Joseph Fortunato (July 4, 1918 – February 21, 2004) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at

Adrian College Adrian College is a private liberal arts college in Adrian, Michigan. The college offers bachelor's degrees in 92 academic majors and programs. The 100 acre (0.40 km2) campus contains newly constructed facilities along with historic buil ...

from 1953 to 1955, tallying a mark of 8–17–1. Fortunato was also head baseball coach at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

from 1952 to 1953 and at Adrian in 1954, compiling a career

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

record of 11–26. In addition, he served as the head basketball coach at

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa. It enrolls around 6000 students and offers distance education programs that include 15 centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, and centers in ...

and at the

University of Dubuque The University of Dubuque (UD) is a private Presbyterian university in Dubuque, Iowa. About 2,200 students attend the university. History The University of Dubuque has had a long history in Dubuque since its founding in 1852. Early years Th ...

. He died in 2004.

Early life and education

A native of

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, and the largest city and county seat of Mahoning County. At the 2020 census, Youngstown had a city population of 60,068. It is a principal city of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area, whi ...

, Fortunato earned a bachelor of science degree at

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

Coaching career

Fortunato served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an athletic officer in the V-5 program at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio. The university was founded in 1809, making it the second-oldest university in Ohio (behind Ohio University, founded in 1804) and the ...

, where he coached the linemen on the football team under

Sid Gillman Sidney Gillman (October 26, 1911 – January 3, 2003) was an American football player, coach and executive. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or w ...

. From 1946 to 1947, Fortunato coached football and basketball at Leetonia High School in

Leetonia, Ohio Leetonia is a village in northern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,833 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem micropolitan area, about south of Youngstown. History The Village of Leetonia was founded in 1869, ...

before moving to

, where he served as athletic director, head basketball coach, and assistant football coach. He was hired at the

in April 1949 as head basketball coach and football line coach. In April 1951, Fortunato was named line coach at the

, joining the football coaching staff headed by Don Greenwood. Fortunato was the head football coach at

in Adrian, Michigan. He held that position for three seasons, from 1953 until 1955. His coaching record at Adrian was 8–17–1.

Head coaching record

College football

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fortunato, Joe 1918 births 2004 deaths Adrian Bulldogs athletic directors Adrian Bulldogs baseball coaches Adrian Bulldogs football coaches Adrian Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Ohio Dubuque Spartans football coaches Dubuque Spartans men's basketball coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Toledo Rockets baseball coaches Toledo Rockets football coaches Upper Iowa Peacocks athletic directors Upper Iowa Peacocks football coaches Upper Iowa Peacocks men's basketball coaches High school basketball coaches in Ohio High school football coaches in Ohio Kent State University alumni Sportspeople from Youngstown, Ohio United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy officers