Legendary Salem football coach Sam Venuto dies at 87

By Austin Odenbrett

Dave Whitzell will forever remember Sam Venuto as the man who saved his life.

But according to Whitzell, he was just one of many who Venuto impacted during his 35-year career at Salem High School.

Former Salem football coach Sam Venuto dies at 87

Venuto, the legendary head coach and athletic director who became a staple in the Salem community for winning football games and more importantly molding the lives of countless young men, died on Saturday. He was 87.

“He’s like my second father,” said Whitzell, who played for and worked as an assistant under Venuto before taking over as head coach following the legend’s retirement. “He’s been a mentor for so many people in football, and more importantly in life. I remember when I was in seventh grade, I could have roamed the streets and done bad things, or played football and got some discipline from him. He saved my life and helped me make the correct choice, and because of him I found my position in life. I know he’s helped so many other people find theirs.”

Following a short career in the NFL with the Washington Redskins, Venuto spent nearly three decades as head coach at Salem from 1953-1979, amassing a career record of 132-94-11. He coached multiple future college football stars, including College Football Hall of Famer Lydell Mitchell, who went on to thrive at Penn State and in the NFL, and his own son Jay, who stood out as a quarterback at Wake Forest.

“He was a tough guy to play for,” Whitzell said. “You couldn’t make excuses, you had to give it your all. He didn’t care about your size or speed, it was about heart and toughness. If you had heart to play the game, you could be a player for him.

“He challenged kids during practice, and made them challenge themselves on Saturdays. I remember practicing by the lights of automobiles after dark, just so we got things right. But really he was about helping the guys, and it wasn’t about winning or losing, it was about having good men.”

Venuto retired from coaching midway through the 1979 season so he could watch Jay play at Wake Forest for his junior and senior seasons. Whitzell said it was a decision Venuto never regretted.

“He was proud of his kids,” said Whitzell, who went 117-43-11 in his career as coach from 1979-1996. “In 1978, he was doing a lot of traveling to watch Jay’s games, so that’s when we decided I’d take over the next year. He had a soft side to go with the tough guy attitude, and he was very generous.

“I remember he gave money to one young man who didn’t have enough to rent a tuxedo for prom. He genuinely cared about people.”

Along with coaching, Venuto also served as Salem’s athletic director from 1962-1987, overseeing the turnaround of a number of the school’s sports programs. Even in the years after retiring from football, he was still well known and respected for what he accomplished on the field.

“I think he’s one of the finest coaches in South Jersey history,” Whitzell said. “I don’t care who you talk to about South Jersey football, they know Sam. Everybody had respect for him, whether it was Penn State coach Joe Paterno or another football guy, they knew who he was and had respect for him for his career.”

Venuto’s impact is still felt at Salem even to this day, as current football coach Dennis Thomas played under Whitzell during his high school career. Whitzell said all three in the coaching tree have very similar values when it comes to football and teaching young men.

“Dennis is the same mold as Sam and I,” he said. “You don’t coach football, because anybody can do X’s and O’s. You need to take your talent and develop it. You try to make better people, not only football-wise but with character. As for Dennis, I’m very proud of him and I think he’s going to do a great job.”

Similarly, current Salem athletic director Dave Suiter also said Venuto’s presence can still be felt at the school.

“His biggest legacy was that he wasn’t just a superior football coach, it was about developing young men of character,” Suiter said. “That legacy still fits into the philosophy today at the school. He instilled that concept in Dave, and Dave gave that to Dennis. It’s been passed down generations.”

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced for Venuto, but when they are, it’s likely many will flock to show their last respects to a man Whitzell called “an ambassador for the city of Salem.”

“I’ve been out with Sam to a lot of places with a lot people, but he was a constant proponent of Salem and its high school,” Whitzell said. “He never said anything bad, he never stopped giving. I loved Sam Venuto, and I know so many others do too.”

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