STEVE SCHUCKER

Class of 1980

To hear Steve Schucker tell it, his Hall of Fame induction is a group effort, a product of great teammates, knowledgeable coaches and caring parents and friends. That may be so, but the honor is rightfully being awarded to a guy who parlayed all those sources of inspiration into a Hall of Fame career.

Nanuet’s football and baseball teams were lucky to have Steve. His quick feet were a major asset in both sports. In the fall of ’79, his senior year, Steve caught 15 touchdown passes to set a New York State record that stood for 18 years; he currently stands tied for ninth on the state list. He established 11 school records, nine of which still stand; made first-team All-New York State; and was a key contributor to the first undefeated season (9-0) in Nanuet football history.

“He had one of the fastest set of feet in a [confined area] of any high school player I’ve ever seen,” says Rich Conklin, Steve’s football coach. “I remember seeing him, on a kick return, having at least five players miss because of his agility in a three-yard area. He also had a tremendous sense of where an opening was in a defensive scheme, with the ability to slip behind and in between people. That was one of his greatest attributes.”

In baseball, Steve batted .468 in the Rockland PSAL (.386 overall) his senior year to make first-team All-County and help lead the Knights to the PSAL American Division (small-schools) title and advancement to the Section 9 championship game. As a junior, he was a mainstay in Nanuet’s march to the Section 9 Class B crown and 20-5 record. During his two years on the varsity, Steve, a  lefty-hitting and -throwing right fielder, banged out 53 hits, made just 3 errors, scored 57 runs, stole 44 bases and played a large role in the team’s combined 34-13 record.

“Steve was just a great athlete. If he played tennis [for example], he would’ve been a great tennis player,” says Rich Loughlin, Steve’s baseball coach. “He was a good clutch hitter, very fast on the base paths, and a wonderful outfielder who got to everything that was hit his way. He was a gamer.”

Baseball also was Steve’s primary sport in college. At Div. III Manhattanville – after one injury-plagued year at SUNY Albany – he was team captain for two years and put up some monster numbers his senior year: .492 batting average (58 for 118), seventh in the nation in Div. III; was not caught stealing the entire season – 56 for 56 – placing him third nationally behind teammates who stole 94 and 69 bases, respectively; and led the nation with 10 triples. With Steve as a main cog, the Valiants won the Knickerbocker Conference championship with a 32-7 record.

Steve is still animated when he reminisces about his athletic career at Nanuet. On the gridiron, he vividly remembers the 21-20 victory at Harrison before a large, partisan crowd – in the second week of the ’79 season – as “setting the tone” for the rest of that ground-breaking campaign. He also recalls the 15-8 triumph over Hendrick Hudson in the bowl game at Mount Vernon, which capped the historic 9-0 mark and established a benchmark for future Nanuet grid teams.

“That 9-0 team set a precedent,” says Steve, who made the most of his physical tools at 5-foot-8, 150 pounds. “Every Nanuet team since then believes it can be the best because of what that team did. The hardest thing is to learn to be a winner first.”

No summation of Steve’s athletic exploits would be complete without reference to his teammates. He rattles off the names of classmates who continue to be “great friends” to this day – John Villafranco, Mark Moshier, Al Ricci, Mike Patsis, Lou Petriella and Rick Schwartz. “The people I learned from and emulated were those same guys,” he says, adding the names of Al Sedlacek and Anthony Palma to that group of classmates. “Even more so than the great coaches I had. They helped me become a better person and player.”

Other people to whom Steve gives credit are: Walter Kroan, the team’s record-setting quarterback and a fellow Hall of Famer; baseball Hall of Famer John Panaro ‘78, for his influence on the younger players; Steve Pizzuti, a running back and fellow outfielder; Coach Mike Achille, for his motivational impact on the football team; the class of juniors on the ’79 football team; his longtime girlfriend, Jen Proudman; and, last but not least, his parents – “the greatest parents anyone could ask for. Their support is still unwavering.”

A Bronx native, Steve now lives in Manhattan and works in the real estate industry as a property owner and manager.

Nanuet football records currently held by Steve Schucker:

Touchdowns in a season, 15 (’79)

Career touchdown receptions, 16 (’78, ’79)

Yards receiving in a season, 954 (’79)

Career receiving yards, 1,132 (’78, ’79)

Career receptions, 37 (’78, ’79)

Seasonal reception average, 30.8 yards (’79)

Career reception average, 30.6 yards (’78, ’79)

Touchdown receptions in a game, 3 (twice in ’79: vs. Brewster, Ardsley)

Receiving yards in a game, 186 (’79, vs. Brewster)

He also held school records (since broken) for points in a season, 102, and touchdowns in a season, 16, both in 1979.