A versatile baseball and basketball coach, Joe Russo also taught social studies, english and physical education at Christ the King High School. He would move on to his alma mater St. John's to teach coaches, young adults and senior citizens physical education courses.
While at St. John's Russo served as head baseball coach from 1973-96. During his tenure he earned the title of winningest coach in St. John's history with an all-time record of 1011-443 across multiple sports. Russo also coached summer baseball in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League dating back to 1967, 1968 and 1975. He coached Team USA at the Pan American Games in 1995 and was head coach for the N.Y./Tokyo Friendship Series in 1989.
Russo was president of the Baseball Coaches Advisory Board in 1985 for the Big East Conference. He was also a Pro Liaison to Major League Baseball franchises including the Mets and Yankees. In 1975, Russo served as president of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and in 1980 as the president of the National Association of Summer Leagues.
Russo has several publications to his credit including "The Fundamentals of Coaching and Playing Baseball" and "Championship Baseball: Techniques, Fundamentals and Drills."
Russo was named the Northeast Coach of the Year in 1980 and Big East Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1991. He has received numerous awards including the North Shore University Hospital Service Award and the Police Athletic League Service Award.
Russo is a member of the National Italian Hall of Fame and the Christ the King's Hall of Fame.
