCU Rams (Sun Belt Conference) (1983–1991) | |||||||||
| 1983 | VCU | 13–32 | 0–16 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1984 | VCU | 19–28 | 4–12 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1985 | VCU | 20–32 | 4–14 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1986 | VCU | 26–32 | 4–13 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1987 | VCU | 25–22 | 5–11 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1988 | VCU | 45–16–1 | 11–5–1 | 1st (East) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1989 | VCU | 30–15 | 8–7 | 2nd (East) | |||||
| 1990 | VCU | 18–29 | 2–14 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1991 | VCU | 35–22 | 10–6 | 3rd (East) | |||||
| VCU Rams (Metro Conference) (1992–1994) | |||||||||
| 1992 | VCU | 35–22 | 10–6 | 1st (East) | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1993 | VCU | 30–27 | 4–10 | 6th | |||||
| 1994 | VCU | 30–25–1 | 9–9 | 5th | |||||
| VCU: | 326–302–2 (.519) | 71–123 (.366) | |||||||
| Old Dominion Monarchs (Colonial Athletic Association) (1995–2004) | |||||||||
| 1995 | Old Dominion | 39–20 | 9–9 | 5th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1996 | Old Dominion | 39–17 | 13–7 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1997 | Old Dominion | 34–20 | 12–8 | 2nd | |||||
| 1998 | Old Dominion | 28–29 | 9–12 | 5th | |||||
| 1999 | Old Dominion | 38–17 | 7–11 | 5th | |||||
| 2000 | Old Dominion | 33–24–1 | 14–7 | T–1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2001 | Old Dominion | 19–37 | 6–15 | 5th | |||||
| 2002 | Old Dominion | 26–17 | 8–12 | 4th | |||||
| 2003 | Old Dominion | 18–33 | 5–15 | 4th | |||||
| 2004 | Old Dominion | 26–28 | 13–11 | 5th | |||||
| Old Dominion: | 290–242–1 (.545) | 106–107 (.498) | |||||||
| Total: | 718–610–3 (.541) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Death
editGuzzo died in Norfolk, Virginia, on October 10, 2024, at the age of 75.[6]
References
edit- ^ Robinson, Tom (April 20, 1996). "Despite 500 Wins, ODU Baseball Coach Tony Guzzo Dodges Spotlight". The Virginian-Pilot. Landmark Communications, Inc. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
- ^ a b "Former ODU coach Tony Guzzo earns Bud Metheny Award". The Virginian-Pilot. December 30, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ "NC State Hires Tony Guzzo". gopack.com. September 16, 2004. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ^ Neville, Geoff (6 March 2013). "Bulldogs upbeat on diamond". The Nashville Graphic. Retrieved August 6, 2022.
- ^ Minium, Harry (January 12, 2017). "Minium: At 68, Tony Guzzo hasn't lost his passion for baseball, or for ODU". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
- ^ Former ODU Head Baseball Coach Tony Guzzo passes away at 75