UNICO dinner honors Lackawanna coach Mark Duda ahead of game

The Wilkes-Barre Chapter of UNICO held its annual players’ dinner Wednesday night, honoring Lackawanna College head football coach Mark Duda.

The dinner was held at Fox Hill Country Club in Exeter.

The 72nd annual UNICO All-Star Classic football game will be played Saturday at Wyoming Area’s stadium in West Pittston. Kickoff is 7 p.m. Miss UNICO and her court will preside at the game.

According to Attorney Bill Anzalone and his son, Attorney Jamie Anzalone, current UNICO President, the game returned in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Anzalones said this year’s Sponsors Award went to Duda, a graduate of Wyoming Valley West High School, who played in the National Football League with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1983-87.

Duda has been the coach of Lackawanna College since 1994, compiling a 199-93 record, and he brought the school its first national championship game appearance in 2019.

“What a great way to start the summer and support the football players and support a great civic organization with the 72nd UNICO All Star Classic football game,” Bill Anzalone said.

More than 5,000 local Wyoming Valley football players have played in this game since its inception.

UNICO is the largest Italian American organization in the United States. The Wilkes-Barre Chapter dedicates revenues derived from this game to local Wyoming Valley charities — 75% of the revenues are directed to charities or agencies associated with mental health, and 25% to general charities.

The Wilkes-Barre Chapter of UNICO has averaged in excess of $30,000 per year in donations to the various charities which benefit the local community.

The legendary Coach Duda has been with the Lackawanna College football program since its inception in 1993. After spending the inaugural season as the defensive coordinator, Duda took over as the head football coach, and is now entering his 30th year in charge.

Duda, 62, a native of Plymouth, is the active wins leader in all of the NJCAA, with 199 career victories. In his time at Lackawanna College, Duda has produced more than 400 NCAA Division I scholarship athletes, and he has helped produce over 20 different players who have signed NFL contracts.

Duda has helped guide the Falcons to 12 postseason bowls, including an appearance in 2019’s NJCAA National Championship in Pittsburg, Kansas.

Northeast PA football fans will remember Coach Duda from his days at Wyoming Valley West (‘79), where he was a major part of the “Mad-Dog” defense that helped the Spartans go 9-2 and post six shutout wins in his senior year.

Duda would receive a scholarship and go on to play football at the University of Maryland, where he recorded 13 sacks in his senior season, a school record that stood until 2015.

After his time at Maryland, Duda was drafted in the fourth round of the 1983 NFL draft by the then-St. Louis Cardinals. Duda made 34 starts and played in 55 games, recording 9.5 career sacks in the NFL.

Duda earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education from East Stroudsburg University in 1991, and eventually earned a Masters in Professional Studies from Thomas Edison College in 2005. Duda was inducted into the Maryland Wall of Fame in 1994, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1995, and the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame in 2008.

History of UNICO Game

According to information supplied by the Bill and Jamie Anzalone and UNICO, the UNICO All-Star Charitable Football Game started in December of 1951.

The game has been played continuously since that date, honoring all-star seniors from each of the schools participating in the Wyoming Valley Conference.

The game was cancelled the year of the 1972 Agnes Flood, although the team was selected and recognized without a game.

Additionally, in 1974 the game was played twice when the UNICO game was played, followed by an All-Star team of UNICO playing an All-Star team of the members of the Dream Game in Lackawanna County.

Anzalone Law Offices, LLC has been the general sponsor of the game since 2016, underwriting all the expenses associated with the game and the Miss UNICO pageant.