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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Tony Guzzo never became a household name for fans of Major League Baseball, but two of his pupils did.
During a decade (1995-2004) in charge of the baseball program at Old Dominion, Guzzo coached a future MLB manager (Matt Quatraro) and Hall of Famer (pitcher Justin Verlander).
Guzzo died Thursday at age 75, the university announced.
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Guzzo was 632-552-1 in college head coaching stops at North Carolina Wesleyan, Virginia Commonwealth, and Old Dominion. He had been an assistant coach at ODU since 2017.
Chris Finwood, ODU's head baseball coach, told the school's website that Guzzo was hospitalized late in the summer and his health deteriorated in recent weeks.
"He was having a hard time and is in a much better place," Finwood told ODUsports.com. "He was a mountain of a man and was bigger than life. He meant so much to so many people."
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Guzzo graduated from East Carolina University, where he played baseball and football. He began his baseball coaching career at Norfolk (Va.) Catholic High School, his alma mater. In 1979 he took his first college head coaching job at North Carolina Wesleyan.
In four years with the Battling Bishops (1979-82), Guzzo's teams went 102-66 and twice reached the Division III World Series.
In 1983, Guzzo took over the baseball program at Virginia Commonwealth, a Division I program. He went 329-300-1 from 1983-94 and won three conference tournament titles in his last six seasons.
VCU produced two MLB players in Guzzo's tenure — pitchers Jim Austin and Jerry Dipoto, who would go on to serve as the general manager for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Angels, and Seattle Mariners.
In 1994, he was hired as the Old Dominion head coach, a job he had coveted for some time.
"I thought about this job for a long time," Guzzo told the Virginian-Pilot in 1996. "If I didn't get it this time, I was worried that the guy who got it might not leave."
Guzzo inherited Quatraro, an All-American in college who never reached the majors as a player, but is currently managing the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
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Guzzo's star pupil was Verlander. He was so ardent in his pursuit of the pitcher as a high schooler, he reportedly offered him a scholarship prior to his junior year — one year earlier than usual.
After being drafted by the Detroit Tigers, Verlander went on to win 262 major league games, three Cy Young Awards, two World Series rings, and one MVP award in a big league career that began in 2005.
After his final season as Old Dominion's head coach, Guzzo worked as an assistant coach at North Carolina State and a scout for the Boston Red Sox. He also worked as an assistant at Louisburg College, and a high school coach for Nash Central High School, before returning to Old Dominion in 2017 as an assistant coach.
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