[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 129 (Friday, September 21, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1628]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING JOSEPH WILLIAM ``COACH JOE'' AVEZZANO

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEVIN BRADY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 21, 2012

  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Coach Joe 
Avezzano.
  As we kick off the 2012 football season, there are heavy hearts in 
Texas and throughout the country because of the passing of former 
Dallas Cowboys' special teams Coach Joe Avezzano.
  For four decades, Coach Joe gave all his time and dedication to the 
sport we all love and today we take a minute to honor him.
  Coach Avezzano was on the sidelines for three of the Dallas Cowboys 
Super Bowl wins (1993, 1994 and 1996). He was named the National 
Football League's special-teams coach of year in 1991, 1993 and 1998.
  It's not just his colleagues and players who are mourning his loss, 
but the fans who loved how animated he was on the sidelines and how his 
indomitable spirit inspired his ``special-teams demons'' to play the 
game of football and the game of life at a whole new level.
  Coach Joe was a young 68 when he collapsed on a treadmill while in 
Milan coaching the Milano Seamen of the Italian Football League.
  His work in Milan, as an Ambassador to the world for American 
football, was just the latest stop on Coach Joe's football world tour 
which started when he played offensive lineman for the Boston Patriots.
  In the 1980's, Coach Avezzano served as the head coach at Oregon 
State University. And who could have predicted then that in a short 
four year span he would go on to be instrumental in three Super Bowl 
victories.
  After leaving Dallas, Coach Joe led the Oakland Raiders special teams 
and coached in the Arena Football League.
  While football was his life, music was his passion and even former 
Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer said ``Joe would rather have been a 
country western music star or on-stage performer than a football coach 
if he had a choice.''
  Mr. Speaker, Joseph William Avezzano is survived by his wife, Diann, 
son Tony, many friends and family members, his crews at Coach Joe's Bar 
and Grill in Frisco and Coach Joe's Hat Trick in Lewisville and 
millions of football fans who will always miss how his personality and 
spirit filled the sidelines of any game he ever coached.

                          ____________________