Massapequa wrestling coach Al Bevilacqua, referenced in 'Seinfeld' episode, dies at 85

Longtime Massapequa High School wrestling coach and gym teacher Al Bevilacqua's big personality left an indelible mark on the thousands of students he coached and taught.

Including Jerry Seinfeld, a 1972 graduate of the school.

Bevilacqua was immortalized in an episode of the iconic comedy series "Seinfeld." In the episode, called "The Race," Seinfeld references his high school gym teacher, "Mr. Bevilacqua," as he was known to all his students.

Seinfeld "was one of Dad’s students, and [Dad] had a lot of visibility and personality,” said Bevilacqua's son Christopher Bevilacqua, of Larchmont, in Westchester. “He’s one of those guys who’s very extroverted and has a lot of energy. He was an easy guy to talk to.”

Albert Bevilacqua Jr. died at VNSHS Hospice House in East Northport on Sunday, his family said. He was 85.

Bevilacqua also coached Ron Kovic, on whom the movie “Born on the Fourth of July” was based. The film was based on Kovic’s autobiography, in which Kovic wrote about Bevilacqua’s effect on him both before and after he was paralyzed from the chest down after being wounded in the Vietnam War.

Tom Cruise played Kovic, and Chris Bevilacqua said Cruise and director Oliver Stone came to visit Bevilacqua at home before filming.

On the wrestling mat, Bevilacqua focused on more than just the results of a match.

“He always used to say that 28-foot circle is all you need to succeed in life,” Chris Bevilacqua said. “If you can do the things that a wrestler does inside of that 28-foot circle, you learn how to compete, you learn how to organize, you learn how to prepare, you learn how to set goals, you learn how to never give up, you learn how to perform when exhausted. All the things that transcend the sport of wrestling and can be transferred to life’s success — that’s really what was his driver.”

Bevilacqua, a 1957 graduate of Massapequa High School, returned to his alma mater as the Massapequa varsity wrestling head coach for 15 years from 1962-77. He was a health and physical education teacher in the Massapequa School District for 37 years. He was also an assistant Massapequa football coach for about seven years, his son said, and served two years as Hofstra University’s head wrestling coach.

Chris, who wrestled at Penn State, never wrestled for his father but attended many of his father’s camps and training sessions and was in awe of how he both coached and interacted with the kids. In the days following his father’s death, Chris has been inundated with stories about him.

“It’s amazing, and it’s very gratifying to know he had such a profound impact on people 50, 60 years later,” Chris said. “They went off and became successful in whatever they’re doing and raised their own children and own families and passed on the benefits of all their teachings to their kids. It’s truly the gift that keeps on giving, and I know myself and my family and my siblings are incredibly proud of that.”

That time with other kids often came at the expense of his own children. But the Bevilacqua children said they’ve grown to appreciate that over the years.

“There was some lack in where he wasn’t around because he was always doing wrestling and basically taking care of a lot of other kids, so it was challenging,” said his son Kevin Bevilacqua, of Florida. “But in the full spectrum of his life, you could see the beauty in it. And as we’ve matured and understood what was going on, we were all-in on it. Whatever we lacked, it was gained with other young men, and the reverberations of all that effort will live on.”

“We grew to appreciate why he was doing it,” said his daughter Nora Wheeler, of Pennsylvania. “It wasn’t because he didn’t want to be around us. It was because of his bigger purpose.”

Bevilacqua co-founded Beat the Streets Wrestling, a nonprofit that works with urban youth in New York City to promote wrestling and create a lifelong positive impact through lessons from the sport.

“He was passionate about wrestling, and he lived it,” Chris said. “But he really used wrestling as kind of his platform and his canvas, if you will, to inspire and educate young kids and our youth to do the things necessary to be successful in life.”

Born Nov. 11, 1939, in Brooklyn, Bevilacqua and his family moved to Massapequa when he was 12 years old.

Bevilacqua graduated from New York University in 1961, and he met his wife, Catherine, there. The two were married for 61 years before Catherine died in 2023.

Bevilacqua was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Downstate New York Chapter and was named USA Wrestling Man of the Year in 2005. He was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum in 2012. He also served as a coach and was on the board of directors for USA Wrestling.

In addition to his sons and daughter, Bevilacqua is survived by children Barbara Sessa, of upstate Slate Hill; Mike Bevilacqua, of Florida; and Erin Gonzales, of Amityville, along with 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A funeral service was held on Thursday. There will also be a celebration of life hosted by USA Wrestling in the fall.