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Adam Cirillo appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Photo: Tom Wieboldt, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle<\/p>\nAdam Cirillo appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Photo: Tom Wieboldt, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle<\/p>\n
FORT GREENE \u2014 It\u2019s a Tech thing. At least that\u2019s what Tom Wieboldt calls it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really don\u2019t know what it is,\u201d the 1973 Brooklyn Tech grad said. \u201cA magical thing, perhaps. But I do know there\u2019s a certain bond with Brooklyn Tech football graduates.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thanks to Adam Cirillo.<\/p>\n
\u201cCirillo,\u201d says Wieboldt, \u201cwas an amazing athlete. \u201cHe played baseball, ran track, swam, and of course, played football at Tech.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1927 he received football Honorable Mention from the Brooklyn Eagle and the following year he was named to the Eagle\u2019s All-Star team.<\/p>\n
He was awarded an academic\/athletic scholarship to Lafayette College \u2013 thanks in part to the Eagle\u2019s scholastic sports writer \u2013 Jimmy Murphy.<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy loved Adam,\u201d Wieboldt recalled, \u201cHe was the driving force getting Adam his college scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam Cirillo appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Photo: Tom Wieboldt, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle<\/p>\n
Cirillo, all 160-plus pounds of him according to Wieboldt, was a four-year starter at end for the Leopards football team,\u00a0 and he was named captain as a senior in 1932 when he earned little All American honors.<\/p>\n
And this is when the \u201cmagic\u201d started. Cirillo took his Civil Engineering Degree \u2014 he designed parks \u2014 and returned to Brooklyn Tech High School to begin his career as a teacher \u2013 and eventually attain the position as chairman of the structural engineering department.<\/p>\n
A little history about the school that was established at 29 Fort Greene Place, in 1922 \u2013 and opened in 1933. Founded by Albert Colston to blend technical skills with college prep, it has evolved from a vocational school to a leader in 18-plus majors like robotics. It is the nation\u2019s largest specialized STEM school, and a recognized Blue Ribbon School and an Intel School of Distinction. Admission is based solely on the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test.<\/p>\n
It is also a high school football powerhouse.<\/p>\n
Ira Bloom was the original head football coach from 1922-1925. The Eagle wrote: \u201cThere are many outstanding men in this country today because they came under the splendid influence of Ira Bloom.\u201d<\/p>\n
Football disappeared at Tech until 1939 \u2013 for lack of a practice facility. That 1939 team was formed and coached by Cirillo.<\/p>\n
It was the start of the perhaps the most dominant high school football dynasty New York City has ever seen. \u201cHe coached for 30 years,\u201d said Wieboldt, a retired New York City firefighter who was a member of the 1972 Brooklyn championship team that eventually lost the city Public School Athletic League title at Far Rockaway High School.<\/p>\n
For 30 years Cirillo coached football at his alma mater \u2013 and 29 of those seasons were winning ones \u2013 with 10 city championships. \u201cHis only losing season,\u201d said Wieboldt, \u201cwas his first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cirillo was successful because he was intense, as well as undersized, says Wieboldt. \u201cHe was small, and was determined to make himself a great player. He wanted to do the same for his players.\u201d He did that and more \u2013 much more.
How intense was he? Try this.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was so involved with what he was doing,\u201d his 82 year old daughter Pat Cuzzocrea told the Eagle, \u201cThat when we were at a scrimmage with Brooklyn Prep \u2013 he left me there.<\/p>\n
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Adam Cirillo appeared in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Photo: Tom Wieboldt, from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had x\u2019s and o\u2019s at the dinner table. But he never imposed himself on anyone. We went to every game as kids and even went with the team to football camp in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The day the season ended the only thing on coach\u2019s mind was getting you to college, Wieboldt remembered. \u201cHe\u2019d rather see a kid go to college, than win a game,\u201d he said. \u201cI really believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n
So much so, in 1967 he helped create the scholarship foundation that bears his name.<\/p>\n
At this year\u2019s scholarship\/awards dinner held last month; two students received scholarships of $5,000 each and one walked away with a check for $40,000. Not too shabby.<\/p>\n
The Tech thing \u2013 almost forgot.<\/p>\n
The second Sunday each year at Staten Island\u2019s The Staaten, the Tech Hall of Fame dinner attracts over 200 people. \u201cTeams, entire teams from past years show up,\u201d Wieboldt says. \u201cThat\u2019s the bond we form. That\u2019s the Tech thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe it started in 1943 when the Engineers claimed its first PSAL championship as the only undefeated team in the league. They would win again in 1946 and 1947 \u2013 undefeated.<\/p>\n
From 1954-56 Tech would go undefeated for three seasons and crowned city champions in all three.<\/p>\n
From 1960-62, Tech would again go undefeated for three consecutive seasons and win three more city titles. They were Brooklyn Champions in 1967 \u2013 again undefeated; with a non-division loss to Far Rockaway.<\/p>\n
Tech went undefeated in Cirillo\u2019s last season as head coach. The team went undefeated in league play and crowned Brooklyn Champions. A Thanksgiving Day loss to Far Rockaway meant Tech had to share the title of City Champion with Far Rockaway and John Adams. This was Cirillo\u2019s 10th \u2014 and final \u2013 PSAL City Championship.<\/p>\n
But it wasn\u2019t over \u2013 not by a long shot.<\/p>\n
Joe Cuzzocrea was an assistant coach on Cirillo\u2019s staff in 1965. When retirement arrived \u2013 yes Cuzzocrea \u2013 the future son-in-law of Cirillo \u2013 assumed the head spot.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball coaching,\u201d said Joe\u2019s wife, Pat, \u201cis in the family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that\u2019s a real Tech thing.<\/p>\n
* *<\/p>\n
The success was captured by two Tech football graduates \u2013 Steve Gerbson and Rick Turnbull \u2013 both Tech Class of \u201969 in their video documentary: Bonded in Blue<\/a>.<\/p>\n Andy Furman is a Fox Sports Radio national talk show host. Previously, he was a scholastic sports columnist for the Brooklyn Eagle. He may be reached at: [email\u00a0protected]<\/a> X: @AndyFurmanFSR<\/p>\n \n <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 30 | \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJanuary 29 | \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ultima-reader-response.png\"\/)
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Scholastic-Roundup-logo-250x250.png\"){kind=logo}
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tScholastic Roundup: James Madison wrestles to the top<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAndy Furman\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Brondello-AP-Photo-by-Seth-Wenig-250x250.jpg\")
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