Jim Ciccone

 

Elected : USSSA New York Hall Of Fame in 2013
Inducted : March 2014, Syracuse, NY.
 

Jim is a life-long resident of Skaneateles, NY where he resides with his wife Connie .He has four children. Diane Ciccone McMillan Esquire lives in New Jersey. Son James Ciccone, Esquire resides in New York City. Professional Bowler Joe Ciccone, of Buffalo, NY is employed in television production and is associated with ESPN. Residing in Flagstaff, Arizona with his wife, Dr. Taylor Ciccone, is his youngest, John Ciccone, an IT administrator with Northern Arizona University.

Jim has a strong belief dedication prevents the mind/body wandering from the game, as well as from. “The Game of Life.” He started sprinting down the coaching road while still a student at Skaneateles High School via the entrance of his first team into the Syracuse Boys Club basketball tournament with players from Auburn and Skaneateles High Schools. This was just the first of many teams he would coach in several sports locally, regionally, and on the state level, and internationally.

Way back in the 1950’s Jim gathered local talent from around the region to play in “The Hooks Wilsie League” and New York State Championship events. Along the way he coached company softball teams, and into the 1970’s he was still wearing the coaches hat, leading women’s softball players from across New York State, each driving to Syracuse for practices, and around the county hitting homeruns and running bases all the way to Puerto Rico, Belize, and Venezuela. The JC girls (not named for his initials) eventually beat the World’s Champions.

Somewhere in his 40’s he spent enough time off the field to serve as Athletic Director, under the late Commissioner Jim Heath and his successor Commissioner Richard Planers, for the Syracuse Department of Parks and Recreation, where he ran many adult leagues, in the pre-computer, healthy-exercise era, involving several sports, and with adult participation in the hundreds.

Directing the largest softball league in the state, Jim developed a strong Softball Board of Directors for the City of Syracuse, which met regularly, performing “oversight” duties and settling all “written protest” of teams. State officials were brought in to hold umpiring clinics and he stressed that all umps must have passing marks before working in the rapidly growing slow pitch league. He also assured teams had uniforms and that no alcohol was consumed at games. The league went a long way in establishing a high level of play via the two-ump system.

After retirement from Syracuse Parks, Jim began coaching at Colgate University. As the women’s softball “hitting coach”, he assisted the team in becoming 1999, 2003, and 2007 Patriot League Champions playing in the NCAA Tournament.