When asked what his “biggest athletic thrill” was at Cortland, Joseph Palone responded, “I had to work my way through Cortland as I had no means of support from a large family. My Dad died when I was three months old so I was pretty much on my own. Baseball was my best sport. I played during the summer with McGraw, N.Y., and was able to help me support myself through Cortland.”
He continued on to say “48 years in physical education and loved every day of it, what can I add.”
Joseph Palone was the dean of coaches at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for 36 years, 29 of which were as varsity soccer coach at Army. His West Point teams have a record of 228 victories, 79 losses and 35 ties - a .716 winning percentage. Under Palone, Army teams have been in the NCAA soccer playoff 10 times since 1963, gaining the semi-final round on four occasions.
A native of LeRoy, N.Y., Palone joined the Army coaching staff in 1944, serving as soccer and baseball coach. He took over as head soccer coach in 1947.
After graduating from Cortland, Palone taught physical education at Belmont High School where he was a successful coach in soccer, basketball and baseball.
Joseph and his wife, Shirley, have two sons - Mike and Pat. Mike was an All-America soccer player under his father at West Point.
UPDATE: Palone passed away on Sept. 9, 2002 at age 92.
