Hall of Fame Class of 2014 Inductees
Amanda Boisvert, 2001
Amanda was a three sport athlete, participating in soccer, basketball and softball. She played two years of varsity soccer, three years of varsity basketball and three years of varsity softball.
Amanda served as co-captain of the varsity basketball team with Kate Carroll and captain of the varsity softball team that won the Section 2 Class “CC” Championship.
Amanda was the first recipient of the Elsie Donlon Memorial Award in 2001. She was the Colonial Council Scholar Athlete in 2001 and also served as Student Council President that year. Amanda was named the WHS “Co-Female Athlete of the Year” with Samantha Edwards. Coincidentally, in 2001 her brother Ryan, a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee, was named the “Male Athlete of the Year” as a high school junior.
Amanda graduated from Cazenovia College in Cazenovia, NY with a degree in sports management. She played four years of softball and was a member of the NEAC Conference Championship team in 2004.
Today, Amanda lives in Watervliet and is the inside sales manager of SKS Bottle and Packaging Company in Watervliet..
Robert Butler, 1964
Bob participated in three varsity sports at WHS: football, basketball and baseball.
He played varsity football for three years and was a quarterback and a defensive back. In addition, he was the team placekicker and punter. In his senior year he was selected as the All-Eastern Conference quarterback and the Times Record All-City Team as a defensive back.
Bob played on the varsity basketball team for two years and was a starter for the basketball team that finished with a 13-3 regular season record in his senior year.
In baseball, he was a pitcher, infielder/outfielder on the varsity team for three years. His memorable moments at WHS include: hitting his first homerun vs. Albany Academy, pitching a one-hitter vs. Milne and kicking the winning extra point vs. Philip Schuyler. He also served as vice-president of his class during his junior and senior years.
Following high school Bob joined the US Navy where he was hospital corpsmen. He played All-Navy football for three years and ice hockey for three years. Bob was a bus driver for 30 years and lives in Watervliet with his wife Linda. They have two children, Mike and Bob.
Daniel Fruscio, 1975
Dan played football, basketball and baseball all four years of high school and played varsity for three years in all three sports. He was also co-captain of all three sports in his senior year.
In football—his favorite sport—Dan was a two-year starter at running back and linebacker. In his senior year, he ran for 820 yards and seven touchdowns. In an upset win against Ballston Spa, he rushed for 205 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns. He was coached by Hall of Fame Coach Joe King and was selected to The Times Record 1st Team All-City Offensive Team at running back. The Cannoneers finished their season with a 5-4 record.
In basketball, Dan played three years on varsity as a point guard for Hall of Fame Coach Joe Hogan’s successful teams.
In baseball, Dan was a starting pitcher as a sophomore and also was a catcher and infielder. Starting catcher on the team was Coach Tony Curro, also a Hall of Fame member.
For his efforts and accomplishments, Dan was selected as the “Male Athlete of the Year” at WHS in 1975.
Following high school, Dan attended Siena College where he was the starting running back on the football team. He transferred to HVCC where he received an associate’s degree in recreation and then a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Brockport, also in the field of recreation.
After college he was employed at the Colonie Youth Centers and then the Watervliet Civic Center as program director. He was also an assistant football coach at WHS in 1982-83 and in 1991-92 under HOF Coach Dan Reinfurt. He also served on the Board of Directors at the Watervliet Civic Center, was past Chairman of the Board and also past President.
Currently, he is a senior probation officer for the Albany County Probation Department in his 21st year. Dan lives with his wife, Sharon in Latham, and they have two boys, Daniel, 27 and Sean, 24.
Robert Jojo, 1980
Bob Jojo played football and baseball at Watervliet High School, later returning as the head football coach in 1988.
On the field, Bob was a three-year starter for Hall of Fame Coach Joe King. During that time, the team compiled a 21-5-1 record including finishes of 6-3 in his sophomore season and 7-2 as a junior.
In his senior season (1979), he captained the team as they went 8-0-1. In addition to being the first undefeated team in the school’s history, it was the school’s first league championship (Colonial Council), and Section 2 championship (Class C). The team finished ranked #2 in Section 2 (all classifications) and #19 in New York State. In addition to many all league honors, he was named to the Times Union and Troy Record All-Area teams in both his junior and senior year.
On the diamond, Bob was a two-year starter as a catcher for Coach Tony Curro, Sr. He hit over .350 in each of his two seasons and led the team in home runs as a senior. During his senior year he served a captain and was named team MVP.
Bob attended the University at Albany where he was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter as a strong safety playing for Coach Bob Ford. Upon graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history education in 1984, he joined Joe King, by then at RPI, and began a coaching career that lasted over 20 years. After several years coaching and earning his master’s degree at RPI, Bob spent a year coaching at the University of Pennsylvania.
He then had the privilege of returning home to become the head football coach at Watervliet in 1988. During that 8-1 campaign, the team—lead by fellow Hall of Famers Kevin Legault, Tony Fruscio and Yorden Huban—was Colonial Council champs and finished as the 8th ranked team in New York.
From 1989-1997, Bob coached football at RPI. He then served as head football coach at Hudson Valley Community College from 1998-2004. Named Northeast Football Conference “Coach of the Year” three times, he led the team to its second ever bowl game in 2003, and left as the winningest coach in school history. Bob and his wife Linda reside in Toronto.
Spiros Kirtoglou, 1965
Spiros played two varsity sports at Watervliet High School: football and track. He was also in the gymnastics demonstration for four years.
During his junior and senior years, he participated in the pole vault under the direction of WHS Hall of Fame Coach Walt Nash.
Spiros was on the varsity football team for four years. He was an offensive guard and a linebacker on defense. In his junior year he was selected to the Troy Record All-City 1st Team as a linebacker. In his senior year, he was a co-captain along with William Halayko. They finished the season with a record of 4-3 in the Eastern Conference and an overall record of 4-4 with Coach Walt Nash at the helm.
For his efforts, Spiros was one of two players selected to the Eastern Conference All-Star Football Team for offense (guard) and defense (linebacker). In addition, he was selected to the Troy Record All-City 1st team as a linebacker.
Spiros went on to a four-year apprenticeship with the Local 83 Sheet Metal Workers and was employed by Selby and Smith Sheet Metal for 10 years. He later worked for Ford Motor Company in Green Island utilizing his sheet metal craft skills until the plant closed. Spiros then opened a car business TNT Transworld on Second Avenue in Watervliet.
Currently, Spiros lives with his wife of 46 years, Anne, in Speigletown while continuing to work in the car business with his son, Michael. They also have a daughter, Erika, a daughter-in-law Diane, a granddaughter, Mia Rose, and a grandson, Michael Joseph.
Ann (Ogden) McDonough, 1982
Ann played one year of basketball under Coach Tony Curro Sr., as a freshman, and three years of tennis under the leadership of Coach Tony Schilling. She was a member of the inaugural girls’ tennis team her sophomore year in 1979. She was also the statistician for the Colonial Council Championship boys’ basketball team. Ann played in the #2 position, under WHS Hall of Famer Denise Bagarose-Potenza, all three years on the varsity team.
The team finished with a 7-2 record during her sophomore year. In her junior year the team went undefeated with a 13-0 record. During her senior year and the first year playing in the newly formed Colonial Council Girls’ Varsity Tennis League, the team went undefeated with an 11-0 record. In the third year of the program the team captured the Colonial Council Championship as well as the Section 2 Class “C” Championship, the first sectional championship in girls’ sports at WHS. During the three years of the program the team’s record was 31-2. Ann’s individual record was 28-1.
Ann was vice-president of the National Honor Society, president of the Russian Club and the Valedictorian of the Class of 1982. She then played tennis at HVCC and won the 1983 Women’s NJCAA Region 3 flight championship. She was also honored as the team’s Most Valuable Player.
She graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1986 with a degree in Health Science. She performed research experiments [CMV, Infuenza, HIV] at Albany Medical College under Dr. Jim McSharry for over 16 years. She is currently in her 10th year working as a teaching assistant in the East Greenbush Central School District.
Ann lives in East Greenbush with her husband Ned, and their two children, Matt, a recent graduate of Ithaca College and Jillian, a junior at the University of New Hampshire.
Thomas Mosca, 1964
Tom was a starter on the varsity soccer, basketball and baseball teams in his junior and senior years and received Soccer All-Capital District 1st team honors, leading the team in scoring as a senior. In basketball, he was selected to the Troy Record All-City 2nd team as a senior averaging 16.6 points per game with a high game of 29 points vs. Cohoes. He helped lead the team to a 13-3 record and a spot in the sectional playoffs.
After graduation, Tom attended HVCC and was a two-year starter on the basketball team. In his sophomore year, the team advanced to the National Junior College region finals in Massachusetts. Tom graduated from the University of Tampa in 1969 where he was a two-year starter on the baseball team.
Tom remained in Tampa and entered the teaching and coaching ranks. While starting his coaching career in football and boys basketball, he became a head girls basketball coach in 1974 at Robinson High School. His teams were 135-37 and one team achieved #1 ranking in the state of Florida. He then coached at Brandon High School and guided them to a pair of 30-win seasons with two teams earning a #1 ranking in Florida. One of those teams was ranked #19 in the nation by USA Today. His record at Brandon was 159-48 where he earned two Coach of the Year honors and guided a player who was named Miss Florida Basketball. Tom became the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at the University of Tampa and was there for 13 years. His teams compiled a record 211-150, winning a Conference Championship and a Conference Tournament Championship as well as a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He was nominated twice for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.
In 2002, he returned to high school coaching at Jefferson High School in Tampa and compiled a record of 111-79, revising a program that had won only one game in the prior three years. He is a five-time Coach of the Year.
In 2010, he accepted an assistant coaching position in women’s basketball at the Air Force Academy where he helped guide the team’s first appearance in the opening round of the NCAA Mountain West Conference Tournament.
In 2012, Tom returned to Tampa and retired from coaching. In September 2012, he was inducted into the Florida Association of Basketball Coaches Court of Legends, with an overall record 618-312. He is now an active member of the Association serving as the Director of Girl’s Basketball for the State of Florida.
Tom and his wife, Becky, who is a retired elementary teacher, reside in Odessa, Florida.
Scott Skinner, 1987
Scott played football, basketball and baseball while a student at Watervliet High School.
He was an outstanding football player, a starting quarterback during his junior and senior years. The Cannoneers record was 7-3 in his junior year and 9-1 during his senior year and were League Champions and Section 2 Class “C” Champions that year. He was a co-captain in his senior year and was selected to the Times Record All City team as quarterback, along with his 1st team selection as All League quarterback.
His career records at WHS include: passing yards-2157 [5th all-time], 174 pass completions (5th all-time) and 21 TD passes (7th all-time). Scott’s individual records include: passing yards-single game-321 yards versus Glens Falls-1986 [1st all-time], season-1986-1118 yards passing (7th all-time) and pass completions 1985-88 (6th all-time).
He also played three years of basketball and was a lefthander pitcher on the baseball team.
Following graduation, Scott graduated from RPI with a degree in management. While at RPI, Scott played three years of varsity football at the quarterback position. He also received a degree in Fire Administration from SUNY-Empire State College and a master’s degree in Public Administration from Marist College.
He was an umpire for ten years with the Capital District Umpires Association and was an assistant coach on the 1990 and 1991 WHS Championship football teams.
Scott retired in June 2014 from the Watervliet Fire Department after 21 years. His last three years he served as Fire Chief. He helped create a paramedic program in 1998, was appointed captain in 2004 and in 2005 was appointed EMS Coordinator for the City of Watervliet. Presently, he works in security at GE in Niskayuna and is a paramedic with the Colonie EMS.
Scott lives in Watervliet with his wife, Jane. They have three daughters, Kate, Melissa and Sarah.
Donald Wood, 1954
Don played soccer at WHS and was the starting goalie on the varsity team for his sophomore, junior and senior year, under the direction of legendary Hall of Fame Coach Don Hill.
While at that position, WHS scored 133 goals, while holding opponents to 21 goals. Dan was an aggressive goalie who liked to leave the goal area to keep the ball out of the other team’s possession. No one ever succeeded in heading the ball for a goal during the three years that he was a goal keeper. The Cannoneers had 8 shutouts out of 13 games in the 1952-53 season and 9 shutouts out of 14 games in the 1953-54 season.
In his three season as goalie WHS won the Tri-County League Championship each year and won the Section 2 Class B-C Championship in his senior year. He was also selected to the County All Star Team.
Don was also selected as the Class President and business manager for the yearbook in 1954.
Don graduated from HVCC with an Associate’s Degree in Electrical Technology. He started working for the NY Telephone Company in 1956 and was promoted to management in 1973.His career spanned all the corporate identities—changing from NY Telephone to Bell Atlantic to NYNEX and then finally Verizon.He retired from Verizon after almost 35 years in 1990. In 1990, he was able to follow his dream as a fishing guide on New York State lakes and rivers, doing business as Reel Action Guide Service.
Today he lives with his wife, Leslie, in Glenmont and enjoys fishing, hunting, reading and gardening. They have a son, Steven, and a daughter, Rhonda, and three granddaughters.
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