High school football coach Nick Balitsos dies

Nick Balitsos, who coached high school football for 35 years and was a physical education teacher in the Levittown school district for 33 years, died Sunday in Levittown. He was 87.

Balitsos won 159 games with Levittown Memorial and MacArthur high schools and is one of only nine football coaches in Nassau County history to win 150 or more games. He coached at Levittown Memorial from 1957 to 1980 and then led MacArthur from 1983 to 1989 and again from 1991 to 1997.

"He taught me the game, but gave me an education in life, as well. He was another father figure [to me]," MacArthur head football coach and former Balitsos assistant Robert Fehrenbach said. "He was a great man to play for. He was a very laid-back individual. He always had a smile on his face and was always laughing."

Balitsos taught physical education in the Levittown school district from 1956 to 1989.

Balitsos was an assistant coach at Manhasset High School in 1952. It was there that he coached NFL Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, according to his family.

"[Brown] was the best running back he'd ever seen," his son, Tim Balitsos of Nutley, N.J., said. "He knew he would go places, but never realized how great a player he would become."

Balitsos was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Astoria. He attended Textile High School in New York City, playing a key role on their hockey team, his family said.

After serving in the Army, Balitsos played college football at Temple University. Bad knees forced him to abandon his collegiate career. He left Temple and enrolled at NYU, where he earned a degree in physical education, according to his family.

While he was beloved for his calm demeanor, Balitsos, known affectionately as "Mr. B," always expected a lot from his players.

"Coach was a real taskmaster," said former Levittown running back Richard Smith, who played for Balitsos from 1959-61. "He wanted to win and he wanted us to win. Practice was always hard and he was unrelenting in his attempts to mold us into the best we could be."

Ten years after Smith graduated, he ran into his old coach. Despite the passage of time, Balitsos recognized Smith immediately.

"That should tell you something about the man he was," Smith said.

Balitsos' favorite game was the annual season finale between rivals Levittown Memorial, which closed in June 1983, and Levittown Division, according to family members. The two teams met in the 1972 Conference III championship. Levittown Memorial topped Division, 12-8, giving Balitsos his only championship. The victory capped an 8-0-1 season. Levittown Memorial made two more trips to the Conference III finals, falling short of a title in 1975 and 1979.

He is survived by his four children, 10 grandchildren, and wife, Angie.

The remains were cremated. A private family service was held on Tuesday.