Frank Stephen Pagano

Year Inducted: 1988
Nominated By: Jim Pagano (brother)
Sports Competed In: Football
Athlete, Coach or Contributor: Athlete

High School:
Attended Pueblo Central H.S., graduating in 1948.

Achievements:
High School:
● Pagano earned 11 letters playing three sports for the Wildcats (football and track: four letters; and wrestling: three letters).
● As a halfback on the football team, Pagano played on two state championship teams (1944 when Central beat Fort Collins, 12-7 and the 1947 team which was victorious over Denver South, 7-6).
● Two-time, All-South Central League selection in 1945-46.
● Scored a career total of 162 points which ranks in the top 10 in Pueblo.
● During his career, he rushed for 1,963 yards and 27 touchdowns.
● Played with the "Who's Who of Central Football": Running backs Carl Hannah, Dale Drummond, Bob Trevithick, Ron Ivan, Bill Heath, Pete Pomelo; Quarterback Vern Cochran; Ends - George Pulver and Dudley Schmidt; Linemen - Orville Morris, George Gurovich, and Clarence Stanko..

College:
Went to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colorado...Played briefly for the Bears football team before a knee injury ended his career.

Shared Memories:
On Oct. 25, 1946, Central lost to eventual State Champions Centennial, 26-21. A 62-yard touchdown run that he made that was called back. Pagano still insists, “a good two inches from that chalk line,” at the old Centennial Field. “The trouble was, there were people all over the place for that game,” Frank recalls of the crowd sprawl. "They brought in flat bed trucks and parked them along the sideline in some places so people would have somewhere to sit. All those people messed up the chalk along the out-of-bounds lines, spread it out.” And so when Pagano, a shifty junior halfback, cut to the side lines and then up field the referee mistook chalk dust flying as an out of bounds signal, ruling the ball dead at the 38.

Quotes:
“Centennial had a good team, they went on to win the state championship that year,’ the old Wildcat recalled correctly, “But I still say I scored that touchdown, and so will all those people on those flatbeds.”
-- Dave Socier, The Pueblo Chieftain

Occupation:
Owner of the Pass Key Restaurant.

Personal:
Lived in Pueblo... Passed away on June 7, 2008 at age 79.