Joseph Licata, center, is surrounded by his seven children, from left, Gabriella, Graziella, Angelina, Carmelo, Giuseppina, Pierre Angelo, Salvatore and his wife, Rose. (Photo: Michael Graziano)
Just like the late Coach Vince O’Connor was a fixture for so many years in the St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, varsity football program, so was Joseph Licata.
For 39 years, Licata served as the L’il Terriers’ football moderator as he lived out his passion for his favorite sport.
On Jan. 28, the Prep community gathered to honor Licata, who will be retiring this June after 43 years teaching at the school. A special ceremony took place during the annual football awards dinner.
The journey to Prep for Licata began in the parish of St. Teresa, Woodside. He attended elementary school there before moving on to Mater Christi H.S., Astoria. Growing up, he constantly played football on the streets and watched the sport on television.
He received a bachelor’s degree in French with minors in Italian and art history from Queens College, Flushing, and then a master’s degree in education from Fordham University, the Bronx.
Just as St. Francis Prep moved from Williamsburg to Fresh Meadows in 1974, Licata was hired as a foreign language teacher. He became the chairman of the department nine years ago.
He latched on with the football team in the fall of 1977. As football moderator, his day-to-day responsibilities included running the budget, purchasing the equipment and serving as a trainer in the off-season.
Licata, affectionately known as ’Cata, said spending so much time around the young football players helped form his character, making him a more patient, forgiving and compassionate person.
“The most special thing was really being around the kids,” said Licata, who is now a parishioner at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Ozone Park. “The kids really gave me a different life and honestly made me the man that I am today.”
In addition to learning from the student-athletes, Licata was a disciple of O’Connor, whom he said was a man personifying wisdom.
“I learned more from him (O’Connor) than I learned from any graduate course that I took in human relations,” Licata said. “All those 39 years, not once did he have to raise his voice to any of his players. Not once did he have to reprimand them. There was just this respect, this aura about him because of who he was.”
During his time with the football program, Licata has never forgotten one single player. That affection was mutual, as a number of former players returned to the school to honor him during the special ceremony, which included Mass celebrated by school chaplain Father Mark Simmons and a homily by former school chaplain Father Bill Sweeney.
Licata, a Dallas Cowboys fan, received well-deserved parting gifts including a Fitbit; a St. Francis Prep football jersey with the No. 7, representing his seven children; an autographed helmet by Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo; and tickets for a Cowboys game and private tour of AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
The most meaningful gift however was the school naming the classroom – in which he taught all 43 years – in his honor. He is the only living person in school history to receive that honor. The room, which will be modernized, is also set to be used as a study hall for football players.
More so than the gifts and honors he received, Licata is grateful to have been a part of the St. Francis Prep community for such a long time.
“I’ve been teaching there for 43 years,” he said. “I’ve never had a bad day. I don’t think many people can say that if they’ve been working at any place for 43 years and not have a bad day. I walk inside that building with a broad smile. I walk out of that building with a smile.
“Sometimes I tell the kids that I think I should pay Brother Leonard (school president) rather than him paying me since I’m having such a good time.”
With retirement looming, Licata is preparing to simply relax. His daughter Giuseppina is expecting a child in July – his first grandchild – so that should also keep him busy.
Even with a few months left to the school year, Licata already has a blueprint for when he leaves the Prep:
“I’ll sit in my yard, smoke a cigar and listen to Frank Sinatra.”
Sounds like the perfect way to wrap up such a fruitful career – in the classroom and on the football field.
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