Mike DiPiano admits he rarely answers his phone before games, but for some reason this time, roughly 45 minutes before the start of a Nutley softball game, he took the call and got the news that he will be inducted into the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame.
“I don’t know why (this time) I answered my phone, but it was a nice gentleman from the committee letting me know that I had been inducted,” DiPiano recalled. “It was really special. It’s special to be part of the St. Benedict’s Hall of Fame, but to get the nod for the Newark Athletic Hall of Fame, that’s another level. I was taken back by it and very honored.”
While few people are as associated with Nutley like DiPiano, who currently is the Maroon Raiders’ head wrestling and girls soccer coach as well as an assistant softball coach, for most of his athletic career, DiPiano has been closely affiliated with St. Benedict’s Prep both as an athlete and coach.
Wrestling for his dad, longtime St. Benedict’s athletic director and National Wrestling Hall of Famer, Mike DiPiano Sr., the younger DiPiano, won an incredible 110 matches during his high school career. While there, DiPiano was a two-time Prep All-American and a two-time NJ State Prep champion.
Wrestling was not the only sport that DiPiano excelled in. He played on three of the Gray Bees’ NJ State championships, each of those years, St. Benedict’s finished among the top 10 teams in the nation.
DiPiano was also a stellar baseball player, becoming the first Gray Bee to earn First Team, All-Essex County honors in more than two decades after batting .506 and also earning All-State recognition by The Star-Ledger.
Injuries shortened DiPiano’s playing career in college, but afterwards he returned to coaching wrestling and baseball at his alma mater. During his tenure, St. Benedict’s crowned two National Prep Champion wrestlings, 31 Prep All-Americans and 17 State Prep champions. In baseball, DiPiano’s teams won more than 100 games.
“It’s an honor,” DiPiano said. “I’m very proud that they recognized not only the high school accomplishments that I did at St. Benedict’s, but also the coaching that I did there as well. It’s a pretty cool thing.”
DiPiano, his father Mike Sr. and his brother Frank, currently the athletic director at St. Benedict’s, are all members of the school’s Hall of Fame.
While DiPiano has received plenty of accolades as a player and coach, he admits joining a Hall of Fame where his father is a member of, brings an added meaning to the honor. Mike Sr., was an inductee in 2020.
“It’s definitely special being recognized alongside him,” said DiPiano of his father, who currently lives in Daytona Beach, Florida. “Not only is he my dad, he was my best friend, he was my mentor. So to follow his footsteps is one of the proudest things I’ve ever done.”
The 2025 Newark Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Dinner is set for October 23 at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)