Class of 2009

If there’s a gene for Panther football talent, then Jim Boccio, Jr. inherited it, and passed it on. His father, Jim Boccio, Sr. was Antioch High’s co-MVP in 1942 and son Brian continued the tradition as MVP of the 1992 Antioch High team. Read More “Jim Boccio, Jr.”

Why call it a sports record book, if there’s only one name listed? Powerhouse pitcher Sue Cardinale dominated softball at Antioch High in the 1980s, setting 12 school records. Read More “Sue Cardinale”

He was a diminutive man with a big impact on his players. An ode written by Keith Broaders just after Marv Comstock’s passing in 1995 described the Antioch coach’s personality as “gentle as a pit bull and subtle as a shark.” Read More “Marvin Comstock”

Antioch High’s Eells Field was officially named in 1957 to honor a man who brought football prominence to this then tiny Delta town in the 1920s. In a plaque dedicated by the Antioch Rotary Club, Dutch Eells is called “a builder of men.” Read More “Walter “Dutch” Eells”

Grover was varsity quarterback at Antioch High for his junior and senior years in 1954 and 1955: a “potent factor” in the Panthers’ most successful football seasons since 1948, coached by Brooks Golden. Read More “Grover Garvin”

Golf may be the only sport in which players can improve with age. Living proof for that claim is Bob Heaton. Read More “Robert “Bob” Heaton”

Baseball skills emerged early for Larry Hopwood. The 1970 Antioch High graduate was already a Babe Ruth All-Star by the age of 15. Read More “Larry Hopwood”

Athletic achievement is not always synonymous with physical brawn. Exhibit A: Bob Koupeny, the 106-pound “Little Blacksmith” who was one of the most successful wrestlers to graduate from Antioch High. Read More “Bob Koupeny”

“Put me in, Coach – I’m ready to play today; Look at me, I can be, Centerfield.” Mike Lucido is the living embodiment to the lyrics from that John Fogerty hit song. Read More “Mike Lucido”

Older brother Gino – the NFL Hall of Famer – acknowledges that his bruising 215-pound little brother Angelo was the better football player in high school. Read More “Angelo “Itsie” Marchetti”