John DeBiase, star athlete with 'encyclopedic memory for sports,' dies at 81
John DeBiase, 81, of Port Jefferson Station, died at South Shore Community Hospital in Bay Shore on March 5 from complications after a heart attack, his family said. Credit: Family photo
John DeBiase wasn’t your average sports fan. He immersed himself in sports statistics from professional teams — especially his beloved Yankees — to the local high school players.
DeBiase also wasn’t your average athlete. He was a standout basketball and baseball player at Brooklyn's Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School who once scored 38 points in a game against Power Memorial and Lew Alcindor. He then played both sports at St. John’s University.
"He was as fine a human being as you’ll find," said his best friend Billy Fox of Mount Sinai. "He was down to earth, a family man first, an outstanding athlete and a guy who never forgot a face and had an encyclopedic memory for sports."
DeBiase, of Port Jefferson Station, died after complications following a heart attack at South Shore Community Hospital in Bay Shore on March 5, his family said. He was 81.
"My dad was a stat man," said his daughter Sally Nowlan, of Port Jefferson Station. "He needed to see numbers with everything. He had a remarkable knowledge of team and individual statistics. He was a sports fan 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
DeBiase played senior softball for the past 40 years and made friends everywhere he went.
"He would strike up a conversation and connect with people through the world of sports," said his lifelong friend and longtime softball teammate John Davide of Centereach. "He was a terrific athlete, an unassuming, stoic personality. But boy, I can say, he was loved by everyone."
John DeBiase Credit: The DeBiase family
DeBiase was born in Brooklyn on July 25, 1944. He graduated from Bishop Loughlin in 1962. He was an All-City player on the hardwood and on the diamond.
"My father was a terrific athlete and in his senior year scored 38 points against Power Memorial High School and its freshman star Lew Alcindor," said Christopher DeBiase of Evergreen, Colorado. "They held Alcindor to nine points in that game. In the city playoffs, Alcindor got his revenge beating Loughlin and going on to win the city title."
At St. John's, DeBiase played junior varsity basketball for the legendary Lou Carnesecca and baseball for coach Jack Kaiser. He graduated in 1967.
"We played CYO basketball in Queens against each other at 8 years old and then again in high school," said 82-year-old Rein Greismer, who attended St. Francis Prep. "He was a great shooting guard. And in baseball, he had a rocket of an arm from the outfield, and could run the bases at lightning speed."
DeBiase and Greismer would meet again — only this time wearing the same uniform at St. John’s. Greismer played first base and DeBiase played the outfield.
"When we had infield practice all eyes were on John and his unbelievable throws from the outfield," Greismer said. "They were beautiful."
During college DeBiase met his first wife, Ilona Bielecky. She was his school tutor.
They were married in September 1968 and relocated to Port Jefferson Station, where their three children, Janina, Sally and Christopher were born.
"My mom died of melanoma at 36 years old in December of 1983," Sally Nowlan said. "He was an amazing single parent and raised the three of us through a tough time. Sports were a big part of our lives at Comsewogue. My sister and I were three-sport athletes, and our brother was an outstanding lacrosse and basketball player who attended Brown University."
DeBiase taught accounting at Farmingdale High School for 25 years and retired in 1999. He would work after retirement for Port Jefferson Sporting Goods/Trophy Hut for 20 years and ran the summer camp for the Town of Brookhaven for 21 years until 2019.
"My father did a great job," Christopher DeBiase said. "All of a sudden, you’re the single parent of two teen girls and a 9-year old and somehow, he made it work. He instilled a work ethic in us. And he always said, ‘Be a good teammate and have fun while you’re out there.' "
Six years after Ilona passed, DeBiase remarried, this time, to Joan Marino in April of 1989. They had a daughter, Lauren, before separating in 2016.
DeBiase would become a staple in the senior softball circuit.
"He was our No. 2 hitter and not known for home runs," Davide said. "But he had a flare for the big moment. We were in the final of a 55-and-over tournament in Montgomery, Alabama. John was at bat, and Pete Smith and I were saying how we were going to win the tournament with a homer. Well, we never got the chance. John homered, turned and smiled at us and I’ll never forget that. He won the game."
DeBiase is survived by three daughters Janina and Chris Repetto of Branchburg, New Jersey; Sally and Dan Nowlan of Port Jefferson Station; Lauren and Mathew Hannon of Nutley, New Jersey; and son Christopher and Hilary DeBiase of Evergreen, Colorado. He also has six grandchildren, Zachary, Tyler, Matthew, Mia, Brady and Shay.
Visitation is on Friday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Branch Funeral Home in Miller Place. A service will be held on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery to follow.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.
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