Community remembers ‘Coach Pizz’

And the living legend simply became “The Legend.”
After 85 years of serving others and his beloved city of Crowley, Richard Pizzolatto, the much-adored Rice City legend who was affectionately known as “Coach Pizz” or simply “Pizz” passed away suddenly Thursday doing what he loved doing best: making other people happy.
Pizzolatto, whose passion for operas and plays in New York was only topped by his love of the New Orleans Saints and his hometown of Crowley, was delivering Christmas poinsettias Thursday, something he relished every Christmas, when he suddenly suffered an apparent heart attack.
In a way, it was a fitting way for Pizz to go.
He wouldn’t have wanted to inconvenience anyone.
He went quietly and without a fuss.
He was just that kind of guy.
He jokingly once told old friend Harold Gonzales: “When I die, Harold, I don’t want a funeral, I don’t want people gawking over me.”
Per Pizzolatto’s wishes, there will be no public funeral service.
Pizz was a humble man. A compassionate man.
Funny.
Giving.
A man with vision.
Everyone loved him.
Everyone respected him.
He was a simple person, living alone with his pets in his simple frame house on Hutchinson Avenue, just a stone’s throw from what for years was St. Michael’s Elementary, until his untimely passing.
He was Crowley to the core, having been born in the city and remaining here after getting his bachelor’s degree from Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now the University of Louisiana) in 1958 and later earning his Master’s Degree in School Administration and Supervision.
After teaching at different schools, most notably Midland High School and his alma mater, Crowley High School, he finally retired and became the director of recreation for the city of Crowley. But not before earning the endearment of the thousands of students he taught over his 24 years and the many to come.
He was an unforgettable figure to be sure, whether he was masterminding the start up the Midland Holiday Spectacular basketball tournament back in the 1960s, bringing the old Evangeline League Museum from Thibodeaux to Crowley in the late 1990s or overseeing the Crowley Recreation Department and heading up a series of improvements which included the renovation of historic Miller Stadium.
And those were only some of the things that made Crowley and the people he met better.
The Midland Spectacular became one of the elite Louisiana holiday basketball tournaments, with teams practically begging to be invited, and the with the museum, he came up with a reunion in 2000 that brought together Evangeline League players from the 1940s and 50s, many of whom hadn’t seen each other since their playing days.
A huge sign with his picture, an expression of appreciation from those players, still greets visitors at the stadium’s ironed-gate entrance.
Noted author Gaylon White, who wrote a book on the Crowley Millers with the help of Pizz, remembered, “He was a caring man who cared about people, Crowley, his beloved Saints and his baby, refurbished Miller Stadium. It was a pleasure to work with him on the book and it should be viewed as a tribute to the Millers, the Evangeline League and Coach Pizz.
“He had the determination to keep those memories alive for future generations. I will miss him but his legacy continues on at Miller Stadium.”
Pizz, no doubt, had a special place in his heart for Miller Stadium, having practically grown up at the park. At age 12, he sold peanuts at the 2,200-seat stadium just to be able to watch games for free. Later, he became a member of what was called the “Knothole Gang,” a group that paid 50 cents for the season to watch games along the third base line.
He went on to play high school and semi-pro ball before turning to teaching, where he shared his passion and kindness with so many.
In a television interview earlier this year with KATC-TV’s Scott Brazda, Pizz brushed aside his positive effect on all those he touched, and the positive things he did, instead telling Brazda what he had said so many times: “Remember, it’s for the children.”
Pizz will be buried in the old Crowley Cemetery, right behind the left and center-field fences of Miller Stadium., where he had always longed to rest. On his tombstone, he requested his beloved and memorable phrase “Remember, it’s for the children” be included.
Not surprisingly, it took what may be interpreted as some divine intervention for his final resting place to be where it will be.
Pizz told Brazda that he had been hoping to find a spot in the old cemetery beyond the Miller Field outfield fence but couldn’t.
Then, Pizz said, he got a call one day. It turned out a gentleman in South Carolina heard about Pizz’s desire and said he had two plots that he would sell Pizz for $2,000.
Also astute at bargaining, Pizz told the seller that $2,000 was too much for plots at a cemetery that had been closed. He bought them for $100, one for him and one for his golf clubs, he told Brazda.
That was Pizz.
And anyone who has ever known him or crossed paths with him will tell you that he was a kind, gentle and loving person.
Just ask Gonzales. Or long-time friend and football coach Lewis Cook.
Or thousands of others.
“Crowley lost not only a helluva person, but a visionary as well,” said Gonzales, a lifelong friend who Pizz insisted on cooking for Gonzales’ bachelor party in the early 1970s.
“From bringing back Crowley High baseball in the 1970s to what he did at the recreation department and Miller Stadium.
“When he went to the recreation department, he opened his first season with a parade for the kids, had the Ice Gator mascot there…. It was an event. And that’s when he said first, ‘Remember, it’s for the children.’”
Cook said his first real meeting with Pizz was in 1989, although he knew of Pizz’s reputation as being a man of vision and getting things done.
“We were getting ready to play Broadmoor in the semifinals and I was talking with Carroll Delahoussaye (St. Martinville head coach) on the phone and Carroll was telling me that if we won that I needed to get someone else to handle all the extra things like hotel rooms and such,” Cook recalled.
“Well, my first thought was Pizz since he had done the Spectacular and a lot of other stuff and he was a good guy who could get it done. So I go out the gym and down the hall and there he is. And you know that when you talked to Pizz, you had to talk like Pizz, so I go up to him and say: “Pizzzzzzzzz, I’m going to need your help if we win. Man, he tears up and says he’d love to help.
“So I tell him that if we win, I’ll meet him in the morning and we’ll talk about it. Well, we win and I drive up to school to open the gate at 6:30 the next morning and he’s already there. He said he was so glad to be a part of it and help out.... That was Pizz.
“I’m really sad about his passing. I really thought Pizz would outlive us all. He was certainly one of a kind.”
Gonzales said when he broke the news of Pizz’s passing to his son, Craig, he reminded him of Pizz’s wishes.
“Well, dad, at least he’ll be right by Miller Stadium, watching over it,” Craig said.
“Miller Stadium was his pride and joy,” said Harold.
Pizz may be gone, but he will never be forgotten.
And neither will his message to us all: “Remember, it’s for the children.”
Dr. Sibley shares memories of Pizz
CROWLEY - Dr. Bryan Sibley, long-time personal friend and administrator of Coach Pizz’s affairs, has many memories of his experiences with the Crowley legend.
Following are some of those anecdotes and memories:
“In the early 1970s I became aware of who Coach Pizz was because, as a young child, my friends and I knew him as the man who ran the Municipal Swimming Pool. The story we all knew about him was that he had the best trained lifeguards anywhere because, when he trained them, he would sit on the bottom of the ‘deep end of the pool’ (10 feet) and make the trainees dive in and pull him up. He’d fight all them all the way to the surface. Later in life he confirmed this story and told me that ‘no one realized that I could hold my breath for several minutes!’
“I was blessed to get to know Coach on a personal level in 1979 and since then, during our travels throughout the country and Mexico, I witnessed him lead a life characterized by extreme generosity and an unmatched, canny ability to connect with people.
“In 1980, while at the Independence Bowl, we were supposed to have press passes to get on the field to watch McNeese State player Mike Smith (Crowley High alum, 1977). The ticket office changed our credentials and it looked like we’d be in the stands. Not to be deterred, 30 minutes before kickoff, Coach went to the on-site press credentials office and convinced them to give us the all access passes at least in part because, ‘if we didn’t get there to cover Mike, I’m going to get fired from my job!’ Not only did we get the passes, we met and took photos with Paul Harvey and five-star General Omar Bradley, the Independence Bowl honorees that year.
“While in Acapulco one year, I told him that we were finally in a location where no one would know who he is. One morning we were having breakfast with a few other guests at our hotel, overlooking the beach when a man came in from the beach, looked at us and said ‘PIZZ!’. It was an old coaching colleague. I simply smiled and laughed to myself.
“In the summer of 1985 we went to New York City. During the months preceding this trip, Coach decided to contact then New York City Mayor Ed Koch’s campaign office to tell them that we would be there and that we wanted to spend a day working in his campaign headquarters. He convinced them to allow us to do this and he had buttons and flyers created with the logo ‘Cajuns for Koch!’
“When we arrived, I did all the campaign work while he distributed the items he had made and worked the room. Within two hours the Campaign Manager arrived, talked to him, completely enamored with Coach and his story, and then invited us to an exclusive campaign fundraiser at Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s home that night. Of course we went, took photos with the mayor, and visited with him at length.
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints played at least one game in Tiger Stadium. A friend of mine, Mark Stipe, his son Rowe (age 8), our son, Garrett (age 10) and I attended the game with Coach. Coach was not happy with his seats (they were not in a location similar to his season tickets in the Superdome). Coach started talking to someone in the stadium and the next thing we knew we were all sitting on the field. Garrett looked at Rowe and, with all the innocence and Santa Clause-belief of childhood, said, ‘This is what happens when you travel with Coach Pizz!’
“When our children were in high school and college he cooked for them and their friends. As he’d done for so many of us over the years, he’d stay up all night cooking his special spaghetti sauce to serve with pasta as an “appetizer” and crawfish etoufee and gumbo as the entrees. The kids were always completely amazed.
“He always bought Christmas gifts for everyone he knew and bought a bunch of gifts to keep on hand, according to him, ‘just in case anyone stops by during the holidays!’
“He attended his last Saints game a few weeks ago. After the game he went to Desi Vega’s Steakhouse to eat with a friend, his wife and son. New Orleans Coach Sean Payton was eating there at the same time. The friend’s son approached Coach Payton and asked him for an autograph and to take a photo, a request to which he kindly agreed. At the end of the meal, the waiter told Coach and his friends that Coach Payton had paid for their meal.
“Coach Pizz tells me that he went over to thank Coach Payton and, of course, regaled Coach Payton with stories from 44 years of being a Saints season ticket holder.
“When I entered Crowley High School as a 14-year-old freshman in 1979, I formally met him as my Civics teacher. At the time I had no idea how that meeting would significantly alter the entire course of my life.
“Over these past 42 years, except for my wife, Coach became my best friend. He was the best man in our wedding, he and I traveled extensively. We attended Olympic Games, a wide variety of sporting events and, of course, countless New Orleans Saints’ games both at home and away. In particular, over the past 18 years or so, I have had the singular pleasure of knowing him as his confidant, serving as the administrator of his affairs, and closely walking with him through this final season of his life.
“On Thursday, December 16, 2021, I received a phone call from Alie Clark who told me that Coach was delivering Christmas gifts to former Mayor and close friend Isabella dela Houssaye, when he had some type of health event. I left my office, picked up my wife, Shelley, and we proceeded to Crowley. Later in the day, Shelley and I had a chance to visit with Mrs. dela Houssaye, along with her husband Dr. Cason dela Houssaye and her daughter and son-in-law, Elise and Kholie Frantzen. Mrs. Delahoussaye told me that he was making his annual Christmas gift delivery, she had walked him back to his car when he, while looking at her, lost consciousness and collapsed.
“She contacted 911 and first responders were there within minutes. Their heroic efforts were unsuccessful. She and I agreed that we could take solace knowing that he passed quickly, did not suffer and that this all happened while in the company of a dear friend, giving of himself until the very end of his life.
“Our children, Lauren, Garrett, and Blair, our son in law, Trent Brasseaux, our future daughter-in-law Catherine and Blair’s long-time boyfriend, Tyler Attales knew him as a sort of an uncle who was bigger than life. Lauren told me that she is particularly saddened that her son, our grandson, Peter (21 months old) would not have the opportunity to know Coach Pizz as he grew up.
“Coach was so very proud of his family, our family, his many friends from throughout the world. Late last night, my childhood friend, Jo Jo Trahan, said it well, ‘Coach was a positive soul, put on this earth to improve the lives others.’
“Coach Pizz’s generosity and zeal for life was likely unmatched anywhere and it is an understatement to say that his presence will be missed.”