'He was everyone's friend.' Villagers push to name Magnolia complex after Vince Costello

MAGNOLIA − Vince Costello is the most famous athlete to come out of Magnolia; a community he never really left behind.

The Cleveland Browns legend who died 2019 was, at heart, a small-town fellow.

Now Don Del Corso and Janet Rogers, president of the Magnolia Area Historical Society, are spearheading a petition to immortalize Costello's contribution to the community by renaming the village's main playing fields the Vince Costello Memorial Athletic Complex.

Costello was a fierce and solid middle linebacker who played 130 games for the Cleveland Browns over 10 years, and was a member of the 1964 championship team under coach Blanton Collier.

At 25, he joined the Browns as a free agent in 1956 after serving two years in the U.S. Air Force. After leaving Cleveland in 1966, Costello played two more seasons with theNew York Giants, and later joined the staffs of the Cincinnati Bengals, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs as a defensive coach.

In 1969, Costello, who wore number 50, told the Associated Press: "I don't miss it (playing), not a bit. ... Physically, I probably couldn't go back even if I wanted to, and I don't want to."

More about Vince Costello:Stark County icon, Browns legend Vince Costello passes away at 86

Prior to the NFL, Costello played in the minor leagues for the Cincinnati Reds.

In 1978, he fully retired from the game and opened a restaurant, the Greenhouse, in Kansas City.

In 2011, Costello was added to the roll of the Cleveland Browns legends. He died in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2019.

The organizers say they will be collecting signatures Friday and Saturday during the community's annual Sandy-Beaver Canal Days celebration.

"I started asking around, and people thought it was a good idea," Del Corso said.

Rogers said her husband, Tony, and Costello grew up together, adding that he served as the best man at her wedding in 1959.

"He was everyone's friend," Rogers said. "The historical society is 100% behind it. We're not going for a certain number (of signatures), but we feel we have the support of the community. We have members of council who belong to the historical society."

Who was Vince Costello?

Born Aug. 4, 1932, in Dellroy, Costello was one of six children of Italian immigrants Bartolomeo Giordonno and Celesta Menna. Upon their arrival to the U.S. through Ellis Island, Costello's father changed his name to William Costello. The family moved to Magnolia in 1934.

As a teenager, Costello was a varsity letterman in football and basketball. He also was 12 years old when he played baseball at the former Magnolia High School, where he helped to start a six-man football team which went on to win a league championship in 1948.

He graduated in 1949 at age 16.

Proud nephew Tim Costello, who still lives in Magnolia, said his uncle was a devoted family man who returned to Magnolia as often as he could.

Vince Costello and his widow, the former Sally Dutton of Massillon, had six daughters and a son.

"He was a very loving guy; he cared for each of us," Tim Costello said. "All seven of his children graduated from college. His wife is an amazing person."

Tim Costello added that his uncle wouldn't hesitate to pull aside the family's children for a "talking to" if they needed it. He was just a year old when Costello hung up his cleats, so he never got to see him play, but he said he's learned a lot about those days from a series of radio interviews that Costello did for WHBC Radio's "Sports Time Machine."

"His daughters said there were things even they didn't know about his love for this village," Tim Costello said.

Noting that his uncle was featured on a 1965 cover of Life Magazine, Tim Costello recalled being with his uncle when they ran into rival linebacker Sam Huff at a Pro Football Hall of Fame event, during which Huff referred to Vince Costello as the "second-best" linebacker to ever play the game.

The two men exchanged polite but hardly warm greetings. Tim Costello said that when he asked his uncle why, he replied it was because the last time he and Huff met on the field, Huff ended up on a stretcher.

Family: Vince Costello should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Tim Costello said he thinks his uncle, who still holds at least two Browns records, should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"All his teammates are, and that hurt his feelings," he said.

Costello was a hero to the boys in Magnolia. From 1963 to 1967, Costello and teammates Lou Groza and Paul Wiggin sponsored the Sky View Ranch, a boys' camp in Millersburg.

"My memories start at 6 years old," said Magnolia resident Allan Tozzi, who noted that his grandparents and Costello's parents hailed from the same area, Greci, Campania, in Italy, about an hour southeast of Naples.

Tozzi recalled that whenever Costello was home from college or training camp, he would faithfully attend Mass with his mother at St. Mary the Immaculate Conception Church in Morges.

"I also remember seeing him running around town to keep in shape," Tozzi said, adding the Costello was strong enough to run while hoisting him and his twin brother, Tony, on each shoulder.

'He considered this whole town family.'

A retired Timken Co. engineer, Del Corso said Costello is the reason he was able to attend Ohio University, where Costello was attending under a basketball scholarship. Costello graduated in 1953 and earned a master's degree in 1961.

"I had no intention of going to college," Del Corso said. "When I was a senior in high school, Vince was a junior at OU. He got me a basketball scholarship. I owed him a lot for that. He was a person who dedicated himself to helping people. He considered this whole town family."

A smiling Del Corso recalled seeing Costello playing in the 1964 NFL Championship while Del Corso was in the Army in El Paso, Texas.

"He was such a home guy," he said. "He even played in our church basketball league in the winters."

To learn more, contact the historical society at 330-866-9744 or visit the Magnolia Area Historical Society Facebook page.

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or charita.goshay@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @cgoshayREP

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct that Blanton Collier was coach of the Cleveland Browns when the team won the 1964 NFL Championship.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Friends want Magnolia park renamed after Browns legend Vince Costello