SYRACUSE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — A Little Falls native and a Hamilton basketball coach will headline the 2023 class of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame, which will hold its induction ceremony on Monday, October 30.
Bob Casullo, who is originally from Little Falls, is one of nine members who will be inducted on Monday. Casullo, who was a three-sport athlete for the Mounties, coached football at several levels for 38 years, including two stints at Syracuse University. He coached at the high school level as well, serving for 12 seasons at Henninger and Baldwinsville.
Casullo was also a respected coach at the pro level, coaching with the Raiders, Jets, Buccaneers and Seahawks. He has coached in one Section III title game, ten bowl games and two Super Bowls.
Also earning his spot in the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame is Hamilton basketball head coach Tom Blackford. Currently, Blackford is the winningest coach in Section III boys’ basketball history and the fifth-winningest coach in the state, with a record of 607-290 as coach at Hamilton and Fayetteville-Manlius. Blackford also coached the Emerald Knights to two state championships — in 1994 and 2000 — as well as coaching NBA star Adonal Foyle.
Blackford is still coaching at Hamilton, leading the Emerald Knights once more to the state tournament this year, where they lost in the Class D semifinals to eventual state champion Avoca-Prattsburgh. He was inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame in 2022 and the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. He is also a member of the Cazenovia Hall of Fame and the Hamilton Central School Hall of Honor.
The induction will bring the total number of members of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame to 271 since 1987.
The 36th annual induction ceremony is scheduled for Monday, October 30, at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at The OnCenter in Syracuse.
