Remembering Dr. D
By Steve McCloskey
 

Three days into the New Year, Mansfield University lost a colorful and legendary piece of its athletic history with the passing of Dr. Arthur DeGenaro.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Jerry just three weeks earlier.

Known to most of his students as simply Dr. D, or good-naturedly as Dr. Death in the hallways and offices of Decker Gymnasium, DeGenaro was a member of the Mansfield University faculty from 1969 until retiring in 1992.

I first met Dr. D as a freshman during the summer of 1971 when I took his class in sports history. I remember that, unlike some of my other classes that summer, this one was fun and Dr. D had a unique way of making it interesting.

Although he was a major in the Marine Corps, few would know that by his outward demeanor. Dr. D had a welcoming personality along with a natural gift of gab. He enjoyed sharing stories often and almost always with a twinkle in his eye and hearty laugh.

In 1981, Dr. D took a one-year sabbatical at MU to serve as the project director for the United States Sports Academy's first sports education program in Saudi Arabia at the Royal Saudi Air Force King Adbul Azziz Air Base in Dhahran.

He was also appointed as the special consultant to the director of the Physical Fitness Academy, Marine Corps Development and Education Center and taught classes in sports management in Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak and numerous other countries throughout the Far East and Middle East.

When we first started reenacting the World's First Night Football game back in 1989, he was in Hong Kong and sent me a clipping from the International Herald Tribune containing a story about Mansfield's place in football history.

During his 23 years at Mansfield, Dr. D also served as the Director of Athletics, Associate Director of Athletics, head women's basketball coach and head coach for both the men's and women's tennis teams.

Dr. D also had a big impact on the field hockey program at Mansfield, spending 16 years as an assistant and head coach of the Mountaineers.

He was the only collegiate male field hockey coach in Pennsylvania at the time and one of the few in the country.

Dr. D first got involved with the Mansfield field hockey program when then head coach Ethel Mosher was sidelined with an ankle injury in 1975. Although he knew little about the complicated rules and traditions of the game, he drew an association from his playing days of ice hockey and soccer and would be considered an international expert by the mid-1980s.

After serving as an assistant for nine years, he moved up to head coach in 1984 and continued in that role until handing the job over to Edith Gallagher following the 1991 season.

His 1984 team posted a then school record 9-4 overall mark that stood as the most wins in a season until the Mountaineers eclipsed it with a 13-7 record in 2001.

Dr. D coached a number of truly great athletes including Liz Brunner who was named the first Female Fall Athlete of the Year after scoring 17 goals during the 1984 season and Hall of Fame goalie Cathy White.

Dr. D had a lot of success both on and off the playing fields and courts while at Mansfield but rarely claimed credit for himself.

"I really don't look at the wins and losses" he said when he announced his retirement. "I was a part of a family, that's really the only way to describe it. It is one of the highlights of my life that I will treasure most."

A memorial service will be held for Art and Jerry DeGenaro on March 7, at Faith Community Church, 4301 Cleveland Ave. N.W., Canton, Ohio 44709 at 11 a.m.