School: Sto-Rox | Sports: Softball, Basketball
A 1966 graduate of Sto-Rox, Bill Palermo guided his alma mater to unprecedented glory in the sport of softball. Palermo coached the Vikings for 35 years, posting a record of 589-137 with the 589 victories being a WPIAL softball record. He guided Sto-Rox to 26 section titles, 10 WPIAL championships (1985, 1986, 1989, 1993, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006), and the 1989 PIAA 2A championship. The Vikings never had a losing season under Palermo’s guidance and appeared in the WPIAL postseason 30 times, qualifying for the PIAA tournament 20 times, with three of those instances culminating in runner-up finishes. His 1989 Sto-Rox team was inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2018, and he is in the school’s Hall of Fame both as an individual and as the coach of the 1985 Vikings squad. The long-time math teacher, consultant, and athletic director at Sto-Rox didn’t just guide the softball program – he was also briefly the head coach for the girls’ basketball and girls’ track & field teams. With girls’ basketball, Palermo led the Vikings to their first section title, two berths in the WPIAL and PIAA playoffs, a WPIAL runner-up finish, and the No. 1 ranking from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and for girls’ track & field, he helped more student-athletes qualify for the WPIAL championships and medal at the event than any other coach in school history. Palermo was inducted into the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Hall of Fame in 2014, and has led Carlynton, Montour, and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to WPIAL postseason appearances in girls’ basketball. In addition to all the honors he has received for his coaching prowess, Palermo received All-World honors from the Ironman organization six times, finished 19th in the 2014 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, and qualified for the 2024 Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.