Joe Tronzo - Sports Journalism
Sports Journalist Joe Tronzo was an iconic figure of Beaver County sports and certainly of Beaver Falls. He was a fixture at High School and Geneva College press boxes doing what he loved best—covering youth sports. A newspaper man for over 60 years, Tronzo wrote his first column for the Beaver Falls News-Tribune as a 12 year old, joined the sports staff in 1947 and became its editor in 1960. He served in that position until 1979 when the paper was bought by the Beaver County Times.
Because of his popular following, Tronzo was one of the few reporters the Times retained during the changeover. He continued to write a column entitled “It Happened Here,” a feature that looked back at personalities and events in Beaver County. A lifetime Beaver Falls native and a World War II veteran, Tronzo was a walking encyclopedia of sports and had a great sense of humor, which he regularly utilized in many of his columns.
Anyone playing organized sports in the Beaver Falls area likely received their first line of ink from Joe Tronzo, who claimed he couldn’t write anything bad about a kid who was giving his all. But Tronzo did more for local sports than simply write about them. He was instrumental in organizing many of the Little Leagues, Youth Leagues and Booster Clubs throughout the Valley.
Mr. Tronzo passed away in 1999. In one of his last columns, he mentioned how his heroes were “kids in sports.” Because of his passion for youth sports, the “Joe Tronzo Award” was established to recognize inspirational student athletes each year. His career and life were dedicated to chronicling and honoring athletes in the Valley and singing the praises of Beaver County.
Submitted by Bob Petrella, protégé of Joe Tronzo