New Scoreboard Honoring Former Wolfpack Coach To Be Unveiled in September

Long Valley, N.J. – After several months of planning and seeking support to honor the longest-tenured coach in West Morris Central history, a group of alumni have met their goal and will now be able to immortalize Pete Piccirillo.

The group began raising funds in the spring with the hopes of replacing the current scoreboard at West Morris Central’s Wolfpack stadium, and has since raised more than $18,000 to do so.

The scoreboard has been ordered, and a full weekend of events has been planned to honor Piccirillo.

On Thursday, Sept. 29, a get-together will be held at the Black Forest Inn on Rt. 206 in Stanhope from 5 to 9 p.m.

On Friday, Sept. 30, a pre-game happy hour will be held at Valley Restaurant & Bar from 4 to 6 p.m., followed by the Wolfpack hosting Mt. Olive with a kickoff time of 7:30 p.m. The scoreboard will be unveiled during halftime, and the game will be followed by alumni gatherings at the Corner Pub of Mt. Olive; Bernie’s Hillside Lounge in Chester; and the Old Mill Tavern in Chester.

On Saturday, Oct. 1, a Golf Challenge will begin at 8 a.m. at Minebrook Golf Club, followed by a banquet in Piccirillo’s honor at 7 p.m. at Minebrook.

Piccirillo was a three-year letter winner at Indiana University and was drafted by the New England Patriots, but took his love for football to the sidelines instead. He started as Central’s assistant coach in 1961 and two years later took over the lead role.

During his 34-year career, Piccirillo tallied 220 wins, 98 losses, and six ties. The Wolfpack won eight conference championships, named number one in the county six times, reached the playoffs 11 times, made the state finals game seven times, won three titles, and recorded 23 consecutive winning seasons.

It was under Piccirillo that the team’s name changed from Highlanders to Wolfpack to represent “the strength of the wolf is in the pack and the strength of the pack is in the wolf.”

Piccirillo was named New Jersey Coach of the Year, North Jersey Coach of the Year, and Morris County Coach of the Year six times.