Callejas named 51st recipient of Butler Memorial Award
Jun. 28—Al Callejas was bitten by the coaching bug when he was asked to coach his brother Tim's eighth-grade basketball team at St. Thomas Aquinas in Archbald.
"After the first game I was hooked," Callejas said. "I just loved everything about it. Setting up offenses, working on defenses, breaking down what we did and what went wrong. I was just enthralled with it all."
Callejas stayed enthralled for 31 seasons — 15 at Bishop O'Hara, 16 at Holy Cross. If not for having to face his toughest opponent, this likely would not have been his final season.
For his years of dedication and commitment, Callejas received the Joseph M. Butler Award at the 73rd annual Times-Tribune Athlete of the Week awards ceremony, sponsored by Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute, on Tuesday night at the Scranton Times Building.
Named for the late Scranton Times sports editor who founded the Athlete of the Week program in 1950, the award recognizes individuals for contributions and service to scholastic and collegiate sports. Callejas is the 51st recipient of the honor.
"You look at the list, it's very humbling to be with the previous winners," said Callejas, who also served as Holy Cross' athletic director. "I'm honored to be a part of it."
Callejas was a member of the first graduating class at Bishop O'Hara High School in 1973; the school was known as Dunmore Central Catholic during his first three years there and only had three sports — golf, baseball and basketball. He played basketball and baseball.
After graduating, he attended Keystone Junior College and played basketball for two years for coach Dennis Mishko. In an article on the school's website, Mishko called Callejas "the consummate point guard."
"He was the unselfish player who made sure that the right players received the ball in the right spot," Mishko said. "He had no ego; he just wanted to win. Al was quick with the ball and rarely committed turnovers. And when he was given the opening, he was a deadly shooter."
With a degree in psychology, Callejas was working at the Scranton Counseling Center. But his time with his brother's eighth-grade team got him thinking about coaching as a profession.
When Joe Daley asked him to be the freshman coach at Valley View, that is when Callejas really became interested.
"That's when I said I have to do this, I have to find a way to go back and get education credits and hopefully become an educator and a coach and make that my career," said Callejas, who went back to school and graduated from Wilkes in 1982.
He has tried to take a little from every coach he played or worked for and incorporate them into his style: Msgr. Joe Kelly in grade school; Pete Nish in high school; Mishko; Daley; and Jack Lyons, who asked him to be the JV coach at Bishop O'Hara.
In 1993, he succeeded Lyons at Bishop O'Hara.
"I think I took something from everybody," Callejas said. "But I also thought that if I succeed or not, I need to do it my way and what I believe in. So it was a combination of all the people I learned from and what I learned myself.
"I'm sure I'm no different than any other coach trying to instill that you have a role and you have to fill that role for us to be successful. That was the type of player I was, so I tried to teach that to every one of my teams. I don't think there were too many times that we got outhustled."
Among his fondest memories are the two teams he took to state finals in Hershey. In 1996, Bishop O'Hara lost to Juniata Valley in Class 1A, 60-43. In 2013, Holy Cross lost to Beaver Falls in Class 2A, 69-63. One son, Al Jr., was on the 1996 team while another, Connor, was on the 2013 squad.
"To go to two state championship games and have my sons as members of those teams, I feel very fortunate," Callejas said. "Very few teams get there."
There was the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal against Math, Civics & Science in 2018. Holy Cross trailed the Philadelphia Public League power by nine points in the final minute of the third quarter, but outscored the Mighty Elephants in the fourth quarter, 22-3, to rally for a 71-58 win.
"Nobody thought anyone could touch them, but we came back and beat them and kind of shocked everybody," Callejas said. "Any time you can beat a team called the Mighty Elephants, you don't forget that."
Perhaps his greatest memory as coach, however, didn't happen in a game. It came shortly after he was diagnosed with cancer during the 2021-22 season.
Only a few family and friends knew; he didn't tell his team. But when his hair began to fall out from the radiation treatments and he had to shave his head, he had no choice but to inform his players.
"The next day at practice, one by one they came in with their heads shaved," Callejas said. "That love and support is something I'll never forget."
His battle with cancer allowed him to practice what he preached to his players over the years about overcoming adversity.
"One of the things athletics teaches you is that everyone has ups and downs, whether it's on the court or off the court," Callejas said. "When you get hit with that, you have to find a way to get through it. When I was diagnosed, I was like, OK, I get the opportunity to show them and be a positive example of how to do that.
"I don't feel like it (cancer) is winning when I can go out and do what I've always done and stay active. As long as I'm doing that I'm winning the battle."
Still, there are times when Callejas feels tired and exhausted. So, he decided this season would be his last. He went out in style as the Crusaders won the Lackawanna League Division III and District 2 Class 2A titles and advanced to the state semifinals before losing to Lancaster Mennonite, 51-40. He concluded with a career record of 567-260.
"It was a terrific way to finish. No regrets, no complaints," he said.
JOSEPH M. BUTLER MEMORIAL AWARD WINNERS
1973 — Jerry Burke
1974 — Marty Reap
1975 — Robert Spagna
1976 — Richard F. McNichols
1977 — Mike "Red" Wallace
1978 — Bill Gerrity
1979 — Bob Klenk
1980 — Joseph Pusateri
1981 — Jack Kelly Sr.
1982 — Emil Hordesky
1983 — Andy Cerra
1984 — Jim Davis, Valley View
1985 — Elio Ghigiarelli
1986 — Jim Davis, Nanticoke
1987 — Julius Prezelski
1988 — Roy Davis
1989 — Charles Rushefski
1990 — Bob Gilbride
1991 — Tom Nageli
1992 — Jack Farrell
1993 — Frank Pazzaglia
1994 — Charles Mecca
1995 — Joseph Castrogiovanni
1996 — Jack Henzes
1997 — Les Richards
1998 — John Diven
1999 — Robert Mellow
2000 — Mike Ognosky
2001 — Bob Bessoir
2002 — Janet Finn
2003 — Jerry Preschutti
2004 — Jerry Wasilchak
2005 — Glenn Moskosky
2006 — Lou Camoni
2007 — Guy Valvano
2008 — Rich Chulada
2009 — Joe Lalli
2010 — George Werthmuller
2011 — Tom Smith
2012 — Jack Kelly
2013 — Bob Coleman
2014 — Richard Notari
2015 — Sandra Spott
2016 — Ken Bianchi
2017 — Nick Donato
2018 — Mark Rinaldi
2019 — Mike Cerra
2020 — Vince Fedor
2021 — Robert Simons
2022 — Phil Tochelli
2023 — Al Callejas
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