Bobby Bello, Sr.
Bob was born the youngest of 9 children and raised in Bay RIdge, Brooklyn. by the time he was 12, his father had passed away and a number of his brothers were overseas defending the country in WWII. Surrounded by all women at home, Bob found sanctuary in the Dust Bowl, a park/football field in his neighborhood located at 65th Street & 8th Avenue, named after the fact that not a single blase of grass ever grew on the dirt field! Bob would roll up newspapers and tie it with string in the shape of a football. He would spend hours throwing & kicking the ball of newspaper as far as he could and then sprint to it and do it all over again. When Bob attended Fort Hamilton H.S. in the late 1940's, there was no football program, so Bob found himself playing in the multiple sand league lots throught Brooklyn. Bob left high schol to join the Air Force and upon return from military service, went back to finish his senior of high school and of coursew ent back to the grid iron. After working as a tractor trailer operator, Bob became and Ironworker out of Local 40, NYC for 40 years. He met his beloved wife Margie at a high school dance. Years later they began dating, got married and raised a family of 5 children. Throughout marriage and while raising his family, Bob continued playing football and son started coaching and mentoring boys and young men in the Bay RIdge area. As tough as he was on the football sand lots, Bob always maintained himself as a warm, caring and giving family man who was always there to help anyone who needed it.
In 1955, Bob and a local policeman out of the 64 Precinct on 86th Street & 5th Avenue started a local P.A.L. which to this day flourishes as the 68th Precinct Youth Council where neighborhood youth play baseball & soccer games in parts of Shore Road Park that are officially known as the "Bobby Bello Field" which the NYC Parks Department named after Bob in 2002. Throughout his coaching career, Bob inspired and molded boys of all ages into productive, successful men in society. Bob had coached our future doctors, lawyers, policemen, firemen and a few professional NFL & MLB ball players!
Bob;s coaching journey led him from Pee Wee football to the high school ranks, semi pro teams, the Joe Namath Football Camps and the NYPD Finest Team (with TFAA President and then Finest Head Coach Peter Moog who Bob had coached at Tottenville). Bob coached at Tottenville druring two different stints. First in June 1972 when the Pirates fielded their first Freshman team. Then Varsity Coach Alan Paturzo (who was also coached by Bob) called and asked if he be interested in helping out. Ecstatic at the invitation, Bob eagerly accepted and took to Pirates Football straight from the start! After a few seasons, Bob left Tottenville and coached at TIlden HS, then at Monsignor Farrell HS with Coach Ben Sarvillo. In 1994, the Coach, Jimmy Munson once again bestowed the invitation on Bob to come help the Pirates. Bob gladly accepted wihtout hesitation!