| Chautauqua County, New York |
| Chautauqua County, New York |
Marion Rizzo
Marion "Muddy" Rizzo has spent most of his life in Chautauqua County and had an impressive career at Falconer Central School.
Rizzo earned 15 out of a possible 16 varsity letters from 1936-1940 while competing in football, basketball, baseball and track for the Golden Falcons. He was recipient of the All-Southwestern Conference football team award, the All-Lake Shore League basketball team award, All-Star Tournament Basketball Player Award and Most Valuable Player awards.
Rizzo received a football scholarship to King College in Bristol, Tennessee, after a two-week tryout. King College eventually discontinued football but he retained his scholarship because he was one of two people selected to serve as supervisor of a required physical education program for students enlisted as military reservists.
While in Bristol, Rizzo started playing for a Class D pro baseball team, the Bristol Twins, a farm club of the New York Giants. His performance during the summer of 1943 earned him a tryout with the Giants at the Polo Grounds in 1944, but Rizzo was unable to attend because he was on active duty as a Navy officer in Europe preparing for the invasion of Normandy.
Also while at King college, he was on the basketball team from 1940-1943. Rizzo was an assistant football coach to "Tex" Dain at Jefferson Junior High School from 1948-1952 and from 1948-1968 he was a member of the Chautauqua Chapter of Certified Football and Basketball Officials. He was also a member of national and international affiliation of chapters of certified Football and Basketball Officials.
He was a guidance counselor at Jefferson from 1952-1967, later became principal followed by being a guidance counselor at Jamestown High School until he retired in 1985 after 37 years in the system.
Marion Rizzo was inducted into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.