Legendary Brother Rice head coach Al Fracassa leaves behind an everlasting legacy

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Longtime Brother Rice football coach and teacher Al Fracassa passed away on Sunday, Sept. 7, at 92 years old.

Fracassa was on the sidelines for Brother Rice from 1969 until his retirement in 2013 where he amassed 386 wins. He also coached Royal Oak Shrine in the 1960s prior to taking over at Brother Rice, and his career mark of 430 wins as a head coach is the second most in the history of Michigan high school football.

“He put Brother Rice on the map,” Brother Rice Director of Athletics Jeff Calcaterra said. “For the 50-some years that he’s been a part of this community, he’s mentored, taught and impacted so many men that have come to this school.”

Fracassa’s list of accomplishments on the field might never be seen again. He retired with 21 Catholic High School League titles and 10 state championships, along with producing hundreds of collegiate football players and 13 NFL players.

“Coach took the time to get to know every one of the boys in his program,” Calcaterra said. “Coach spent time and wrote a handwritten letter to every one of his seniors for all the years that he coached. … He just had that gift to make people better.”

The outpouring of love and support from the community is evidence of his impact. Services for Fracassa were held at the Brother Rice campus, and people from all over the country came to town to pay respects and offer support to his family.

“The number of alumni that flew in … we had a ’77 alum fly in from Hawaii to be at his services,” Calcaterra said. “It says everything that you need to know.”

Current Brother Rice head coach Aaron Marshall is in his second year coaching Brother Rice, but he’s been a part of the program for nearly his whole life. Marshall wants to honor Fracassa any way he can, and he wants to make sure the players never forget Fracassa’s impact.

“I had the privilege of being coach’s ball boy in the ’91 season. I was 8 or 9 years old,” Marshall said. “His legacy will live on forever. … His formula I follow today.”

Marshall explained that Fracassa wanted to build up young men in all aspects of their lives, and that if he did that, then football would take care of itself.

Fracassa still attended as many home games as he could right up until his passing. He retired in 2013 but never left the program that he helped build.

“We saw him week one, and he came to the game. It was very special. Me and him hugged each other and told each other that we loved each other, and I was so happy that he was able to join us,” Marshall said. “We want to make him proud.”

Brother Rice has helmet stickers that the team is wearing for the remainder of the season with the legendary coach’s initials and date of his passing on them.

In the first game after Fracassa’s death, Marshall wanted to make sure that everyone on the team understood the magnitude of the moment. There were hundreds of alumni at the game, which was played the same day as the funeral, and Marshall encouraged his players to talk to those who had come to the game.

“The boys, we attended the funeral and were kind of the honor guard,” Marshall said. “I said, ‘Look what you have to live up to. It’s not pressure; it’s responsibility.’... Seeing the great men who came before them that wore those jerseys, that was priceless.”

Fracassa’s final game as the head coach for Brother Rice was the 2013 state championship game, which the team won. His legacy will be felt through the thousands of lives he touched in his more than 50-year career. Marshall stated that the team has dedicated this season to the legendary coach.

“They didn’t talk about the records. There wasn’t much talk about the state championships. It was always talking about what he was as a father, a grandfather, a great-grandfather, a husband, a mentor, a teacher, a coach,” Calcaterra said. “Those Brother Rice Warriors that wear that helmet understand that why the program is as revered as it is and why the brand is so cherished is because of coach Fracassa.”