Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1984
- Class:
- 1935
Born in 1909 in Canon City, Colo., John Amabele Zontini’s family moved to Seth, W.Va., and he and his brothers took over the sports world in Boone County. At Sherman High School in 1929, Zontini set a still-standing state record when he rushed for 2,135 yards on only 79 carries, an amazing average of 27.0 yards per attempt. Zontini was named a high school All-American that season and again as a senior in 1930, and the following spring set a state record in the javelin throw.
Nicknamed the “Sheik of Seth,” Zontini barely slowed down when he arrived at Marshall. As a freshman for Coach Tom Dandelet in 1931, he scored a 30-yard touchdown the very first time he touched the ball in a college game, set a school record with 200 rushing yards in a 60-0 win over Fairmont State, led the team with 895 yards on the season and set a still-standing school record as he averaged 9.5 yards per rush for the year. Zontini was named All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference that year and again as a sophomore, then received All-Buckeye Intercollegiate Conference accolades as a junior and senior when Marshall switched to a new conference.
Also a standout on the baseball diamond, Zontini starred as an all-league outfielder for Coach Legs Hawley’s baseball teams that won three straight Buckeye Conference titles in 1933, 1934 and 1935, batting .363 for the 1934 squad that registered a 13-2 record, including an 8-0 mark in conference games. After graduating from Marshall, Zontini embarked on a 15-year minor league baseball career during which he batted more than 7,000 times and advanced as high as the Class AA level in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ organization. At 39 he was the player-manager for the Franklin Cubs in the Class D Virginia League and slugged 27 home runs to go along with a .295 batting average.
The football facility at Sherman High School is named Zontini Field in honor of John and his brothers, Red and Louie. Red played at the University of Tennessee and earned a Distinguished Flying Cross medal for flying 28 missions over Europe during World War II, and Louie played football at Notre Dame and then professionally for the Chicago Cardinals, Buffalo Bisons and Cleveland Browns.
With his professional baseball career and moving to Virginia, Zontini never saw a Marshall football game after graduating from the school – until he attended the fateful game at East Carolina on November 14, 1970. He was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1970 and the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984.
