John Casavola

True Innovator of Track and Field

Born on Sept. 10, 1916, Portland native John Casavola was a gifted hurdler, sprinter, and an All-State football player who set state records which stood for decades. Throughout his life he served the sport of track and cross country with distinction as a coach, meet organizer, and official. Even at the age of 77 in 1994, when he was a resident of Windham, he was still involved as a volunteer in youth recreational track and field in both Windham and Scarborough.

Casavola won his first gold medal at age 10 at Camp Gregory in Gray. The year was 1927. In one race he won on Peaks Island, the award was a horseback ride for one hour. When he went to collect, they said he was too small, so they gave him two lobsters. Lobsters at that time were a dime a dozen, and Cassavola was not pleased.

By his sophomore year at Deering High School, he had developed into a good runner and clearly had great natural speed. He set four indoor records at the Portland Expo in state meet competition. They included the 40-yard hurdles in 5.8 seconds, which stood for 29 years, 300 yards in 36 seconds, which stood for 31 years, and a 40-yard dash record of 4.60 seconds, which has never been broken. He also set a state outdoor record of 23 seconds for the 220.

Casavola went on to college at Michigan State where he majored in education and ran track. One of his fondest memories of college was running against Olympian John Woodroff.

From 1948 through 1958 he coached indoor and outdoor track and cross country in New Hampshire, and for three of those years he was also assistant football coach. While in New Hampshire he also founded and directed the New Hampshire Clipper Relays, from 1949 through 1958, and built attendance up to 3,000 spectators. In 1950, Casavola convinced New Hampshire to have a state indoor track championship. He also helped with a local 10-mile road race sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.
He returned to Portland to coach at Deering High in 1958, and coached cross country through 1964, and indoor and outdoor track until 1974. At both Portsmouth and Deering his teams consistently won league, regional, and state titles.

He retired from teaching in 1976, but continued his great interest in coaching and officiating. It was Casavola and Frank Grillo who founded and directed the New England. Indoor Track Championships for three years starting in 1950 until the New England. Principals Association made them stop. The principals association wanted to run it but thought it would cost too much.

In 1963, he started the Northern New England Indoor Interscholastic Championships where the six best teams from the three northern states competed. The championship meet rotated from year to year, from New Hampshire, toVermont, to Maine. The championships continued through 1976. Casavola started an annual relay carnival in Westbrook, sponsored by the Kiwanis in 1965, and this meet continues to this day.

He served as the coaches’ representative for the State Principals Track Committee for 15 years and he served as secretary of the Southwestern Maine Track League for 12 years. He helped set up regional cross country meets and directed the Southern Maine Regionals for 12 years. He has officiated at track meets since 1935 and directed four conference meets at the Portland Expo. Meets he officiated at included: the Michigan State Championships, the New England AAU Championships, and the Division III National Collegiate Championships. He officiated at the Maine Junior Olympics track meet for 20 years, and he also directed the track program for the Maine National Guard for 15 years.

He was named Coach of the Year four times by the Maine Coaches Association. Casavola made recommendations on the conduct of Maine state indoor meets that were implemented, such as having separate meets for schools of different sizes. He also designed a new, safer pit for high jumpers, a pit that was used until foam pits were developed.

In just one year, 1994, he officiated 53 indoor meets and 21 outdoor meets. One year he served as a volunteer track coach at Scarborough while the regular coach, Steve Ross, was recovering from an auto accident. The team took second in the state meet.

Casavola was honored with awards from the Maine Athletic Directors Association and from the Maine Officials Association for his contribution to athletics.

In addition to coaching and officiating track and cross country, he coached football, basketball, and baseball. As a result of his lifetime of involvement with youth in coaching, officiating, and teaching, Casavola said that he has "enjoyed a wonderful life. I achieved a boyhood dream of being a successful coach and have been involved with the most wonderful people on earth - runners and field event competitors, and officials and coaches."

Today, a trophy is given out each year in his name at the Southwest Conference Track Meet. His greatest compliment as an official probably came one day when a track athlete from another school came up to him saying that he had overheard some parents talking about him. "As I came down the hill on to the field," said the lad, "a number of parents behind me said. ‘Thank God he is here. The meet will be run right and finish on time.’"