Baptiste J. "Bap" Manzini was a gruff and tough high school football coach from the old school, a disciplinarian who yelled and screamed and demanded physical and mental toughness of his players.

And his players loved him, playing their hearts out for him.

That's why the legendary coach had only three losing seasons in 30 years at the former Bellmar High School and at Thomas Jefferson High School. Overall, his record was 203-74-8.

Many of his former players will show their respect today when they come together at the funeral for Mr. Manzini, 87, of Belle Vernon, who died Friday.

"He was like a father. Everyone in Bellmar and I'm sure at Thomas Jefferson loved him," said Joe Lopez, 64, of Belle Vernon, who played for Mr. Manzini at Bellmar.

"I've been calling all the guys who played for him and when I tell them Bap died they all start crying. That's how much they loved him," said Mr. Lopez, who himself was crying as he told the story.

Mr. Manzini played for the former Monongahela High School, and was an all-state center at St. Vincent College, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in business and education. Upon graduation, he entered the Air Force.

An NFL All-Pro who earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Pro Bowl, Mr. Manzini played for the Philadelphia Eagles for two years, left the league to be head coach at St. Vincent in 1946 and 1947, and then split the 1948 season between the Eagles and Detroit Lions.

He coached the semipro Monessen Ravens for a year and was a Monongahela assistant coach and teacher in 1950 before teaching and taking over head coaching duties at Bellmar, where he remained for 14 years.

When Bellmar closed in June 1965, absorbed by the Belle Vernon Area merger, he was lured to Thomas Jefferson in Jefferson Hills where he taught and coached for 16 years. He never had a losing season there.

Mr. Lopez, who credited Mr. Manzini for his own success as a teacher, football coach and Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association football official, said it wasn't the players Mr. Manzini yelled at but those he didn't who worried about their status on the team.

"He was very imposing, very big, very muscular with a jaw that looked like Bill Cowher's," Mr. Lopez said. "He was very hands on. If he wanted to emphasize something on the line, he'd get down with no pads and show how to do the blocking himself."

Additionally, he said, Mr. Manzini's success had much to do with his scouting other teams and then knowing exactly what they planned to do in certain situations. For example, Mr. Lopez, a linebacker, recalled Mr. Manzini telling him that if an opposing halfback took a 6-inch split to his side, a running play was coming that way, and he was always right.

As for motivation, if his team was losing at halftime, Mr. Manzini might put the team's best player in a locker and close the door, Mr. Lopez recalled, noting today's coaches could never do that.

"He'd say, 'You're not playing up to your potential. That's where you're going to spend the second half.' Naturally, he wasn't going to do that. He'd say, 'Do you want to stay in the locker or go back out and play?' The players would be very motivated after that."

Mr. Manzini announced he planned to retire from coaching in 1980 after the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League Class AAA final in which his Thomas Jefferson team was a decided underdog against Aliquippa. TJ's players won that day for their coach, 28-8, capping his illustrious head coaching career in storybook fashion.

But he couldn't stay off the field, working as an assistant coach at Yough, Belle Vernon Area, Elizabeth Forward and California Area high schools over the next 23 years, giving up coaching for good only about five years ago at the age of 82.

He was a member of the Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame, Western Pennsylvania Football Coaches Hall of Fame, Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, Western Chapter of the National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania Coaches Hall of Fame and Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

He was a member of St. Sebastian Church of Belle Vernon where he was an usher, a member of the Holy Name Society and the Knights of Columbus. He was a life member of the North Belle Vernon Volunteer Fire Department and the Mon Valley Country Club, where he was an avid golfer.

Survivors include his wife of 62 years, Sophia Lazar Manzini; a daughter, Linda Emanuele of Robinson; a brother, Norman of New Eagle; and three grandchildren.

A blessing service will be held at noon today in the Ferguson Funeral Home and Crematory Inc., 700 Broad Ave., Belle Vernon, followed by a Mass to be celebrated at 12:30 p.m. in St. Sebastian Church, 801 Broad Ave. Friends are asked to go directly to the church. Interment will follow in Monongahela Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Vincent College, 300 Fraser Purchase Road, Latrobe, PA 15650.

First Published: May 12, 2008, 4:00 a.m.