Joe Tonelli

Baseball
Assistant Coach
(1970-83)

Inducted 1986

Any discussion of University of New Haven baseball cannot come to an end without the mention of the name Joe Tonelli.  Along with Frank Vieira, Tonelli formed one of the most successful and entertaining coaching tandems of any collegiate baseball program in the country.  From 1970 through 1983, the Chargers competed in fourteen playoffs, seven NCAA Division II College World Series, and one NAIA National tournament.  The teams rolled up a record of 381-90 during those seasons.  Joe was more than a coach in the third base box, he was a human encyclopedia of the game of baseball.  He knew every rule down to the book, much to the chagrin of many an umpire.  He knew the fundamentals of how the game should be played.  And he knew how the college athlete should act out of the uniform and off the playing field.  These attributes were valuable in the Chargers who later played in the pros.  He left the university in 1983 to devote more time to his position as Athletic Director at Notre Dame High School.  “Side by Side,” Joe Tonelli and Frank Vieira were an unbeatable combination.