Voice of Howland athletics recognized for his dedication

The Howland band played John Marsco's favorite, the Michigan fight song, at the cemetery.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
CORTLAND -- Howland High graduate John Marsco didn't play sports at his alma mater, never had the thrill of hearing his name broadcast over the public address system after a big play.
But he will be remembered for a long time at Howland as "The Voice of the Howland Tigers" for giving that and more to the young athletes.
Marsco served as basketball announcer and timekeeper, soccer and volleyball announcer and football chain gang member for 11 years.
The school honored him during halftime of the Howland-John F. Kennedy boys basketball game earlier this year with a plaque. It now hangs in the lobby outside of the high school gymnasium -- part of the school's one-year-old hall of fame.
Howland's hall of fame contains photographs of all of the school's championship teams, as well as photos of notables such as Willie Davenport, a Howland graduate who won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics. Others recognized are Howland graduates who died in the military, said Bruce Johnson, the school's activities director.
Questioning inclusion
Johnson said he is aware that Marsco wondered aloud whether he deserved to be in the same company as Howland's greatest athletes.
To Johnson, it was no contest. "His contribution was every bit as great," he said.
Marsco, of Cortland, lost his battle with cancer April 21. He was 41 and leaves his wife, Debbie, and children, Chris, 11, and Lisa, 7.
"Today there's so much ugliness in athletics. The bottom-line value is being part of something bigger than yourself," Johnson said of the value of athletics for young people.
Marsco was a living example of what it means to serve others with a pure heart and to be faithful to that service, because Marsco never failed to report for duty, Johnson said.
"Whether he ever coached a minute or threw a football, his value was in the hearts and minds of the kids," Johnson said.
Johnson said he knows personally the impact of the shy Marsco's announcing. Johnson's son, J.D., remembers vividly hearing Marsco's dramatic outbursts whenever J.D. hit a three-point shot as a Howland basketball player: "Three-point by J.D. Johnson," Marsco would boom.
"The kids just loved that. It brought a sense of professionalism and excitement to it," Johnson said.
News about cancer
By the time Marsco was awarded his plaque, he and Debbie had learned that Marsco's soft-tissue cancer, epitheloid sarcoma, was inoperable. The couple was told he had six to 12 months left. Marsco told his basketball game friends Feb, 24, when they honored him with the plaque, that he'd be back for football season.
It would be his last night of announcing. He died April 21, one day before his birthday and exactly two years from the day he was diagnosed with cancer.
"He'll be there [at football games], but you just won't be able to see him," Debbie said, referring to his spirit.
Marsco, a 1982 Howland graduate, was statistician during his high school years and got involved in Howland sports again about 10 years after graduation when he was asked about running the time clock. His involvement kept growing from there. His son, Chris, also got involved as a water boy, and Debbie sold tickets.
Johnson said Chris and Debbie will remain a part of the Howland family as long as they want to be.
Debbie said her husband's funeral was not only a testament to him, but also to the bond the Howland athletic community had with him. Family members arranged to have some Howland band members play the Michigan Wolverines fight song as Marsco's body was moved into the chapel at All Souls Cemetery in Bazetta. It was a fitting tribute to the longtime Michigan fan.
runyan@vindy.com