Hall of Fame
PERSIPONKO SYNOPSIS:
· Three-Time All-PSAC Football Player (’54 [1st], ’55 [2nd], ’56 [1st])
· 1954 PSAC Baseball Champion
Joe Persiponko was a stellar center along the offensive line of the Red Raider football team and excelled as a left-handed starting pitcher for the baseball team during his tenure at Shippensburg, lettering four years in both sports. He was a two-time All-Pennsylvania Conference First Team pick in 1954 and 1956 for his work as a center.
Persiponko was an integral member of the golden age of SU football under legendary head coach Vinton Rambo. As a freshman in 1953, Persiponko helped along the offensive line as a backup to all-conference center George Cherry as the Red Raiders finished 8-0 and led the nation’s small colleges in rushing defense, passing defense and total defense.
He earned the first of his two all-conference football awards as a sophomore in 1954, starting at center and linebacker. He continued that role as a junior in 1955 as an All-PSAC Second Team center under new head coach Jack Roddick while the team finished with a 6-2 record. As a co-captain in his senior year of 1956, the Red Raiders went 4-2-2. Overall, the Red Raiders were 25-5-2 in Persiponko’s four years on the team.
In baseball, Persiponko thrived as a freshman, posting a 6-0 record on the hill and helping the team to the PSAC championship in 1954. He had more than half of the team’s victories that season, as the Red Raiders posted an 11-3 record that featured a 6-1 mark in conference play. Overall, he appeared in seven games and allowed just 10 runs while striking out 45 batters in 43 innings.
As a junior in 1956, Shippensburg baseball set a new school record with 12 wins. Persiponko posted a 3-2 record, a mark that included a 13-inning complete game victory over the University of Baltimore. During his senior season Persiponko injured his thumb but returned to pitch after Easter, going 4-2 with a save. For his career, Persiponko totaled 13 victories in four seasons.
Following the 1957 season, Persiponko signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. He pitched for Johnson City in the Appalachian League and finished the year with a 2-0 record. As a member of the Class of 1957, Persiponko was voted by his classmates as one of the three outstanding athletes in his senior class as published in The Slate.
After his baseball career concluded, Persiponko spent eight years as a fifth and sixth grade teacher in Red Bank, New Jersey before working five years as a seventh and eighth grade English teacher in Long Branch, New Jersey. He later served 23 years as the principal and superintendent in Monmouth Beach, New Jersey.
While teaching in Red Bank, Persiponko met a fellow teacher, Gloria Sestito. The couple married in 1962 and has three daughters: Lori, Lisa and Larisa. Persiponko also has three grandchildren: Joey, Emma and Nicholas.
Persiponko and his wife are now retired and living in Macungie.
