It was a moment that always made me smile. Walking across the court at the Holy Cross gym and seeing the reserved seat with the name “Bezold” embossed on it.
For those of us who got to coach against Tony Bezold, or even got to cover him as a sportswriter, or to hang out with him at games over the years and loved everything Tony — and the life he lived – represented, it made us feel like we’d made the right call. Sports was a good place to be — it was Tony’s place.
I was hardly alone here with the hundreds of responses from the thousands of folks who’ve read about Tony’s passing June 10 at the age of 93. They’ll all get a chance to say goodbye Saturday morning at Holy Cross Church with Tony’s visitation at 9 a.m. followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m.
As the first lay teacher at Holy Cross when he signed on in 1958, Tony became the AD the next year and started a one-of-a-kind multi-decade career. He was a teacher (“a great algebra teacher,” one former student called him) and the JV basketball coach who won more than 400 games while preparing players for two separate Sweet 16 runs with George Schneider and Ralph Kemphaus, the first in 1965 getting the kids from Latonia to the state championship game in front of 18,000 at Freedom Hall.
“Tony Bezold is the real foundation of the Holy Cross athletic program,” Schneider said of Tony’s induction into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame.
He was a family man, a U.S. Navy veteran, a mentor, and simply one of the best people – not to mention one of the nicest — you’re ever likely to see coaching. Tony was in a class by himself.
The Holy Cross – and the entire Northern Kentucky sports community – may have lost Tony but as you read the tributes to him, you realize what comes shining through is how much joy and respect Tony inspired in his lifetime of selfless service, kindness and dedication.
For a school community that is and always has been as much family as school, Tony may have been the perfect personification of the culture that has sustained the Latonia institution through the years.
And one his family has been carrying on ever since,
Tony had his own Tribe — as the Holy Cross teams are known — from his parents in Newport – Tony and Frieda – to his wife, Trudy, his six children, 15 grandchildren and six great grandchildren, most of whom populated Holy Cross in the last two generations. Son Dave Bezold would follow his father and go on to a 25-year career as an NKU basketball coach – 11 as the head coach – as Northern transitioned to Division I.
And then there’s granddaughter Nola Broering, who is part of a recent story that Jeff Trame, who played for Tony, coached with him and now broadcasts Holy Cross games. One day in the past year, Jeff brought in a Tony Bezold bobblehead doll to a class he taught with Nola as a student. But he fumbled it, breaking it a bit. The next thing he knew, a new one arrived for him as Tony searched his memorabilia to find a replacement for Jeff.
“That’s Tony,” Jeff says, noting that if one of his former players happened to run into Tony anywhere around Taylor Mill, Tony would have a rosary for them.
He will be missed. No longer in that courtside seat. But Tony will live on through the stories of generations of families he inspired. His example of how to live a life, how to coach and compete in a way that had opponents wanting to win while finding themselves almost hoping Tony’s teams didn’t lose.
“His joy was people,” Holy Cross athletic director Anne Julian said. “He celebrated friendships, cherished community and made everyone feel valued.”
Those who coached against Tony loved him. As did the men who refereed and umpired his games, and how often can you say that? Wherever you happened to be when you saw or met Tony, you were happy you were there. Because Tony made it clear he was happy you were there. As are we, happy and blessed that Tony was a part of Northern Kentucky sports.
Happy that Tony Bezold came along for us — the coach we wished we all could be or we could have played for.
Contact Dan Weber at dweber3440@aol.com. Follow him on X @dweber3440.