In October 2021, at a gathering organized by his former University High School football players, Frank Chiodo looked out at the familiar faces and receding hairlines and said warmly, “You guys really know how to make an old man feel good.”
Chiodo was in his early 90s that night at Bloomington’s Baxters American Grille. He is 96 now, set to turn 97 on June 11. The “old man” is older, and the feel-good connection to U-High is strong as ever.
Chiodo will be celebrated Saturday when the trophy case at U-High is named in his honor. A bronze plaque detailing Chiodo’s Hall of Fame career will be displayed permanently in the trophy case near the entrance to the U-High gymnasium.
“It means a lot to him,” said his son, Hal Chiodo. “He has a lot of former players who come and visit with him, sometimes for hours, and he just loves talking to those guys about the old times. This is a big deal for him.”
A ceremony will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the U-High gym, co-hosted by Hud Venerable, a 1973 graduate who played for Chiodo, and Bob Morris, who was Chiodo’s longtime assistant coach.
Chiodo had a 136-95-3 record as head football coach from 1964-89. The Pioneers won or shared 10 conference championships and earned four playoff berths. The 1970 team was 8-0 and won conference and Intercity championships. The 1989 squad went 11-1, winning the Corn Belt Conference title and reaching the playoff quarterfinals.
Chiodo also had a 43-10-4 record at Kankakee Bishop McNamara prior to coming to U-High. He welcomed the return to Normal, where he starred in football and basketball at Illinois State from 1947-51. His wife, Jean, also graduated from ISU in 1951.
“He and my mother have a very, very strong love for Illinois State University and U-High,” Hal Chiodo said. “They think it’s a special place.”
Frank Chiodo was a coaching colleague for many years at U-High with George Girardi, Bob Metcalf and Jim Scott. All coached multiple sports, with Girardi and Scott assisting Chiodo in football. Metcalf was head basketball coach and athletic director, Girardi head wrestling coach and Scott head baseball coach.
“It was four guys who all had PhDs,” Venerable said. “You talk about the cradle of coaches. This is hopefully the beginning of what we can do to recognize and honor those four men for what they gave to us.
“It’s going to be a great event. We have a lot of alumni coming back. It’s just our way of saying thank you and it’s been met with great support from [athletic director] Steve Evans and [principal] Andrea Markert. They agreed we need to find a way to recognize these coaches.”
Saturday’s ceremony is in conjunction with 1971 and 1973 class reunions. There will be multiple events for the classes, with Venerable expecting a good turnout.
"I think once they found out there was something for Coach on Saturday morning, we got more people excited about coming back,” he said.
Hal Chiodo, a 1973 grad, considers the weekend a celebration of “a great time at U-High with a lot of success in all athletics, not just football.”
“I’ve had a lot of phone calls from a lot of people … a lot of guys I knew and some I didn't even know who wanted to know what’s going on,” Hal Chiodo said. “I expect there will be a lot of people there, even outside of those classes. Even some officials are coming to see him.”
Frank Chiodo’s impact goes beyond wins and championships. Many in attendance at the 2021 gathering spoke of how his discipline, commitment and caring prepared them for life after football. He coached his three sons – Hal, Mark and Tom – and was a father figure to countless others.
Some of his players stayed involved in the game, notably Hal Chiodo, Venerable and Jack Eddy. They were seniors on the 1972 Heart of Illinois Conference championship team and went on to stellar coaching careers.
All three have joined their mentor in the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
“Having the coach’s son, Hal, was a huge advantage for us,” Venerable said. “I know it wasn’t always easy for Hal to have his father as his coach, but Hal and Jack were the leaders of our football program and the leaders of our class. They had insight into what needed to be done to make our team successful because Hal lived with the head coach.
“We had such a great experience at U-High. It was probably a no-brainer that all three of us decided we wanted to be educators and be football coaches.”
