The Scranton community is mourning the loss of a familiar face and dedicated supporter of area athletics.
Joe Arcuri, a coach and longtime official, died earlier this week. He was 79.
Arcuri, a West Scranton High School graduate, was a decorated athlete in football, basketball, baseball, and track. He played football and earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Kutztown State University. He was a teacher in the Scranton School District at Scranton Technical High School, Central High School, and Scranton High School.
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“Joe would tackle any type of challenge and do well at it,” said Roy Davis, the longtime president of the PIAA Scranton Chapter of officials and a former colleague of Arcuri’s.
“He was similar to a lot of the guys from that day who did anything and everything. He was a hard worker. You could be sure everything would be done to the best of his ability, which is what I admired about him. He was truly a good person for the entire athletic community. He was respected by a lot of the kids who played for him and the coaching community.”
While at Kutztown, Arcuri was an assistant football coach. He started his scholastic coaching career as an assistant to Bill Kasulis at Riverside and joined John Gaudenzi’s staff at Scranton Tech in 1974 when he reinstated the freshman program.
In 1975, Arcuri served as an assistant coach for head coach Dan Case at Bishop O’Hara. He succeeded Case in 1978 as the head coach for the Bruins.
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From 1982 to 1983, Arcuri was the head coach at Scranton Tech and, after a brief hiatus, returned to become the head coach at Scranton Tech and Scranton High School until 1998.
“It was hard at times, and one of the things I remember is that he had us prepared every week,” former Scranton all-star Greg Hoffner said. “It didn’t matter who we were playing; we were always prepared. He didn’t get angry or yell and scream a lot. He was good with all of the kids. For the most part, we had a fun time. The kids who stuck around enjoyed it.”
As a coach, he helped with the transition from two schools, Central and Tech, eventually becoming Scranton High School for the 1991 season.
“He was always genuine and personable,” said former Scranton High standout Chris Dippre, who went on to play at Lackawanna College and the University of Connecticut.
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Arcuri was also a PIAA official for football, basketball, and track for 46 years.
“He was a well-respected coach, official, and educator,” Scranton athletic director Ted Anderson said. “He helped a lot of the younger officials, coaches, and teachers do things the right way.”
Arcuri had a no-nonsense approach to officiating and always had a willingness to take any game assignment, his peers praised.
“Joe was a good man who always carried himself with great poise and polish,” former District 2 Officials Representative Bill Schoen said. “In my years working with Joe as an official and as a District 2 representative and football assignor, he was always prepared, diligent, and respected by players, coaches, and officials alike. He was from the old breed of officials who made games, meetings, and camaraderie much more enjoyable. I offer my condolences to Dorothy and his whole family.”
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One of the highlights of Arcuri’s coaching career came when he guided the City all-star team in the Dream Game in 1995. That summer, he had the opportunity to coach his son, Greg, who was a graduate of West Scranton like his father and a member of the City all-star team. Greg is an assistant football coach at Abington Heights.
