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Richard "Dick" Cooney at his home in Aquebogue.
Richard Cooney left an indelible mark during his time working in the East Hampton School District, and the New York State Athletic Administrators Association has taken notice.
Dick Cooney, as he’s known by family, friends, former students, athletes and coworkers, received word last week that the NYSAAA will be putting him on its Wall of Fame at this year’s annual conference, tentatively scheduled for the week of March 14-18. Current East Hampton Athletic Director Joe Vasile-Cozzo submitted Cooney for the honor, which Cooney said was a pleasant surprise.
“I didn’t expect it. I’ve been retired for quite a few years now, so it certainly surprised me,” Cooney, who turns 82 in March, said. “It’s a nice feeling. It brings back some very strong memories at East Hampton. I really, really enjoyed my time there. It never felt like I was going to work. I was very fortunate to have a great staff in the athletic department and we had some really good success over the years. We had some great kids who really bought into our programs, which was extremely satisfying, and I enjoyed the support that I got from fellow teachers, coaches, administration.
“I hope it’s still as good to work there as it was when I did because I definitely enjoyed the people who I worked with,” he continued.
Vasile-Cozzo said Cooney was one of the first athletic directors he really admired from his time as a head coach at Mattituck and then when he moved into the AD role at Center Moriches.
“I admired his leadership and what he did for the East End,” he said. “I am twice removed from when he was the AD here at East Hampton, but I got to meet him along the way and thought he was a great guy, so when the opportunity came up for nominees, everyone spoke so highly of him I decided to send his name in for nomination.”
After a seven-year stint at the Brentwood School District, Cooney headed east, where he spent 25 years in East Hampton, the first five as a high school physical education teacher — when he also spent time as the district’s varsity football and track coach and junior varsity wrestling coach. He achieved multiple accolades as a coach, most notable Football Coach of the Year honors in Suffolk County’s Conference IV in both 1974 and 1981, the latter of which came when the Bonackers defeated Riverhead for the county title that year.
Cooney transitioned to the athletic director role in 1974 and held that position until retiring in 1995. He continued to receive multiple honors in that role as well, including Director of the Year Award by the NYSAAA in 1990. During his time as AD, Cooney also held multiple roles in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and Section XI and was often the single voice for East End schools, Vasile-Cozzo said.
After retiring from East Hampton in 1995, Cooney filled in as AD in multiple school districts for years after. Just after retiring, Cooney found himself, of all places, leading the Port Jefferson athletic department, a school that, at the time, was a big rival of the Bonackers. Then he filled in for a year and a half for John Pizzarelli at Hampton Bays, spent a year at Southampton and then finally finished his career at the Amagansett School.
Vasile-Cozzo needed to get two letters of recommendation for Cooney’s Wall of Fame nomination. Westhampton Beach Athletic Director Kathy Masterson and his former secretary at East Hampton, Sandra Vorpahl, were both more than willing to lend a hand in that regard.
“My first encounter with Dick was as a student athlete at Southampton High School,” Masterson wrote in her letter. “At that time, he was the athletic director for the East Hampton School District. After playing in a basketball game, he came up to me and commented on my sportsmanship and playing ability. At that time, I did not know the impact he would have on my career.
“While I was completing my student teaching at Southampton High School, I met up with Dick once again. He was intelligent, articulate and someone I knew that someday I would like to emulate,” she continued. “Dick is so well respected on the East End of Long Island, that the fields at East Hampton High School are named in his honor. With this in mind, I never had a second thought to confide in Dick when the opportunity of becoming the athletic director of Westhampton Beach School District came to me 11 years ago. Dick’s knowledge and dedication that he showed to Suffolk County athletics is second to none. He is someone who was instrumental in the groundbreaking of athletics not only in Suffolk County, but in the development of Section XI and New York State athletics.”
Vorpahl worked with Cooney for 18 years and said she came “to know not the boss, but the man.”
“He taught me all there was to know about our athletic program and we worked side by side to make sure that our athletic program was one of the best on the island. He would go above and beyond for the students, teachers and coaches in East Hampton. His dedication to the physical education and athletic programs in East Hampton was tireless.”
Cooney took over the AD position at a time, he said, when it was growing into more than just athletics. He was also director of physical education and health, and he oversaw both the nurses and grounds crew for the district. He also took over during the Title IX era. He made sure the large increase in the participation in girls athletics was seamless, which it was, evident in the number of female athletes and coaches who adorn the district’s own Wall of Fame.
Not long after fully retiring, Cooney and his wife, Kathleen, moved to Kauai, Hawaii, where they lived for 10 years. Although they really enjoyed their time there, with family back on Long Island — they have multiple children, grandchildren and now great-grandchildren — the Cooneys returned and now live in Aquebogue, where they continue to thoroughly enjoy retirement.
“The NYSAAA was really trying to put someone on their Wall of Fame who is worthy, and he certainly was,” Vasile-Cozzo said of Cooney. “He really was one of the leaders on the East End. I know from my own experience, a lot of the time the East End gets forgotten about because we’re so far away and so far removed from everything up the island, but he did do so many things for the student-athletes out here and he’s such a great guy. He certainly deserved it.”
