The late former Caldwell AD Ron San Fillipo wore many hats – all with grace and style

Within the first few days of meeting Ron San Fillipo as fellow freshman football players at Montclair State, Ken Trimmer discovered three fundamental truths about his new teammate that would endure throughout their 64-year friendship:

• He knew and could play the game of football.
• He made no compromises on what he espoused as his core principles of decency and honesty.
• The fact that Trimmer really liked San Fillipo as a person separated him from virtually no one else who had ever met him.

“Someone could never influence him if it wasn’t the right thing to do. I mean, that’s for sure,” Trimmer said. ‘And to be honest, I’ve never heard a bad word about him. He was loved and respected by everyone.”

That said, many people in Essex County and beyond lost a special friend on Nov. 12 when Caldwell High’s longtime athletic director died at age 82 from pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Nancy, and children. Ron Jr. and Nancy Guasta, two grandchildren, and countless people who deeply valued their bond with a man who wore many hats, and each with style.

“He was the most universally respected person I have ever encountered – and rightly so,” Bloomfield athletic director Steve Jenkins said. “I was blessed to have him as a mentor. There was no better role model/father figure to observe, talk to and try to emulate.”

After graduating from Montclair State, San Fillipo first ventured into coaching football locally at the collegiate level at Montclair State, Jersey City State and Kean. He then served as Caldwell’s athletic director from 1975 to 2002, during which time he added eight varsity sports and grew the number of available girls’ varsity programs by 50 percent.

“Ron was a great man and one of the most respected ADs in the state. For Ron, it was all about the kids,” said Dave Drozjock, former West Essex football coach and current AD for the Wayne School District.

“We’ve had some great battles with Caldwell. Win or lose, Ron was always ready with words of encouragement for both parties. He will be truly missed.”

The former Belleville and Montclair State football star and longtime Cedar Grove resident immersed himself in the local sports, civic organizations and politics of his adopted hometown while serving with distinction at Caldwell. He was a volunteer coach in several sports, former chairman of the Board of Education and even once mayor of Cedar Grove.

San Filliipo was honored as Essex County Athletic Director of the Year in 1988, director of the Athletics Association of New Jersey State AD of the Year in 1995, and founder and president of the Essex County Athletic Directors Association.

He is a member of both the Belleville and Caldwell Athletic Halls of Fame and was enshrined last month at the Caldwell Chiefs Legend Park on the school’s Bonnel Field. It was the last time many of his friends, former colleagues and students saw him alive.

“I think he could die with a smile on his face because of all the people who were there and all the wonderful things that were said to him,” Trimmer said. “It was just a great thing, great for him and his family.

When San Fillipo retired from Caldwell in 2002, he really rolled up his sleeves and got to work – driving the creation of the Super Essex Conference in 2009 and the North Jersey Super Football Conference in 2016.

San Fillipo worked diligently to bring together the Essex County teams from the six different conferences they populated into one unified entity that would help the schools find a more competitive balance among all sports while easing the burden of scheduling and travel.

The North Jersey Super Football Conference immediately became the largest football conference in the country, with 115 schools joining that inaugural 2016 season. A year later the name was reduced to simply Super Football Conference.

“Ron’s leadership of the Super Essex Conference made it one of the most respected conferences in the state of New Jersey, said Ron Anello, a former Montclair football great who preceded Drozjock as West Essex’s head football coach and then served as the longtime athletics director at Ramapo. He is back at his alma mater as interim AD.

“He was also one of the founders of the Super Football Conference, and because of Ron’s knowledge, skills and strong work ethic, the SFC is the largest and one of the most respected high school conferences in the country,” Anello said.

Whether he was overseeing the broad sports menu at Caldwell while athletic director, leading a board of directors or laying the foundation for the two superconferences he helped organize, San Fillipo could always be relied upon for his commitment, diplomacy and perhaps especially different honesty.

“He wasn’t someone who would ever yell at anyone to get things done, but he made the right decisions. And the decision he made was always for the best, not because it was a decision someone he loved would want him to make. Everything he did was done with integrity,” Trimmer said.

According to Anello, that integrity was reflected by the coaches he mentored and the Caldwell athletes who performed under those coaches.

“Under the leadership of Ron San Fillipo, Caldwell High School’s athletics program grew into one of the best in Essex County. Not only for their success on the field, but more importantly, how their athletes always demonstrated good sportsmanship and respect for their opponent, and always represented Caldwell High School and the entire Caldwell community in a very positive way,” he said.

San Fillipo’s steady, honest leadership extended well beyond 265 Westville Avenue in West Caldwell. Coaches and athletic directors throughout Essex County owed much of their own success to him.

“Ron was really a friend of mine. I learned so much from him about organizational skills and how to manage and run a good athletic program. He was the bulwark in running the Essex County and Super Essex conferences effectively and efficiently,” said Gary Westberry, former Weequahic sporting director.

“He was a true historian for both organizations. I truly believe that following his leadership and structure was the main reason I received the AD of the Year (2010) for the State of New Jersey. He was one of the leaders who always made himself available to assist both professionally and privately. He was truly a jewel for athletics. May God bless his soul,” he said.

It is no surprise that many of the young athletic directors he advised followed his lead and remained involved after their formal retirement as invaluable organizers and leaders in various local athletic foundations. One of them is former East Orange AD Abdul Hassan, still heavily involved with the Men of Essex group, and several others long after he retired as athletic director.

“Ron was a mentor, a big brother who provided guidance in the athletic director job I held at East Orange for about a decade. The relationship I had with him was the name I called him: the Godfather,” Hassan said.

“He was always there for me, with anything, and whenever I needed him in the business. Furthermore, Ron’s wisdom as a human being encompassed all the diversity and honesty of our youth in sports and beyond. May God comfort his family, friends and colleagues. He will be truly missed in my life and may our godfather rest in peace,” he said.

During the viewing for Ron SanFillipo last Sunday in Cedar Grove, Trimmer hugged Nancy San Fillipo and offered some of his home comfort to a woman he had known almost as long as his old teammate at Montclair State.

“I told her, ‘I know one thing: Ron will be in heaven.’ And I said, ‘And there will be things that will last the rest of your life, and you’ll say, Thank you, Ronnie, thank you, Ronnie. I will too.’ ”

Mike Kinney can be reached at [email protected]

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