RIVERDALE, N.Y. - Former Manhattan College track & field captain Joe Schatzle '53, who still holds three school records and was inducted into the College's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991, passed away on Saturday after a long illness. He was 79.
In 1951, Schatzle tied the school record of 20.91 seconds in the 220 yard dash. Then in 1952, he ran on Manhattan's 440 and 880 yard relay squads that were among the best in the nation. The Jaspers won the "Championship of America" at the Penn Relays four times and were never defeated in either event. The rest of the relay team consisted of Jack O'Connell, the national champion over 60 yards, Lindy Remigino, a two-time gold medalist at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, and Bob Carty, who shared Schatzle's 220-yard school record. Schatzle ran the second leg on the quartet, which set records of 40.70 seconds (440 relay) and 1:24.40 (880 relay) at the Los Angeles Coliseum Relays. It marked the first time an Eastern team won in Los Angeles, and those times were the second-fastest clockings in history to that point.
Schatzle was also a Metropolitan champion at 60, 100 and 220 yards. In 1953, he tied the IC4A Indoor Championships meet record with a time of 6.2 seconds in the 60 meters. That summer, Schatzle was selected to represent the United States national AAU team at the British Games in London. He took home a pair of gold medals at the meet, which featured 14 international teams, winning the 100 by five yards and notching a close victory in the 200 yard dash.
He later joined the Marines before becoming a successful high school coach. At Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., Schatzle's teams won 13 league championships and numerous Section I titles during his 17 years at the helm.
A wake will be held next Monday from 5-8 p.m. at the Clinton Funeral Home in Cold Spring, N.Y. The funeral will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 14, at Our Lady of Loretta Church in Cold Spring.
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