Bob Greco

• Post by: mcalibrary
• January 11, 2024
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INDUCTEE

Most of Bob Greco’s life has been devoted to local sports, particularly basketball. For over fifty years he has played, coached, and officiated local sporting events on the youth, high school, and amateur athletic levels. Bob has always stressed dedication, commitment, and hard work as staples of his teams. After all, he was asking no more than he was willing to give. And give, he did! Bob has never been paid once cent in all of his years coaching local sports teams. Bob’s reward was developing players with winning attitudes based on fair play, hard work and teamwork. According to Bob, his greatest enjoyment and reward has been from what his players have gone on to accomplish in their lives, rather than what he has accomplished. He is also proud of the fact that 99% of the girls basketball players at Mount Carmel Area went on to higher levels of education.

Bob is a 1953 graduate of Mount Carmel Catholic High School, where he played basketball as a guard and small forward. He went on to Susquehanna University and graduated with a BS degree in 1957. He later went on to play with Diamond Coal’s Intercity Championship Softball Team as a pitcher and catcher. He also played on a number of semi pro basketball teams including the Locust Gap Apollos during the 50’s and 60’s. When the opportunities to play dried up, Bob turned to coaching as an outlet.

He coached St. Peter’s CYO boys from 1960 through 1965, and then the Holy Spirit Spiritans from 1966 through 1980. Consistency and fundamentals were always trademarks of his teams as they had winning records in 19 of 20 years. His teams went on to win two Harrisburg Diocesan Championships and were able to finish second and third in the State CYO Championships.

Bob joined his daughter Debbie in 1981 as she took over the girls basketball program at Mount Carmel Area. Together, they made the program competitive in the always tough Schuylkill League. Their teams qualified for District playoffs on 5 different occasions and won Mount Carmel Area’s only Girls District Basketball Championship in 1985. They coached the state’s all time leading scorer in Maria Fantanarosa, and coached 4 of MCA’s 7-1000 point scorers in Fantanarosa, Shannon Guinan, Leslie Gilotti, and Carolyn Darrup. They also tutored the school’s only 1000 rebounder in Sue Humphrey and coached the only 500 assist guards in Margot Guinan and Jill Gonzalo.

Greco has also given to his community as Past President and current Secretary of Mount Carmel/Kulpmont Kiwanis Club. He is a Life member, Unity Committee Chair, Finance Committee member of the West End Fire Company, and is a past president of the American Heart Association .Greco has been employed since 1972 at the Shamokin Area Community Hospital and is a Licensed Pennsylvania State Nursing Home Administrator. Bob and his wife Jean, who passed away in 2002 after 45 years of marriage, are the proud parents of three children. Dr. Robert Greco, Debbie Perles, and Attorney Edward Greco, and have 8 grandchildren. Today Bob joins his brother Joe – a member of the inaugural class of the Ed Romance Chapter – as a perfect set of bookends to the Chapter’s first 25 years.