Inductees

Tony Tocco arrived in Kansas City, Missouri in the fall of 1969 to become an accounting professor at then Rockhurst College. He was also offered a part-time job as an assistant men’s soccer coach to help supplement his income.

Tocco stepped into the head coaching position the following season. Fifty years later, the former Saint Louis University two-sport standout is still teaching accounting and coaching at Rockhurst University. The Hawks have won 709 games under Tocco, ranking him No. 2 in all-time wins among intercollegiate men’s soccer coaches.

Which certainly makes Tocco worthy of induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 2020. His teams have advanced to 27 national tournaments either in NAIA or NCAA Division II, and were a 14-time finisher among the top four.

“I never thought about coaching soccer when I first came to Rockhurst,” said Tocco, who received his master’s degree and doctorate from SLU. “I thought I would do it for a year or two. Coaching is like a blur when you coach so many years.”

Rockhurst became a powerhouse in the 1970s under Tocco. The Hawks won 107 games in the decade, finishing as the national runner-up in the NAIA Tournament three times (1973, 1976, 1979). Overall, his teams played in 17 NAIA Tournaments, reaching 10 Final Fours and were the 1997 national runner-up.

Tocco was the winningest coach in the NAIA with 437 victories prior to the 2008 season. He was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year three times, while his teams won 20 or more games eight times between 1986 and 1997.

“I recruited almost all of my players in the early years from St. Louis,” said Tocco, who grew up in downtown St. Louis and started playing soccer in the sixth grade.

After joining NCAA Division II in 1998, Rockhurst played in 10 NCAA national tournaments from 2002 to 2017. The Hawks advanced to the national semifinals four times over a five-year run from 2013-17. The Hawks finished the 2017 season ranked third in the nation for the third year in a row.

Tocco’s teams have always been defensive-minded.

He tells his players that playing defense is mandatory, while playing offense is a privilege. He believes a winning program is created by the development of his players. Getting to know his players and having them graduate, though, is the most important aspect of Tocco’s coaching foundation.

The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) named Tocco the NCAA D-II Central Region Coach of the Year in 2002 and the NCAA D-II Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2011. He was also a three-time NSCAA NAIA Midwest Region Coach of the Year and was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Coach of the Year six times.

“I’ve had great people with me in Rich Suit, Denny Lee and Giorgio Antongirolami,” Tocco said. “They were former players and they became good friends of mine. They were very intelligent soccer people from both a player and coaching perspective.”

At Saint Louis University, Tocco played goalie on the Billikens’ only undefeated and untied national championship soccer team in 1964. Tocco also was a pitcher on the SLU baseball team, which played in the 1965 College Baseball World Series.

“My knowledge of the game came from Pat McBride and Carl Gentile,” Tocco said. “Pat was voted the top player in St. Louis over the last 50 years and Carl was voted number four. I got to play with them at SLU and then on some amateur clubs. Those guys could talk soccer and you could learn so much from just watching them play.

“Gene Baker taught me how to coach. I played with him at SLU. He was really good at coaching and developing systems. He won nine state championships at Granite City High School in Illinois.”

In terms of service, Tocco is the most veteran professor within Rockhurst’s Helzberg School of Management. He has influenced thousands of students and mentored many of his former pupils into achieving much success.

Currently, he is a professor of accounting and the division chair of decision sciences, which includes oversight of the accounting, finance, business intelligence and analytics, as well as economics academic disciplines.

Tocco and his wife, Phyllis, are the proud parents of two daughters, Amy and Natalie, and two sons, Leonard and Charlie.

“I have to be honest; I can’t believe I have over 700 victories,” Tocco said. “I never kept track of them. I knew I had some great winning seasons and I have been fortunate not to have many losing seasons (only four over 49 seasons).”

• Story by John Dodderidge