Coach Raiola taught me a lot about basketball, but more importantly, he taught me more about life.”

Joseph “Junie” Ferro

In the long, storied history of Bristol High School basketball, and later at Mt. Hope High, no one meant more to the players and program than legendary boys’ basketball coach Domenic N. Raiola. Better known as “Zip” to family and friends, he revolutionized the game to the point where his pony-sized players and tough defensive strategy caused major problems for opposing teams … schools whose players were usually much taller than his own.

Last week, Zip passed away at the age of 89. Born on the Fourth of July in 1929, he first stepped onto the basketball court as a star player on some of Colt Memorial High School’s greatest teams during the 1940s. His older brother, the late Pasquale “Pat” Raiola, was one of greatest sports heroes. Pat died tragically at the tail end of World War II, but there was never a day that went by that Zip didn’t remember his beloved sibling.

“Pat meant everything to me,” Zip once confessed. “I idolized him.”

After starring in baseball and basketball at Colt and graduating in 1947, Zip attended Providence College and graduated in 1951. He then returned to Colt Memorial High and began a storied career as a teacher and basketball coach.

As luck would have it, Zip became an assistant coach at Bristol under Artie Pansa, who nurtured the young Raiola with care and keen insight into the game of basketball. When Coach Pansa left Bristol and moved to Florida in 1960, Zip’s chance of moving up to head coach increased. He took over the Colts’ job at the start of the 1960-61 season and never looked back.

Coach Raiola had some great teams during the 1960s, and early ’70s … none better than his 1966-67 team that raced to the old class Championship on the strength of sharpshooters Junie Ferro, Paul Viveiros, and Mark Grabert, and the strong defensive play of Roy Ferreira and Joe Caromile, among others. During the 1970s, he relied on the talents of players like Joe Rosa, Mark Donovan, Donnie Squires, Bobby Goff and Peter Sullivan to keep the ball rolling.

A professional scout

But high school basketball wasn’t Zip’s only love. He struck up a brother-like friendship with legendary Providence college coach Joe Mullaney, and worked closely with him later as a scout when Mullaney coached the Los Angeles Lakers. Zip also worked with Coach Mullaney as an assistant coach at Brown University and P.C.

In 1982, Coach Raiola returned to Bristol High as head basketball coach and continued as the head coach when Bristol High and Warren High School merged to form Mt. Hope High School in 1993.

Zip coached for an astounding 52 years until his retirement in 2005. During that time, he collected more than 500 victories and at one time was recognized as the winningest basketball coach in Rhode Island.

Over the years, Raiola’s teams won countless division championships and eight state titles, including the 1994 Mt. Hope team, which was honored along with the coach at “Legends Night” last winter at Mt. Hope High School. Coach Raiola was the only coach in state basketball history to have won a state championship in five consecutive decades … the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, and 2000’s.

Zip was inducted in a number of halls of fames, including the Bristol Athletic Hall of Fame, R.I. Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and the R.I. Interscholastic League High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

A kiss, a candle and the Rosary

Other than his immediate family and very close friends, Coach Raiola always had some pre-basketball game secrets well-kept, like visiting his mother for a good luck kiss and stopping by a local church to light a candle before every game. Not to mention, carrying a set of Rosary beads in his sports jacket pocket to give him an additional lift from above. He also would have been a great ambassador for the Coca Cola Co. It was well-known that Zip had a fixation for the popular soft drink most of his life. That was Dom Raiola for you.

A fiery competitor, Zip had his disagreements with certain basketball refs, but that didn’t deter his coaching style or philosophy. Many of the state’s best officials always looked up to him as a man they truly respected on and off the court.

Former players remember fondly

When the news spread that Coach Raiola had passed away, Facebook and Twitter accounts lit up like a Christmas tree.

Said former player Mark Bonneau, “Coach Raiola was absolutely the biggest influence anybody from outside my family had on me. He was a great coach, mentor, and father figure to me and so many other young men in Bristol. He had a heart of gold and left such a lasting impact on the community. He will be sorely missed.”

Former Bristol High All-State guard Joseph “Junie” Ferro said, “I’ve lost my mentor, coach, and friend. He was very instrumental in the way I lived my life. He recognized a talent in me and showed me how to make a commitment to that talent. Coach Raiola taught me a lot about basketball, but more importantly, he taught me more about life.”

Sal Corona, former Warren High School standout, remembers how nice it was to finally have Dom Raiola on his side.

“I feel blessed to have had Dom Raiola as my coach in my last year at Mt. Hope High,” he explained at the “Legends Night” program last February. “I previously played twice against him when I was a Warren High player and he was coaching in Bristol. I’m pretty sure that I would have won three straight championships if he had been my coach back then.”

Michael Lunney, former Bristol High great who now is the R.I. Interscholastic League assistant director, credits Dom Raiola for helping resurrect his high school basketball career.

“I was very sad to hear the news of Zip’s passing,” he said. “He came back to coach my senior year (1985-86) at Bristol High School. His passion and enthusiasm for the game made that season special and it culminated in a league championship. I’ll always appreciate and admire his love and devotion to the development of the young people in our community. I feel so fortunate to have been coached by many outstanding people in my athletic career, but Coach Raiola’s influence and guidance will never be forgotten.”

No one was closer to Coach Raiola than his son-in-law, Mt. Hope High football coach T. J. DelSanto, who was visibly shaken by Coach Raiola’s death.

“Obviously, Coach Raiola was a winning coach,” he noted, “but the true measure of Zip Raiola lies not in his win/loss record, or in how many championships he won, but in how he positively and indelibly impacted the lives of the student-athletes he worked with. He wasn’t just a great coach, but a great teacher, a great motivator, a great nurturer, and a great friend.”