Toby Shea

Toby Shea: Reflections on a Legend

July 31, 2021

WARREN, Pa. – Toby Shea didn’t care whether you were the star of the team or merely someone whose greatest contributions came on the practice field – he treated everyone the same.

Shea, who passed away last week, was the architect behind the greatest run of success in the history of the Warren Area High School football program, including the undefeated 1976 team that was part of a stretch from 1972-77 where the Dragons went 51-7-1. He also had back-to-back undefeated seasons coaching Youngsville in 1965 and 1966.

The wins and losses mattered immensely to Shea, but even more important was developing young men to go on and have successful lives.

Tim Juliano and Joe Wozneak have been the best of friends over the years and they are perfect examples of how Mr. Shea treated his players. Wozneak was a star on the 1976 team and went on to play at Notre Dame. Juliano, who has gone on to become the beloved voice of the Dragons, was one of those players who often made his greatest contributions on the practice field.

To listen to them and others talk about their former coach, common themes begin to resonate. This was a man that cared deeply about the players he coached.

“I don’t think there was anybody that influenced me as far as through my education and school as much as he did,” Juliano said. “What we learned through football is stuff I didn’t learn in any classroom. Sacrificing, hard work, overcoming adversity. He was a special person and coach. I don’t think I’ve met anyone as singularly focused on teaching us how to be successful. Outside of my family, he probably had the biggest influence on me growing up. And I never played much.”

Likewise, Wozneak also came to regard Shea as a father figure.

“For me, from an adult side, it’s like having lost my dad before Thanksgiving last year at 95,” Wozneak said. “It’s not until you’re older that you come to understand the significance of their sacrifice, their teaching, their example, what effect that had on you to help you to reach your goals, to be beyond what you thought you could be. Toby Shea was one of those people.”

Shea had the reputation for being tough as nails, and his teams were better because of it. Adopting the coaching style of Vince Lombardi, Shea pushed his teams to always be tougher than their opponent. And they usually were.

“He was just a special kind of person that you don’t meet that often in life,” Juliano said. “You don’t hear that much about wins and losses or any of those kinds of things from people who had the chance to play football for Toby. You hear about the tough things you had to do to get through. It was all about toughness. It was like we had our own Vince Lombardi here. He patterned a lot of the stuff that we did from Red Blaik at Army and Lombardi was a huge coaching influence on him. Warren under him was a very physical football team.”

That attitude, that toughness helped to shape the men that he coached, including Wozneak.

“HIs Vince Lombardi approach, that’s who Mr. Shea’s guy was,” Wozneak said. “As I became more acquainted with Vince Lombardi quotes, I realized Mr. Shea was about winning. At the end of practice, at the end of a game, you can say I gave it my all. I just feel very blessed, because you don’t realize at the time that is helping to shape your character and your destiny as a person. That attitude, approaching everything in life as a father, a son, for me a physical therapist. That’s now a part of your character.”

And Shea didn’t just preach it – he lived it.

“You respected him,” Juliano said. “He walked the walk, and he went through everything that we did. He wasn’t going to ask us to do anything that we hadn’t already done. He was very disciplined. We worked our butts off under him. You knew what you had to do and went out and did it. We didn’t have the luxury of conditionintg in shorts and helmets. You went straight into three-a-days.”

Juliano also recalled a funny story from when Shea claimed to have called ‘Time and Temperature’ and relayed to his squad during one of those long practices in August that it was 49 degrees and it was a great day to practice.

“Actually, it was about 95 (degrees),” Juliano said with a laugh.

But that was Shea – there were never any excuses, from him or his players.

“It was a very unique experience,” Juliano said. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I got out more than I put in and I put in a lot.

Wozneak feels just as fortunate to not only have played for Shea, but for some of his former coach to rub off on him.

“I just feel blessed to have had him as a coach,” Wozneak said. “ I’ve been blessed all the way along. Toby Shea, for those three years just affected my path in life unbelievably, from all he taught. I’m so lucky, we’re so lucky we grew up when we did, to have the coaching staff that we did. To have coach Shea, and to have the success that we had because of his coaching style.

“He pulled out of me, of all of us, as much as he could. I can’t tell you how many times in life I go back to that. His approach to life, that example, rubs off. I’m glad I had the opportunity for just some of him to rub off because it could have been so different.”

In 2017, Juliano and Wozneak, as well as Jack and Kim Swedler and others spearheaded an effort to honor Shea, and they did so with a banquet at the St. Joseph Educational Center in Warren in August of that year.

That night, Shea’s former players came together to honor their former coach. It was one last chance to all get together to celebrate a man that had such a profound impact on their lives.

“We were fortunate that it fell together the way it did,” Juliano said. “Jack and Kim Swedler helped us an awful lot. It turned out very well. I was glad as many people came, from all over the place.”

It was an event that meant the world to everyone who attended.

“It meant a lot to him, it meant so much to the ballplayers like my older brother and other former players I talked to,” Wozneak said. “They had not been to an event like this. It’s having that group of people that were there for one person that had that effect on them. To recognize that, appreciate that and have that opportunity, it was one of those moments in time that you can’t reproduce.

“The Youngsville people involved, all the Warren teams involved, it was so special. It was just a special evening, and everybody felt the exact same way, which was really neat. And we could all relate. The impact that he had on all of our lives, in such a positive way. I liked to enjoy practice, I liked to have fun, but he would push me to be the best I could be. It made me a better person, and I don’t see anything wrong with that. It shows you how much he cared.

“The reminiscing, the memories that come up. To win all the games was just a wonderful experience. You have a lot of fun when you’re winning. We had a great group of guys, assistant coaches, managers. The whole town was behind us.”

A life well-lived and a legacy and an impact that will continue to be felt for years to come.

“He was a special man,” Juliano said.

         

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe to our newsletter

   

White Cane Coffee presents Coffee & a Conversation

Don't Miss