By: Kyle Maier, Class of 2026
Exactly 70 years ago today, April 24, the NBA conducted its 1953 Draft. In the ninth round of that draft, the Philadelphia Warriors selected Robert Sassone out of St. Bonaventure University. While it has been more than two months since Sassone, commonly known as "Bob" or "Sass," passed away at the age of 91, today seems like a perfect day to pay tribute to the man who was one of the most impactful figures in Bonaventure basketball history.
With Sassone's death, the St. Bonaventure community lost a great one. He represented the program and school for over six decades as a player, freshman head coach, assistant varsity coach and scout. He was an ambassador for Bonaventure basketball locally, nationally and overseas. Despite his myriad accomplishments, though, most of the Bonaventure community and the Southern Tier area know little about Sassone's achievements.
Born in Brooklyn, Sassone was recruited to St. Bonaventure on scholarship in 1949 after earning all-city honors while leading Abraham Lincoln High School's basketball team to a New York City championship.
As freshmen could not play varsity basketball back then, Sassone's first varsity season at Bona's was 1950-51. During that campaign, he averaged 12.6 points per game and helped lead the Eddie Melvin-coached Bonnies to a 19-6 record and their first NIT appearance ever (at the time, the NIT was arguably bigger in stature than the NCAA tournament).
At one point in the regular season, the squad was ranked 17th in the nation. In the NIT, the Bonnies defeated Cincinnati in the first round before falling to St. John's in the semifinals. Sassone was named a Sophomore All-American by The Sporting News that season.
The Bonnies upped their game the following season with an impressive 21-6 record. They were ranked for 10 straight weeks, reaching as high as fourth for two consecutive weeks in February. The Brown and White made the NIT again behind Sassone's team-best 13 points a game average.
After receiving a first-round bye in the tournament, the Bonnies defeated Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals, lost to Dayton in the semifinals and rebounded to beat Duquesne in the third-place game. Sassone was named to the All-NIT team and was an honorable mention All-American that season.
SBU did not make the postseason Sassone's senior campaign, but he finished his outstanding collegiate career with 829 points, good for an 11-points-a-game average. He graduated with a counseling degree in the spring of 1953.
As previously mentioned, the Warriors drafted Sassone in the ninth round that spring. Unbeknownst to most, he was one of FOUR Bonnies drafted that spring, as Bill Kenville went in the third round, Mike Bednar in the fifth and Bill Edwards in the twelfth. "Sass" was also drafted by another "team," the United States Army, and he subsequently served his country from 1953 to 1955. His Army roommate for 10 months was none other than the legendary Billy Martin, who later played for and managed the New York Yankees. For those who never saw Sassone without a cigar – it was Billy Martin who introduced Sassone to stogies.
Bob Sassone seen here coaching during a Bonnies practice.
Upon leaving the army, Sassone married the former Irene Luty of Olean (they were married 67 years at the time of his death), started a family and became an educator at Franklinville and later Olean schools. He also became an assistant coach for the men's basketball team at St. Bonaventure in 1957. In 1961, he left the Bonnies staff to coach the Olean High School boys' basketball team, leading them to a New York State Section VI "AAA" championship in 1968.
Later that year, he left the Huskies and returned to the Bonaventure campus to serve once again as an assistant coach for the varsity basketball team.
During his second coaching stint at Bonas, Sassone was an assistant varsity coach from 1968 until 1982, playing critical roles on the 1970 NCAA Final Four and 1977 NIT championship teams.
Sassone's influence was felt far beyond the Southern Tier, as he served as a scout for the New York Knicks from 1972-1978 and coached overseas at basketball camps in what was then Yugoslavia from 1978-1990. He was instrumental in bringing several European players to Bonas and also opened the Canadian pipeline to Bonas, helping bring players such as Barry Mungar, Norman Clarke and Rob Samuels to the States.
In all, the Bonnies made the post-season in 13 seasons during which Sassone was a player, coach or scout. The Buffalo News' obituary for Sassone stated that legendary former Niagara basketball coach Frank Layden once said that Sassone was "as loyal to St. Bonas as anyone could get." Bob was inducted into the SBU Sports Hall of Fame in 1990.
Alongside his playing, coaching and scouting career, "Sass" was also prominent throughout the Olean-Allegany community. A longtime Olean resident, he served over 35 years as a teacher, counselor and coach in the Franklinville and Olean school systems.
As a testament to his popularity, he even has a dish named after him at Angees, the renowned Italian restaurant on North Union Street in Olean where he held court for many decades: the "Sausage Sassone."
Sassone left an indelible impact on his school, his community and the sport of basketball. Although he will be missed, his legacy will live on forever.
Bob Sassone was a standout player during his collegiate career.
"Sass's" death is yet another passing on of a legendary Bonaventure basketball figure from the 1950s, one of the greatest decades in program history. While many Bona hoops fans rightly point to the Stith/Crawford and Lanier eras as the heydays of SBU basketball, it was the early 1950s teams that laid the foundation for success later in the 1950s and in future decades.
This era easily remains the most overlooked and underappreciated period of Bonnie basketball. It was those 1950s teams that first put SBU on the college basketball map. The Brown and White recorded 165 wins against 76 losses from 1950 to 1960 and earned six NIT appearances under the tutelage of Eddie Melvin and then Eddie Donovan. The program was nationally ranked on a regular basis throughout the 1950s, climbing as high as #4 during the 1951-52 season, a fact that will shock most Bonas backers.
The success did not stop after Sassone's graduation. The 56-57 Bonnies went 17-7 and made it to the third round of the NIT, defeating Cincinnati and #5 Seattle behind the play of SBU legends such as Larry Weise and Ken Fairfield. The following year, the Bonnies, led by Fairfield, Weise, John Connors and Sam Stith, notched a 21-5 record (their highest national rank: #20), defeating St. Joe's and St. John's in the NIT en route to a third-place finish.
A year later, with Sam and Tom Stith leading the way, the team went 20-3 (highest ranking: #19) and earned an NIT bid, and they followed that up with a 21-5 record (highest ranking: #9) and another NIT appearance in 59-60; they defeated #16 Holy Cross in the NIT first round and #20 St. John's in the quarterfinals.
Despite the prolonged success and numerous individual and team accomplishments of those 1950s St. Bonaventure teams, they have never received the credit they deserve. Now more than ever, as fewer and fewer players remain from that decade, it is of the utmost importance that their stories are told and remembered.
This is what Project Unfurl, a documentary in progress by filmmaker and SBU alumni Mike Camoin, is meant to do: uncover the gems of Bonnies basketball history. Project Unfurl: The Heart of Bona's Basketball will tell the story of the remarkable aura surrounding the St. Bonaventure University men's basketball program over the last eight decades. To learn more about Project Unfurl, visit its official website: https://www.projectunfurl.com/.
