Former Manville coach Ned Panfile Sr. dies at 85
Ned Panfile Sr., one of the core blocks of Manville High School’s athletic foundation, died Tuesday morning after a long illness. He was 85.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara, daughter Nadine and son, Ned Jr., the athletic director at Mendham High School.
Ned Jr. said Tuesday that when his dad’s first grade teacher in Eynon, Pa., saw his father’s name – Nazzareno – she suggested he simply be known as "Ned."
"His teacher saw his real first name and said, 'That’s too hard,'" Ned Jr. said. '"You’re Ned.' It stuck."
Ned Sr. came to Manville from Eynon in 1959 fresh from graduating from the University of Scranton where he was a defensive end and fullback. He was hired as a sixth grade teacher and was also hired as an assistant football coach. Panfile spent five years in that role – part of it during the Mustangs’ 25-game win streak – before becoming the head football coach in 1966. The Mustangs went 33-19-2 in his tenure with the team’s lone perfect season of 9-0 in 1968.
Panfile was The Plainfield Courier News Football Coach of the Year that season. He was also the newspaper’s Baseball Coach of the Year for the spring of 1968 after his team went 21-2 and won the Central Group 1 and Mountain Valley Conference titles.
He was also Princeton University’s freshman football coach from 1972 to 1992. Among the players he coached were actor Dean Cain and future NFL player and coach Jason Garrett.
But Panfile’s heart would squarely always be in Manville. He was a vice principal, a fill-in athletic director, wrestling coach and Board of Education member. He was part of the recreation committee and he was a volunteer football coach up until a few years ago.
In 1999, the Mustangs’ main athletic field was renamed Ned Panfile Stadium. That honor was renewed in 2010 after the field was renovated.
"The biggest thing is that I had a good relationship with the kids. The people of Manville have been so good to me," Panfile said in 1999. "I really believe that the people in Manville are some of the best people in the world."
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This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Former Manville coach Ned Panfile Sr. dies at 85
