Legendary Butler football coach Art Bernardi dies at 93
Art Bernardi taught more than football. He taught life.
Butler High School’s head football coach from 1961 through 1985, compiling a record of 179-64-7 that included nine WPIAL playoff berths and five district championship game appearances, died Saturday at 93.
“Football was a game Coach Bernardi used to teach us about life,” said Hank Leyland, who coached with and played for Bernardi. “That was a gift he gave to all of us.”
Bernardi had only two losing seasons at Butler. He was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, was honored as a Butler Football Hometown Hero in 2005 and was one of the early inductees into the Butler Area School District Athletic Hall of Fame, an organization he helped to create.
Butler’s football stadium was renamed Art Bernardi Stadium a number of years ago. He served on the Butler school board for years after his retirement as coach.
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