Richard T. Marazzi

ANSONIA: Richard T. Marazzi, age 82, entered into eternal rest on July 12, 2026, at Yale New Haven Hospital. He was the beloved husband of fifty-five years to Loisann (Kelly) Marazzi.

Born Nov. 20, 1943, at the Griffin Hospital in Derby, CT, Rich was the son of the late Reno and Dorothy (Spagnola) Marazzi. Rich was a graduate of Ansonia High School (1961), Quinnipiac College (1963) and the State University of New York at New Paltz (1965). He received a Master’s Degree from SCSU in 1970. Rich was a catcher on his Ansonia High School and New Paltz baseball teams. He also lettered in football at AHS.  Rich began a 32-year career in education at the Prendergast School (Ansonia) in 1965 where he taught seventh and eighth grade social studies. He coached the basketball teams to two city titles and one Valley championship. While in the Ansonia school system he coached the high school freshman basketball and football teams.

In 1968, Rich transferred to the Emmett O’Brien Regional Vocational Technical School in Ansonia and was the last surviving member of the school’s original faculty. At O’Brien Tech, he spent most of his career as a history and consumer economics teacher and served as a guidance counselor. He was selected as the teacher of the year in 1993. Rich finished his career in education as an Assistant Director at O’Brien Tech from 1993-1997.

In 2000 He served as an interim Assistant Director at the Platt Regional Vocational Technical School in Milford.  During his career, he was a licensed state assessor for the BEST program (1994-95) conducting evaluations for first year teachers throughout the state.

Marazzi, who spent two separate tours as Athletic Director, was O’Brien Tech’s first Athletic Director and basketball coach. He coached the Boys basketball team from 1968-79. During this time his teams made the C.I.A.C. Class M tournament six times during the first nine years the school played varsity basketball. His team won the Mattatuck Conference championship in the 1972-73 season and twice won the Brookfield High School Christmas tournament.

During his tenure as Boys basketball coach, O’Brien Tech was considered one of the top Class M basketball programs in the state. He produced three first team All-State players and four of his players went on to play in college and one played professionally in Europe. His 1975-76 team had a record of 19-4 and reached the semi-finals in the state tournament playing in the New Haven Coliseum

Rich was the Girls basketball coach from 1991-93. Although O’Brien Tech had the lowest female enrollment in the state, his teams qualified for the state tournament each year. He is believed to be the first coach in the history of Connecticut high school basketball to take both the Boys’ and Girls’ teams from the same school to the state tournament for the first time. In 1993 he received the New Haven area basketball officials Coach of the Year Award for his accomplishments with the Girls’ basketball team.

Rich was instrumental in establishing the school’s colors (Packer Green and Gold) and the school’s nickname, “Condors.” It is believed that O’Brien Tech is one of two schools in the country with that moniker.

Although teaching was Marazzi’s chosen profession, he was also a free-lance writer. He has written eight books, six on the subject of baseball, his first being The Rules and Lore of Baseball that was published in 1980. He co-authored several books with Len Fiorito from Seattle Washington, including the popular Aaron to Zuverink: Baseball Players of the 1950s. His most recent baseball book is titled, Yankees Stories Untold: An Insider’s Memoir from Ruth to Jeter that was published in 2024.

A member of the National Football Foundation and the New Haven Gridiron Club, in 2014 he wrote the definitive book on Yale football history and the Yale Bowl titled, A Bowl Full of Memories: 100 Years of Football at the Yale Bowl. He wrote a sequel to that book titled, Yale Football Through the Years that was published in 2020.  

Rich was considered the most prolific baseball rules writer in the country. He was a national rules columnist having worked for such publications as Yankees Magazine, USA Today Sports Weekly, Baseball Digest, Collegiate Baseball, and others.

He has worked as a research writer for broadcasting Hall of Fame Ford Frick Award winners Mel Allen, the iconic voice of the Yankees, and the legendary Bob Wolff. He also was a research consultant for broadcasters George Grande, the first face ever on ESPN and Yankees radio announcer John Gordon. Rich also served as a research and technical consultant for the CBS-TV West 57th Street segment filmed at Yankee Stadium on major league umpires (1988). He was also trained by Bob Sheppard, the legendary Yankee Stadium public announcer, as a back-up.

Considered one of the top baseball rules experts in the country, Rich was the first known baseball rules consultant/analyst in major league history. His Ruleball program was designed to help teams win games through knowledge of the baseball rules. First hired by the Yankees in 2004, he worked for 26 of the 30 major league teams including ESPN, YES, FOX Regional Sports, and NBC Sports Chicago. Rich has made many spring training presentations in Florida and Arizona. He has also served Yale University and Sacred Heart University in the capacity as a baseball rules consultant.

In 2015 Rich launched a “You Make the Call” Scoreboard video program that was used in several major league ballparks. The fun program engaged the fans about the rules of the game by testing their knowledge with a rules question after viewing a play.

Rich umpired baseball for 23 years (1966-1988) working high school, college and some independent professional games. He is a past president of the Valley Umpires Association and the New Haven Board of Approved Umpires in Connecticut.

Rich had the privilege of umpiring the Old-Timer’s Day Game at Yankee Stadium for 16 consecutive years from 1989-2004. In 2012 he received the Umpire’s Appreciation Award from the Connecticut High School Coaches Association and was inducted the same year into the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game of baseball.

He is also in the State University of New York at New Paltz Hall of Fame for his post-graduation contributions to the game of baseball and the O’Brien Tech Hall of Fame for his contributions as a basketball coach.

In 2016, Rich received the Chapter Award of Merit from the Casey/O’Brien New Haven County Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

For 17 years (1997-2013) Rich hosted a weekly radio baseball talk show titled Inside Yankee Baseball. It was aired on WICC 600 AM in Bridgeport, Conn., 960 WELI, ESPN Radio 1300 in the New Haven, CT market and 97.9 ESPN in the Hartford/Springfield area. He was a frequent guest on many radio sports talk shows including WFAN in NYC. He hosted and produced two sports TV talk shows on Valley Cable Vision in CT (1979-81) and Inside Yankee Baseball in 1990.

Since 2006, he has been the facilitator for the Silver Sluggers baseball group at the Derby Public Library. The Sluggers come from various parts of the state and have had over 500 meetings in the last 20 years.

Rich enjoyed traveling with his wife and family. They have made several trips to Europe, Mexico, the islands, the Jersey shore and various parts of the country. The 2023 family Rose Bowl trip was special. He enjoyed music from all eras, especially the 1950s. Above all, he most enjoyed having delicious family dinners cooked by Lois and watching his sons and grandchildren participate in various activities. Rich was a long time Yankees fan, but a baseball fan first. He was also a devout follower of Yale football, having seen almost every game in the Yale Bowl since 1965, and many road games. He was also a fan of Army football. 

In addition to his wife Lois, he is survived by sons Richard W. Marazzi of Ansonia and Brian A. Marazzi (Rachel) of Trumbull, three grandchildren, Caitlin, Richard, and Landon, daughter-in-law, Trisha Bartone, sister-in-law, Jeanne Kelly of Union City, NJ along with many cousins and countless friends.

Relatives and friends are invited to greet the family and pay their respects on Friday, July 17, 2026, from 3:00-7:00 pm in the chapel of SPINELLI-RICCIUTI FUNERAL HOME, 62 Beaver Street in Ansonia.

On Saturday morning, all are invited to attend his Mass of Christian Burial by meeting directly at 10:00 am at Holy Rosary Church in Ansonia. Inurnment will immediately follow in Mount Saint Peter Cemetery in Derby.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Rich’s memory made be made directly to the Derby Public Library, 313 Elizabeth Street, Derby, CT 06418. To sign Rich’s guestbook or share a memory, please visit, www.spinelliricciutifh.com.