Pete "Papa Bear" Mazzaferro (born June 24, 1930) is a former American football coach.
Mazzaferro was born in Torrington, Connecticut, and attended Centre College in Danville, Kentucky.
[3] In the 1950s, while pursuing a master's degree at Springfield College, Mazzaferro helped coach the freshman football team.
After two years as an assistant to Ed Swenson,[1] Mazzaferro took over as the head coach of the Bridgewater Bears football team in 1968.
He also served as a tenured faculty member at Bridgewater in the Department of Movement Arts, Health Promotion, and Leisure Studies.
Indelicato decided that faculty members, including Mazzaferro, could not receive "release time."
Mazzaferro had been receiving release time to serve as the school's head football coach for 17 years.
While the suit was pending, Bridgewater's record fell to 4–5, and Indelicato was forced to resign and pleaded guilty to misappropriating government funds.
[2] In 1989, Bridgewater had a 9–0 regular season before losing a close game in the ECAC Division III North finals.
We play a simple 4-4 defense, which is what Notre Dame used a hundred years ago, and I love it.
"[7] In the four years from 1989 to 1992, Mazzaferro's teams ran a successful veer offense along with its 4–4 defense and compiled a record of 34–5–1, including an undefeated 1992 season.
"[9] In August 2002, sports writer Paul Kenney wrote a feature story on Mazzaferro, noting that he worked at "a cluttered state-issued gray metal desk, located in a basement office of the gymnasium" with only small black metal nameplate reading simply, "Peter Mazzaferro Head Coach.
"[11] In 41 years as a head coach, Mazzaferro compiled an overall record of 209 wins, 157 losses, and 11 ties.