Submitted by Bud Evans
To many young teenage athletes who grew up in Skaneateles in the 1950s and 1960s, Jimmy Ciccone was an ever-present figure in our community and tremendous participant and supporter of athletic youth programs.
Ciccone passed away recently, and he will be missed by all his former players and those who followed his Skaneateles sports teams through the years.
Ciccone was a 1949 Skaneateles High School graduate, an outstanding athlete who quarterbacked football teams for Coach Art Hyatt, played basketball and baseball and was a finalist in the Central New York Golden Gloves Boxing Championship.
Upon graduation, Ciccone entered the U.S. Army and after serving his country for several years, returned to Skaneateles to begin a successful commercial cleaning business.
Ciccone also began developing and coaching American Legion baseball teams as well as amateur basketball teams to compete in various Central New York (CNY) recreational leagues, competitions, and championships.
Ciccone’s amateur baseball and basketball teams were consistently winning recreational tournaments and league championships in Auburn, Syracuse, Ithaca, and the CNY area.
Expanding team schedules the Skaneateles coached Ciccone baseball teams would sometimes travel hours to compete against the best teams possible.
Summer league games were periodically scheduled in Kingston, Ontario Canada where the Skaneateles team would drive to Canada, play a double-header, and then drive back home.
Ciccone consistently sought out the very best Skaneateles athletes as well as reaching out to the most outstanding athletes from around Onondaga County to join the Skaneateles baseball and basketball recreational teams.
At one point, Ciccone’s Skaneateles baseball team did not lose a home game for five years.
Several of his players went on to be drafted by Major League Baseball Teams.
In 1965, Ciccone’s Skaneateles baseball team won the Empire League Championship for CNY at Falcon Park in Auburn.
Ciccone was appointed program director of recreation, for the City of Syracuse for many years, while continuing to coach amateur baseball and basketball teams from Skaneateles.
He was also asked to coach the Skaneateles High School Varsity baseball team for one year as well.
Ciccone was a fixture at Colgate University for 10 years as the head women’s fastpitch softball coach as well as organizing a New York State All-Star Woman’s Fastpitch Softball team that was rated number one in New York State from 1971-1976.
He took that team to Puerto Rico where they competed in an international fast-pitch softball tournament.
Besides the athletic successes through the years, Ciccone was a very strong advocate of the student-athlete and the development of leadership, character, competition, teamwork, and sportsmanship.
In this regard, Ciccone organized the Skaneateles Sportsmen’s Club that participated in mentoring younger athletes and providing guidance for all members in the development of the student-athlete.
Players from Ciccone’s teams were members in this organization and assisted with community services as well as hosting young people events.
The Skaneateles Sportsmen’s Club was in existence for approximately 10 years and could be seen marching in many of the annual Skaneateles Labor Day Parades.
Ciccone contributed so very much to the development of young men and young women as they pursued athletic excellence on the baseball & softball diamonds, basketball court and in pursuit of their educational goals.
For close to 30 years, Ciccone was involved through athletics with the youth of Skaneateles and Central New York, and he will be missed.
There is a saying that best describes Ciccone and each of his players would agree of the effects he had on each one of us who played for him: “A good coach can change a game. A great coach can change a life.”
