Venuto, Honored With Gordon, May Coach Only 2 More Years

Venuto, Honored With Gordon, May Coach Only 2 More Years

By LEROY SAMUELS Courier-Post Staff

It was 1953. Sam Venuto. the Salem football coach, stood on the Pitman High sidelines with pencil and notebook. He was on a scouting “mission.” Lights blazed onto the field. Just before the Clayton team plunged from the lockerroom to the field. Pop Kramer- the Clayton coach—tapped Sam Venuto on the shoulder Pop had a “message ” He told Sam Venuto to stop doing all of that ‘scouting and using those tape-recorders and those new­ fangled offenses with the men- in-motion Sam. you are mak­ing me an old, old man.”

The people from Salem ar­rived by the carloads, all the way to Kenney’s Suburban House in Cherry Hill. The football coach, Sam Venuto. and another, Bill Gordon of Rancocas Valley High, were the “big names” at the head table for the 13th annual dinner of the South Jersey Chapter of the National Football Founda­tion Hall of Fame.

“I never can remember a bigger night in my life.” Sam Venuto said as the Salem people stood and cheered for the skipper. He and Gordon each received gold watches, symbolic of “special recogni­tion” to South Jersey football.

Sam Venuto looked at his watch and nearly had a good, hard cry. He had spent 23 seasons in Salem, amassed a 109-81-9 record, and figured the end was near.

“Two more seasons, just two more for me.” he said, later. “My sons (Jay. Sam Jr) will then be graduated and I’ll have my 25 years as a coach, my original goal, and then it will be over.” For some, it’ll never be over ” His high school coach. Bill Stinson of Haverford, was at the big dinner “Sam was a hitter in high school.” said Bill. “He liked to get the football and run over people. Not around them, but through them. Like a steam-roller. Oh. he was so tough and so strong.”

The people remember Sam Venuto at North Carolina, where he starred, and later with the Washington Redskins of the NFL. He played fullback,but against the 49ers. he wrenched his neck The people at the Mayo Clinic said Sam Venuto couldn’t play pro foot­ball anymore. “They said I would risk permanent inju­ry.” said Venuto “I quit! “

He taught for a year a Woodbury High, then arrived at Salem in 1953. His wife taught there We wanted to be together.” said Sam Venuto. ” Together, forever. Sam Venuto never left Salem High and its football and its kids. “The challenge was always there.” he said. “There never has een a great amount of wealth at Salem, but that doesn’t mean the kids shouldn’t get the right kind of coaching, the right kind of help. I couldn’t leave. I fell in love with the place and what we were trying to do.”

His former players arrived by the dozens to see Sam Venuto get the big award George Fithian. who now lives in Pennsville, remembers Sam Venuto as big and tough and devoted. “Sometimes he scared me.” said Fithian, “because on Saturday afternoons he turned me into an animal and I played so hard and tough for him. He could be so brutal, then be such a nice guy .

Clint Ware, who played under Venuto and has been the Woodstown football coach tor nearly a half-dozen seasons, said Venuto knew “when to kick a butt, when to put his arm around someone.”

John Slopey of Pennsville played under Venuto and re­membered the night he punched a hole through a green slate backboard at Pitman High. “It was halftime and we only led by 6-0.” said Slopey “I was a lineman. I was also under the blackboard when Sam Venuto put his fist through it. Just like that. pow. and the slate cracked into pieces and flew all over the place. Sam said the Salem band played good, but we didn’t.”

In the second half, Salem scored 35 points and won. 41-6.

“Sam made his point, quite clearly.” Slopey said “We played our guts out for him! “

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