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INDUCTEE PROFILE
Len Zandy ‘was so good’
But his greatness was matched by his humility
By Jim Lane
Altoona Mirror
I
n the mid-1960s, if you were 6-feet-5
or taller, you probably were one of
the biggest people in your school
and hometown. And at that size, you
were expected to play basketball.
Len Zandy played basketball and
baseball, too.
On the hardwood, Zandy en-
joyed success at Bishop Guilfoyle High
School and then Fordham University.
On the diamond, he attracted the
attention of major league scouts, was
drafted twice and eventually played
two years in the Kansas City (and then
Oakland) Athletics organization.
Zandy, who passed away at the
age of 63 in 2007, will be inducted
posthumously into the Blair County
Sports Hall of Fame.
Zandy grew up in Coupon and
went to Gallitzin High School before
transferring to Bishop Guilfoyle for his ju-
nior and senior years. He was a center-
piece athlete during BG’s richest era,
the 1960s, when the school produced
more than a dozen Division I athletes.
More than one area high school
tried to lure Zandy away from Gallitzin
and, as former Guilfoyle teammate
Mike Irwin recalls: “Everybody tried to
get him.”
“Len came to Bishop Guilfoyle
as a junior and lived with an aunt in
Altoona,” recalled Bill Huber, another
former teammate and close friend.
Irwin and Huber, who both went
on to play football at Penn State, were
basketball teammates with Zandy on
squads that included the likes of Tom
Wiley, Bill Hoff, Rick Kaiser and Eddie
Miller. John Hyder was the coach.
“He was a gentle, soft-spoken,
team player,” Huber said. “He was a
very graceful big man for that day. He
Len Zandy was a three-year letterman, two-year starter and leading scorer for
Fordham (1963-66).
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handled himself well under the boards
and had a good, outside jump shot.
“He was a great guy to be around
and compete with, and he certainly
made our squad that year.”
Huber was referring to the 1961-
62 team that compiled a 21-3 record
and won the Altoona-Johnstown Di-
ocese championship before losing to
Pittsburgh North Catholic in the state
playoffs.
Zandy averaged 21.8 points a
game and set several Marauder
scoring records. During his two seasons
at BG, Zandy had games of 41 against
Williamsburg, 44 against Bellwood and
45 against Bald Eagle. As a senior, he
finished second to Williamsburg’s Don
Appleman among Blair County high
school scorers.
“He was a great shooter in the
day before the 3-point shot,” Irwin said.
“He was a big guy with a soft touch.
He was strong inside, too. He just domi-
nated games. He was so good.”
Zandy played both sports at
Fordham from 1963-66. He was a two-
year starter in basketball and led the
Rams in scoring (17.3 ppg), field-goal
percentage (44.2) and free-throw
percentage (80) as a senior during
an era when Fordham made two NIT
appearances and played the best
teams in the East, some at Madison
Square Garden.
Zandy scored 951 points in three
seasons (freshmen were ineligible for the
varsity then). That was before the 3-point
shot and teams played only 25 games
— now it’s 30 or more — so, adjusted to
modern times, Zandy easily would have
surpassed the 1,000-point mark.
Coached by John Bach, who later
guided Penn State, Fordham beat the
likes of Temple, Army, St. John’s, Pitt,
Memphis State, Holy Cross, Seton Hall
and UConn. The Rams lost at North
Carolina by six points during Zandy’s
junior season.
Fifty years later, the impression
Zandy left on Bach remains strong.
“I’ve never forgotten Len Zandy,”
said Bach, now 89 and residing in
the Chicago area after a long and
distinguished NBA coaching career.
“He did a good job for us. The hardest
part of putting a program together is
getting a big guy, and Len was a big
guy who provided what we needed
— rebounding and some presence.”
Bach said Zandy’s athletic ability
helped separate him.
“He was good — footwork, nice
strong body, he played well,” Bach
said, adding he was “delighted” Zandy
is being recognized. “And I enjoyed
him as a person.”
An imposing, right-handed pitcher
in baseball, Zandy was drafted by
Kansas City in the 27th round in 1965,
but elected to stay in school instead
of signing. He later was selected by
the Athletics in the second round and
played professionally for two years on
the Class A level, pitching in 23 games
as a starter and reliever.
Some of his pro baseball team-
mates were Reggie Jackson, Vida Blue,
Reggie Sanders and George Hendrick.
Zandy’s widow, Patty, recalled that
she knew nothing about Len’s athletic
prowess when they first met.
“I was working at First National Bank
when Bill Hoyne,
who was a
vice president,
introduced us,”
she said.
“Len was
done with
[pro] baseball
and was work-
ing for Atlantic
Richfield and
would come
into the bank
to do his
finances.
“I had no clue who he was,” she
said. “I just knew he was tall. In fact, I
was reluctant to go out with him be-
cause I didn’t know him.”
A right-handed pitcher, Zandy was
twice drafted by the Kansas City
Athletics.
Zandy bio
Sport: Basketball, baseball
High school: Bishop Guilfoyle
College: Fordham
Hall of Fame achievement: Fordham’s
leading scorer in basketball as a senior
and was drafted twice as a pitcher by
the Kansas City (later Oakland) Athletics,
signing in 1967.
FYI: Len died in 2007 at the age of 63
and will be honored posthumously.
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Patty said that after she got to know Len and his family
she watched him play in area basketball leagues and in the
Greater City Baseball League.
She fondly remembers his humility.
“Through different conversations, I learned about his
athletic ability,” she said. “He wasn’t a bragger. He played
because he wanted to. He did his best, and his best was
really good.”
The Zandys had three daughters (Nicole, Kimberly and
Pam) and lived in Dillsburg, near Harrisburg, for many years
when Ford Motor Credit transferred Len there for his job. But
his heart was always in Altoona, where he is buried.
“He loved Altoona,” Patty said. “He’d schedule his work
to get back there every chance he could. The girls didn’t
really know a lot about his athletics, either. They knew him as
Dad. He was always a family man.”
The Zandys, Patty and her daughters, are planning to
attend the Hall of Fame festivities.
“I know that it’s a big deal,” she said of Len’s induction.
“We’re thrilled. It’s an honor, and I think he would be hum-
bled. He loved sports, loved playing and loved the camara-
derie with the guys.
“I just wish he was here to enjoy it.”
Fordham coach John Bach presented Len with the Presi-
dent’s Cup award for his outstanding play in the New York
City series between Fordham, St. John’s, NYU and Manhattan.
Len (front row, left) was a key part of the Altoona Beverage team that won the 1962 Altoona YMCA Tournament championship,
a popular and highly competitive regional tournament that followed the high school season. The team was made up of Bishop
Guilfoyle players, many of whom went on to Division I colleges, and represents the Marauders’ richest sports era. Other team
members beside Len include (front row, from left), Bill Huber (PSU football), Dave Costlow, Mike Irwin (PSU football), Tom Tipton,
Terry Buchanan. Back row: Rick Kaiser (St. Francis basketball), Eddie Miller (Mississippi basketball), Bill Hoff (Buffalo football),
Tom Wiley (Purdue football), Joe Durbin, Allan Conrad, sponsor Lou Mangiacarne, Dick Graupensperger. Costlow, Tipton and
Buchanan represented Altoona High School in the 1962 tourney.
