Jack Mango, Long Island youth sports advocate, dies at 91
Jack Mango started the Hauppauge Youth Organization in 1974 as a place for children to play baseball and football. Credit: Jacquelyn Schwicke
Jack Mango believed strongly that all kids should have the opportunity to play youth sports regardless of their financial situation. It was that premise that helped Mango build youth organizations within the Suffolk County Police Athletic League.
His belief in "no kid left out" fueled the start of the Bellport Youth Football program. Mango, a Korean War veteran and an advocate for all youth in sports, died at age 91 at Good Shepherd Hospice in Port Jefferson on April 16.
“You never realize the length and breadth of a life until you try to put it into writing,” said his daughter Jacqui Schwicke, of East Patchogue. “My father truly believed that youth sports were a key to a successful life and that all children who want to play should be able to participate regardless of their ability to pay. He felt the need for community-based programs was essential.”
Mango started the Hauppauge Youth Organization in 1974 to provide a place for children to play baseball and football. He coached and officiated both sports at the youth level. He would leave the presidency of the HYO and join the Suffolk County Police Athletic League Football Board of Directors in the mid-1980s, where he oversaw team alignments and scheduling.
“His scheduling precision and attention to detail is legendary,” Schwicke said. “The coaches called him ‘old school’ because of his use of paper, ruler and pencil to create schedules. And, even as computers were becoming popular, he trusted his pad and pencil. He didn't trust computers.”
Mango was born in Brooklyn on July 16,1933. He graduated from East New York Vocational High School in 1951, where he excelled as a four-sport athlete.
“He played basketball, baseball, football and ran track in high school,” his son, Jim Mango, of Islip said. “He was only 5-foot-10 but he could grab the rim. His favorite trophy sat prominently on his bedroom dresser after he captured a high hurdle title in the Armory.”
He worked with a trucking company during and after high school and learned to be a mechanic. He worked briefly at Macy’s in Manhattan before he was drafted into the Army for the Korean War in 1954.
Mango served two years before he was honorably discharged in 1956. While in the service, he met the love of his life, Rosemary Guzzardo, at a dance at the St. Fortunata Catholic Church in East New York. They were married in the same church in 1955, and the couple would have celebrated their 70th anniversary Nov. 5. Rosemary Mango died at age 89 in October 2024.
“They had a fantastic relationship,” Jim Mango said. “My mother planned the vacations all over the world for them. My father had a tough-guy persona, but my mother was the real boss.”
The Mangos had six children and moved from Brooklyn to Commack in 1959 and then settled in Hauppauge in 1964.
Mango attended New York City Community College and graduated with a degree in Applied Science in 1961 while working for Sperry Corporation. He attended night school at C.W. Post and earned his degree in mechanical engineering in 1971, then got a job at Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage as a technical writer. He worked for nearly 30 years before he retired in June 1992.
“He was very proud of the manuals he wrote for the Lunar Module,” Schwicke said. “His name was on a manual left on the moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts.”
Mango’s love for children in sports helped create new PAL programs.
“My husband, Steve, and I decided to leave the regional South Shore Youth organization and start a new youth football program in Bellport,” Schwicke said. “My dad was thrilled and had the PAL to support our move with seed money. He had been encouraging us to do it for years. Many children in the Bellport area were being excluded due to inaccessibility and lack of funding. When we made the move, many followed our lead and today most towns have their own community-based youth programs. It was his vision.”
Mango’s impact left an everlasting impression. Bellport still allows every child to play regardless of the family’s ability to pay.
“It was what my father wanted,” Schwicke said. “He wanted sports available for every child and family. He brought a compassionate, empathetic voice to his role on the PAL Board of Directors.”
Mango is also survived by children Lorraine Follini, of Somers; Susan Zogbi, of Commack; Dianna Mango, of New Jersey; and Joseph Mango, of Pennsylvania.
A funeral service for Mango was held last week.
Donations can be made to the Suffolk County Police Athletic League.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
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