John R Batcho

John R. Batcho, 76, of McDonald, passed away after a month long illness on Thursday, March 9, 2017 at Trumbull Memorial Hospital. John was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 28, 1940, a son of the late John T. Batcho and Helen P. (Sedmak) Batcho of Toronto, Ohio. Besides his mother residing in a Cortland nursing home, he is survived by his brother Tom Batcho of Bazetta and his wife Lynn Batcho and survived by his three children; son John R. Batcho, Jr. of Austintown formerly known as radio personality Mr. Sports at Y103, daughter Dianne Lynn Batcho of Austintown, and Mark Anthony Batcho of Youngstown. Nine grandchildren; Matthew Batcho (Rachel) of Boardman, Scott Batcho of McDonald, Brandon Batcho of Austintown, Melanie Batcho of Austintown, Ashley Batcho of Boardman, Krista Batcho of Boardman, Jenna Batcho of Mineral Ridge, Kenny Batcho of Kent, and Lauren Batcho of Liberty. Three great grand daughters; Paisley Batcho of Boardman, Peyton Batcho of Austintown and soon to be born Gracelyn Kate Arnio of Austintown. Two nephews Tommy Batcho of Latrobe, PA and Joe Batcho of Champion, OH. He is also survived by his wife of 43 years Isabelle Batcho (Melfi). John was a multi sports standout athlete at McDonald HS in football, basketball and track graduating in 1959. In addition he participated in baseball well into his his 30's and had a tryout with the MLB Cleveland Indians as a pitcher. John was a passionate longtime fan of his beloved Cleveland sports teams the Indians, Browns and Cavaliers. He also worked for decades behind the scenes in the car industry. Most notably he was known predominately as a longtime area football coaching legend of 23 years beginning with the formation of the former McDonald Midgets (now Little Blue Devils) football program in 1959 until 1973. In 1963 he captured a national championship by defeating state power Cincinnati in the Milk Bowl and ending their win streak of 40 in a row in front of five thousand fans on the road 28-0. In 1974 he began the Liberty Little Leopards program and went 9-1 in his inaugural season capturing the All Ohio Conference title. In 1977 his Liberty team defeated the Pine Castle Rams 26-7 in Orlando, FLA on a talent laden team featuring future NFL Hall Of Famer Deion Sanders. In 1977 John's Leopards once again played in Florida the following year for the title in 1977 but lost by a single point to finish runner up. He also coached at St. Anthony Jr. High producing their first winning record in decades and served as a HS assistant in Niles under Jack Pierson from 1980-81. In 1982 John was named the very first non certified head football coach in the state of Ohio and finished runner up to powerful LaBrae in the Trumbull AA Conference. He had an overall winning percentage of nearly .900. John had so many friends and was so beloved and will be missed deeply by all. Funeral services will be held on Monday, March 13th, 1:00 PM at Calvary Cemetery Chapel. Visit www.blackstonefuneralhome.com to view this obituary and to send any condolences to the family.