NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Old Dominion baseball has plenty of chapters to its success. Tony Guzzo has authored many of them and helped shape countless players and young men.
Guzzo passed away early Thursday morning in Norfolk, according to an ODU athletic department release. He was 75 years old. The coach had been hospitalized late in the summer and his health deteriorated during the past few weeks.
A staple of Monarch baseball, Guzzo was the head coach of the program from 1995-2004, leading the silver and blue to three NCAA Tournaments. Prior to his arrival at Old Dominion, he was the head coach at VCU from 1983-1994, winning three conference titles in his final six seasons.
Following his stint leading the Monarchs, Guzzo made several stops, coaching at North Carolina State, serving as a scout for the Boston Red Sox, where he won a World Series ring, returning to the high school game in North Carolina and coaching at Louisburg Junior College. ODU head coach Chris Finwood hired Guzzo back with the Monarchs as an assistant in 2017, but he was unable to be with the team for the last two seasons due to health reasons.
The list of players under Guzzo is impressive. During his time at Old Dominion, he coached three-time Cy Young Award-winner Justin Verlander and current Kansas City Royals' manager Matt Quatraro. While at VCU, he recruited and coached Jerry Dipoto, current president of baseball operations for the Seattle Mariners.
Guzzo was raised in Norfolk and attended St. Pius Catholic and Norfolk Catholic High School. He went on to play baseball and football at East Carolina.
