Foltz, Nardecchia inducted into Bay Area Officials Hall of Fame
Mar. 27—NORWALK — Two longtime local sports officials who have been seen for decades on high-school football fields and basketball courts all over the area were honored recently as inductees to Bay Area Officials Association's Class of 2023 Hall of Fame.
Denny Foltz of Norwalk and Don Nardecchia, who retired in 2017 and moved from Norwalk to South Carolina, were inducted among the initial five members of the group's new hall of fame.
About 150 attended the inaugural ceremony held March 25 at Sandusky Yacht Club under the direction of fellow official Ryan Bowers of Norwalk, who served as committee chairman to establish the new award.
Nardecchia officiated basketball for 37 years, starting with basketball in 1977 and football in 1979, with his first varsity contest being a game between New London and Black River in February 1978.
Among his notable accomplishments was starting Bay Area's three-man mechanics for basketball in the era of two-man crews, helping lead the transition to three-official games, and ran the clinic for 14 years. He also spent 10 years as a college official for women's games, working in three conferences.
In football, he worked with the same crew for 32 years as a back judge, line judge and referee when needed, and officiated 45 OHSAA post-season games. His highest honor, he noted, was representing Ohio officials at the 2005 Big 33 Football Classic game in Hershey, Pa.
Nardecchia, a 1970 St. Paul graduate, lives in Seneca, South Carolina, with his wife, Susie, and works part-time as an academic tutor for Clemson Tigers sports teams.
Foltz has officiated football for 49 years and basketball for 27 years, and is planning to make the 2023-24 school year his 50th and final year.
A founding member of a long-running football clinic held at Clearview High School, he has volunteered to run the clock for all varsity games at Perkins, where he taught science and retired from teaching. He also officiated baseball for two years and soccer for one season.
Among all his accomplishments and happy memories, Foltz said a highlight of his career is getting to officiate a game with his son, Bill, who is also a football official.
Foltz, a graduate of Akron Ellet High School, moved to Norwalk in the mid-70s with his wife, Ruthann, and raised their family here.
