TOWAMENCIN – From 1955 through 1980 there was one name that was systematically synonymous with North Penn Knights Baseball. The eleven league titles garnered during that span were just some of the blocks that built a baseball program that at the time was at its inception as North Wales, Lansdale, and Hatfield High Schools merged into one North Penn. Throughout those years it was one person who guided the Knights and put the school’s baseball program on the map. On Saturday, May 10th, at 2:30pm the North Penn Knights baseball team will honor Coach Carl Giuranna on the baseball field at NPHS, as the inaugural member of the new Knights of Fame.
In the baseball community, Giuranna’s name is most likely the first to come to mind when discussing area baseball throughout the 1960s and 70s, and that connection is certainly well warranted. Giuranna guided eleven league champion teams during his tenure with the Knights, a career that culminated in a trip to the state tournament in 1980. Along the way, Giuranna’s career was marked by some big names in area baseball such as Charlie Prediger(’64) and Steve Miller (’67) to name only a couple, names that too would become synonymous with the level of baseball being played in the area during those years. This season, coming off a state title in 2013, the Knights will turn to the past as they honor Giuranna before holding the first annual Alumni Game.
“I think it’s very important for our current players to understand that they are all just a small part of something much bigger than them. Sure, every player and coach who comes through the program is extremely valuable to the big picture, but I believe that understanding who came before you is both humbling and very necessary,” said Knights head coach Kevin Manero.
Baseball has clearly been a defining characteristic of Giuranna’s life. Following his career at North Penn, where in addition to coaching baseball, Giuranna also taught and served as an assistant football coach, he continued his baseball coaching career at West Chester University as their pitching coach from 1981- 1987. While there he was joined by one of his own North Penn pitchers, staff ace Tom Christy (’80). Giruanna then served as head coach at WCU from 1987-1994. Following his years as a Ram, he coached pitchers at Flager College in St. Augustine, Florida and coached in the summertime in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League. Just a few summers ago, Giuranna was back in uniform as an assistant coach with Perkiomen American Legion. It has certainly been a life of baseball for Carl Giuranna.
While he is most known in the area for his success as a coach, Giuranna also built a strong resume as a player. After graduating from North Catholic High School, he played baseball at the University of Pennsylvania until 1950. At Penn, he played baseball and soccer for four years. After his collegiate career, he was also a professional baseball free agent with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, and then became a part time scout for the Phillies for three years, and the Cincinnati Reds for 3 years.
In the 59 years that North Penn High School has existed since the schools merged, only four head coaches have written out the lineup cards, and as the first, Giuranna set many precedents for what would become a strong baseball program for decades to come. The Knights of Fame, in which Giuranna will be the inaugural member, will serve as the North Penn Baseball Hall of Fame, and as part of his induction Giuranna will have his name emblazoned on the fence next to the school’s championships. Giuranna guided the Knights to a 253-98 record during his tenure, an astounding .720 winning percentage. Along the way, he coached nine players who advanced to play baseball professionally.
One would be hard pressed to find one of Giuranna’s players who would not agree that the coach was intensely dedicated to his work.
“What can I say? He is a legend like [Mike] Pettine [Sr.] and [Jim] Algeo. At North Penn it was Coach Giuranna,” said 1980 North Penn grad Alan Warner, who still plays baseball and has for 34 seasons in the Perkiomen Valley Twilight League with Nor-Gwyn.
“He was tough – old school baseball, fundamental baseball. During the season we had baseball homeroom as soon as we got to school. If we had a game that day, we’d go over the opposing team and what we did the past game. It was very neat having a baseball homeroom,” added Warner.
On May 10th, following the 2:30pm ceremony honoring Giuranna, North Penn Knights Baseball alumni are invited to play in the first ever alumni game, which will feature odd years vs even years on the field at NPHS. The game will wrap up a day of baseball present and past for North Penn. Things begin at noon when the current Knights host a non-conference game vs Council Rock North in a 2013 district playoff re-match.
“It’s easy for us to get wrapped up in the present and spend all of our energy in the day to day operations of the baseball program, but it is extremely important to know that any success we have now was built starting with Coach Giuranna in the ‘50s. He is a North Penn legend, period. Any player or coach who puts on the uniform now should do so with the utmost respect for the man who built this program starting in the 1955 season,” added Manero.
Questions or further information regarding the Alumni day can be directed to North Penn Knights baseball coach, Kevin Manero at [email protected] or 1975 NP grad Bob Law at [email protected]
** – All newspaper images appearing in the article were originally published in The Reporter in 1980.