Late former Caldwell AD Ron San Fillipo wore many hats – all with grace & style

Within the first few days or so of meeting Ron San Fillipo as fellow freshman football players at Montclair State, Ken Trimmer uncovered three fundamental truths about his new teammate that would last throughout their 64-year friendship:
“Somebody wasn’t ever going to influence him if it wasn’t the right thing to do. I mean that’s a definite,” Trimmer said. “And to be honest with you, I have never heard a bad word about him. He was liked and respected by everyone.”
That being so, a whole lot of people throughout Essex County and beyond lost a special friend Nov. 12 when the longtime Caldwell High athletic director died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 82. He left behind his wife of 59 years, Nancy, children Ron Jr. and Nancy Guasta, two grandchildren, and countless folks who deeply valued their connection with a man who wore many hats, and each one of them with style.
“He was the most universally respected person I have ever encountered – and that was completely appropriate,” Bloomfield athletic director Steve Jenkins said. “I was blessed to have him as a mentor. There was no better role model/father figure to observe, converse with and try to emulate.”
Following his graduation from Montclair State, San Fillipo first ventured into coaching football locally at the collegiate level at Montclair State, Jersey City State and Kean. He then served as Caldwell athletic director from 1975 through 2002, during which time he added eight varsity sports ands grew the available girls varsity programs by 50 percent.
“Ron was a great man and one of the most respected ADs in the state. For Ron, it was all about the kids,” said Dave Drozjock, former West Essex football coaching great and current AD for the Wayne School District.
“We had some great battles with Caldwell. Win or lose, Ron was always there with encouraging words for both sides. He will truly be missed.”
The former Belleville and Montclair State football star and longtime Cedar Grove resident immersed himself in the local sports, civic organizations and politics of his adopted home town while handling his job at Caldwell with distinction. He was a volunteer coach in a variety of sports, former Board of Education president and even once mayor of Cedar Grove.
San Filliipo was honored as Essex County Athletic Director of the Year in 1988, Director of Athletics Association of New Jersey state AD of the Year in 1995, and a founder and president of the Essex County Athletic Directors Association.
He is a member of both the Belleville and Caldwell athletic halls of fame and was enshrined just last month at Caldwell Chiefs Legend Park at the school’s Bonnel Field. It was the last time many of his friends, former colleagues and mentees saw him alive.
“I think he could die with a smile on his face because of all the people who were there and all the wonderful things that were said to him,” Trimmer said. “It was just a great, great thing for him and his family.
Once retiring from Caldwell in 2002, that’s when San Fillipo really rolled up his sleeves and got busy – as a driving force behind the creation of the Super Essex Conference in 2009 and the North Jersey Super Football Conference in 2016.
San Fillipo worked assiduously to pull Essex County teams from the six different conferences they populated into one uniform entity that would help the schools strike a more competitive balance across all sports while easing burdens for scheduling and travel.
The North Jersey Super Football Conference immediately became the nation’s largest football-only conference with 115 schools joining ranks for that inaugural 2016 season. A year later, it scaled down its name to simply Super Football Conference.
“Ron’s leadership with the Super Essex Conference made it one of the most respected conferences in the state of New Jersey, said Ron Anello, a former Montclair football great who preceded Drozjock as West Essex head football coach and then was longtime athletic director at Ramapo. He is back at his alma mater as interim AD.
“He was also a founding father of the Super Football Conference, and because of Ron’s knowledge, skills and strong work ethic, the SFC is the biggest and one of the most respected high school conferences in the country,” Anello said.
Whether supervising the wide menu of sports at Caldwell while athletic director, running a board of ed meeting or laying down the foundation for the two super conferences he helped organize, San Fillipo could always be relied upon for his industry, diplomacy and, maybe above all else, honesty.
“He wasn’t a guy who was ever gonna scream at anybody to get things done, but he made the right decisions. And the decision he made was always for the best thing, not because it was a decision someone he liked would want him to make. Everything he did was done with integrity,” Trimmer said.
According to Anello, that integrity was mirrored by the coaches he supervised and the Caldwell athletes who performed under those coaches.
“Under the guidance and leadership of Ron San Fillipo, the Caldwell High School athletic program grew to be one of the best in Essex County. Not only for their success on the field, but more importantly how their athletes always displayed good sportsmanship, respect for their opponent, and always represented Caldwell High School and the entire community of Caldwell in a very positive manner,” he said.
San Fillipo’s steady, fair-minded guidance extended way beyond 265 Westville Avenue in West Caldwell. Coaches and athletic directors throughout Essex County owed much of their own success to him.
“Ron was truly a friend of mine. I learned so much from him on organizational skills how to manage and run a good athletic program. He was the stronghold for keeping the Essex County and Super Essex Conferences running effectively and efficiently,” former Weequahic athletic director Gary Westberry said.
“He was true historian for both organizations. I truly believe following his leadership and his structure was the main reason that led me to receiving the AD of the year (2010) for the state of New Jersey. He was one of the leaders who always made himself available to assist both professionally and privately. He was truly a jewel to athletics. May God bless his soul,” he said.
It is no surprise that many of the young athletic directors he counseled followed his lead and stayed involved after formal retirement as invaluable organizers and leaders of various local athletic foundations. One of them is former East Orange AD Abdul Hassan, still immensely involved with the Men of Essex group and several others long after he retired as athletic director.
“Ron was a mentor, a big brother who provided guidance in the athletic directors job that I held in East Orange for about 10 years. The relationship that I had with him was the name I called him, the Godfather,” Hassan said.
“He was always there for me with whatever, and whenever I needed him in the profession. Also, Ron’s wisdom as a human being covered all the diversity and fairness of our youth in sports and outside of it. May God comfort his family, friends and colleagues. He will truly be missed in my life and may our godfather rest in peace,” he said.
At the viewing for Ron SanFillipo this past Sunday in Cedar Grove, Trimmer embraced Nancy San Fillipo and offered up some of his homespun comfort to a woman he has known almost as long as his old teammate at Montclair State.
“I told her, ‘I know one thing, Ron’s going to be in Heaven.’ And I said, ‘And there’s going to be things that are going to go on the rest of your life, and you’re going to say, Thanks, Ronnie, thanks, Ronnie. So will I.’ ”
Mike Kinney can be reached at [email protected]
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