Rocky Cancellieri (11/20/1920 - 5/17/2003)

Last May, the Burlington County Football Community and the little town of Riverside suffered a major loss with the death of Joseph T. Cancellieri.  He was known simply as "The Rock", and the name it perfectly.  People knew they could lean on the Rock and he wouldn't ever let them down.  Rocky was a legend in Riverside and later in life people around Burlington County learned to love and respect the man.  He was extremely competitive but always had time to help a friend or foe in need, especially if the game of football was involved.

His was an amazing story.  He worked his way from the "toughest block in town" to Superintendent of Schools and along the way touched thousands of young lives.  Rocky Cancellieri was the head football coach at Riverside High School for 25 seasons, Assistant Principal for three and Superintendent for 16.  In between he was athletic director for 15 years and also coached baseball and track.  He coached football at the high school when that position was one of the most important in the town.  He ran the Fox Theater when the movies were big, and he managed Olympic Lakes, when that Route 130 "sand hole" was the place to swim.  His ability to make friends and remember names made him among the most popular residents of the community even into his 83rd year.  Rocky retired but never really left his high school or the sport he loved.  As he lay fighting for his life at Deborah Heart and Lung Hospital last spring, Cancellieri spent hours working on the upcoming Hall of Fame Dinner with his visitors.  His list of accomplishments is long and impressive, but Rocky never forgot his roots and the early days of poverty  That's were Cancellieri became street smart and athletically involved.

He learned what it would take to survive and became strong, physically and mentally, playing and fighting in the trenches of the East End row homes.  Cancellieri played varsity football at Riverside in 1935, 1936 and 1937 for Mike LaBove and Bill Steen.  The Big War was coming, though, and Cancellieri had to postpone college.  He spent three years in the Army before a severe kidney infection cost him four months in a hospital and a medical discharge in 1944.  That was a big break for Cancellieri, who then enrolled in Temple.  By January of 1945 he was a full time student, and he made the varsity under coaches Josh Coddy and Ray Morrison.  He played guard as the Owls took on some of the top collegiate clubs in the country.  College was no free ride for Cancellieri.  He attended classes during the day then raced back to Riverside to work a 12 to 8 graveyard shift in the Metal Company.

A second break came that fall when School Board President Morris Murphy knocked on his door and offered Rocky a part-time job coaching football.  Cancellieri wasted no time accepting the offer.  He knew an opportunity when he saw one.  The man he would assist was the all-pro captain of the Philadelphia Eagles, Al Wistert.  In those days professional football was not a full time profession and Wistert picked up extra cash as the head football coach.  Naturally Wistert taught an advanced brand of football, and Cancellieri learned the secrets of the game while coaching.  Interest was at its highest point.  The team was playing night games and virtually the entire town squeezed in to the Grant Street field to see high school football at its finest.  Cancellieri became the town's first homegrown head coach when he took over the reigns in 1948.  He would remain head coach for a quarter century and that '48 team won the first of six South Jersey championships for the Rock.  Through the era of the Fabulous Fifties, Cancellieri's team was a perennial contender on the football fields of Burlington County.  The Rams won county titles in 1951, '53, '55 and South Jersey crowns in 1952, '57, '58', '59 and '61.

Cancellieri's best season came in 1958 when the team shut out its first six opponents on the way to a perfect 9-0-0 season.  In game No. 7, the bubble burst at Mount Holly.  A shanked punt and a fumble handed the Hollies two easy touchdowns and the injury riddled Rams went into the locker rooms down by 13 at the intermission.  A fiery half-time pep talk appeared to do little until the scoreboard clock showed just 35 seconds left in the third quarter.  Riverside had just marched 80 yards toward the Mount Holly goal but was stopped six inches short.  The crowd of more than 5,000 was screaming on every play.  The Holly fans sensed a major upset.  Riverside fans became desperate as the shadows lengthened and a cold, damp November chill began to take over the afternoon.  Then it happened.  In just 28 seconds Cancellieri's team scored a safety and two touchdowns and went on to win 27-13.  It was the greatest comeback in RHS history and defined Cancellieri's ability to survive in a crisis situation.  The next week fullback Pete Chiaccio gained more than 200 yards as Riverside crushed a strong Burlington team and on Thanksgiving Day the unbeaten season was realized with a 25-0 rout of Florence.

In September of 1958, Cancellieri replaced the legendary Charlie Lehman as Athletic Director and served as coach and AD through 1972.  During his 15 years at the helm of the athletic program Cancellieri expanded the program as student enrollment increased.  He added bowling, golf, wrestling, track and gymnastics.  Cancellieri took over the management of the Fox Theater in 1949 and ran the town's only movie house until January of 1964 when it was destroyed by fire.  From 1955 to 1976, he managed the Olympic Lakes, a swimming area located in Willingboro on Route 130.  He earned his Masters in 1968 and moved into administration in 1972.  "They gave me a third hat," Rocky explained.  "They made me the Assistant Principal along with my full-time role as coach and Athletic Director."  In 1975 the school board asked Cancellieri to become Superintendent.  He agreed to try the job for a year.  "I stayed 16 years, to 1991," he says.  "I guess they were happy with my performance."  They were more than happy.  They were ecstatic.  Cancellieri handled every crisis and the school system thrived under his leadership.

Rocky and his wife, the former Arline Mollineaux, had three sons, Joey, Tommy and Bobby, and a daughter Cristine.  All four children graduated from Trenton State College.  Joey owns and operates a florist shop in Riverside, and Bobby is a builder in North Carolina.  Cristine is a schoolteacher in Westhapton, and Tommy teaches in Tabernacle.

The Rock twice received Coach of the Year honors (1958 and 1964) and was inducted into the South Jersey Coaches Hall of fame.  He also received the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Award of Honor.  In 1969 the football field on Hooker Street was named in his honor.

-By Bob Kenney