PETALUMA, Calif. – There was a boy’s basketball game at St. Vincent de Paul last Saturday evening but the packed gym with a standing room crowd wasn’t really there to see the game.
With all due respect to the players and coaches of both teams, such a large crowd would not have gathered for this particular match-up since by all accounts it was predicted to be an easy win for the host Mustangs.
St. Vincent de Paul bolted out to a 14-2 first quarter lead and breezed home behind 22 points from senior star Cole Williams, who equaled the output of visiting Healdsburg in a 49-22 North Bay League – Redwood Division victory..
The real reason there was a huge horde of fans crammed into DeCarli gymnasium was for something very different, and something that goes far beyond a full court press defense or the pick-and-roll.
What all the hoopla was about was a celebration of the lifetime milestones and achievements that go far beyond wins and losses, of which Tom Bonfigli got his share with the wins far exceeding the losses, and not just on the hardwood.
A planned celebration of the accomplishments of St. Vincent de Paul head coach and AP Macroeconomics instructor Tom “The Bonfather” Bonfigli over five decades of service at three Redwood Empire Catholic high schools, Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa, Justin-Siena-Napa and St. Vincent de Paul, didn’t just come about over night.
Back in the spring of 2023 when “The Bonfather,” as the St. Vincent de Paul community, at the urging former two-sport star Dante Antonini, dubbed him shortly after he began the commute to Petaluma in 2021 from his home in Santa Rosa, made absolutely clear that this would be his final year of coaching, the wheels began to turn. The event that evolved from all the planning was truly a special night.
“Tonight was a night I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” said a tearful Bonfigli right after the game, and that was before the second half of the evening’s festivities had begun.
“My health is good and I could probably go another few years,” continued the 70-year old Bonfigli, who plans to possibly still teach a couple of classes at St. Vincent de Paul. “But I have a beautiful wife and we have some other things we want to do.”
Troy Blank, a senior and a captain on the first varsity head coaching job Bonfigli had, the 1981-82 Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa Cardinals, where Bonfigli had himself been a two-sport star in basketball and football before graduating in 1971, contacted another Newman alum and classmate Tom Nunes.
“After the retirement announcement I talked to Troy about doing something for Coach Bonfigli,” said Nunes, a 1981 graduate that played junior varsity for Bonfigli before playing on the final team of the coach Bonfigli replaced, North Bay legend Jim Fitzgerald. “We agreed
“Around the beginning of September Troy called me and said now’s the time to plan to do something,” Nunes continued. “He had talked to Jerry (Bonfigli) and Jerry said St. Vincent de Paul wanted to do something, so we decided to collaborate.”
Blank, Nunes and Jerry, Tom’s older brother and his long-time assistant who is also the St. Vincent de Paul Associate Athletic Director, plus SVDP Director of Basketball Operations and frosh/soph head coach and varsity assistant Michael Baribault, formed a committee with the help of some staff at the school.
The work began from there and with Nunes calling Baribault “the glue that held everything together,” things came to fruition on what was spectacular show of love and admiration for The Bonfather.
It wasn’t just the St. Vincent de Paul faithful that were crammed into the gym for the pre-game ceremonies, or Tillman Hall for the post games feting of the beloved Bonfigli. Of the over 300 people that were present in what was a sea of hundreds of red T-Shirts in the stands that had “The Bonfather” and a caricature of Bonfigli on the front, many were his past players and admirers from Justin-Siena and his two stints at Cardinal Newman as well.
Besides opening remarks by Baribault, a welcome and remarks by St. Vincent de Paul Principal Tony Greco, a 40-year friend of Bonfigli, there was more.
Blank and Nunes talked about their relationships with Bonfigli at the pre-game ceremonies where Blank presented Bonfigli with a personally carved and hand-crafted wooden piece of memorabilia.
State Senator Bill Dodd, a Napa resident who was familiar with Bonfigli when his children were students at Justin-Siena, spoke after Baribault and kicked things off by presenting Bonfigli with a proclamation from the State Senate.
After the game the crowd moved into Tillman Hall for the second portion of the festivities where the crowd that came over from the gym exceeded the seats at the tables.
Nunes was the emcee and introduced the six speakers chosen to talk about their relationships over the years with Bonfigli, with The Bonfather speaking last.
Besides the speakers seated on the stage with Bonfigli, all the ex players and their families, friends, and local community leaders in audience, there were other former star athletes from around the Redwood Empire in attendance like 1975 Cardinal Newman graduate and former NFL star Jerry Robinson.
The first speaker was St. Vincent de Paul senior Hudson Stipp, a member of this year’s varsity basketball team who talked about what Bonfigli meant to him as a coach and mentor on the court and in life in general.
The next speaker was Jack Fitzgerald, the son of Coach Jim Fitzgerald and a classmate of Bonfigli with whom he has had a lifetime friendship with.
Former Montgomery-Santa Rosa head coach Tom Fitchie followed Fitzgerald. One of the all-time great coaches in the Redwood Empire with over 500 career coaching wins spoke of the battles the two had over the decades, and despite being arch rivals, the tremendous respect they had and still have for each other.
Chris Devine, a 1992 graduate of Cardinal Newman and a member of the 1992 team that won a CIF North Coast Section Division IV championship and was a state CIF NorCal D4 runner up, spoke about what Bonfigli instilled in him as a human being that is still a big part of how he lives his life today.
I was honored, blessed and privileged to be asked to speak and talked about the kind of impact I have witnessed Bonfigli have on his players both on and off the court in over 25-years of calling him a friend and not just another coach whose games I cover. I also alluded to the adversity Bonfigli has been faced with and what he has worked hard to overcome.
Legendary retired Cardinal Newman head football coach Ed Lloyd, the fifth-winningest coach in CIFNCS Redwood Empire history with 217 wins, spoke about the decades long relationship with Bonfigli, coaching him in JV basketball and later as an undersized varsity quarterback, and the attributes he saw early on in Bonfigli that has made him such a great coach and molder of young and women.
Finally, it came time for The Bonfather to speak, and not surprisingly, a tearful Bonfigli, whose voice at times cracked with emotion, did not talk about wins and losses, but about everything else, including his deep faith and overcoming adversity.
“It’s never been just about winning games,” Bonfigli remarked. “For me, the most important thing is knowing you’ve made a difference in the life of a child. That’s why I became a teacher and a coach.”
Two things Bonfigli did want to talk about was his deep Catholic faith that sees him attending mass an almost daily basis and his battles with alcohol where he just celebrated 30-years of sobriety.
“I’ve been open about that for years,” said Bonfigli about his involvement with recovery. “I feel that sharing my experience, strength and hope with others about my program of recovery, and talking about how I approach it one day at a time, is one of the most important things I can do.”
After everyone had their say the reality is Bonfigli would not have been honored if he wasn’t one of the greatest high school boys basketball coaches in the California history, and so it’s time to outline the on the court accomplishments .
With a 55-53 overtime victory on Tuesday night at Maria Carrillo-Santa Rosa that gets St. Vincent de Paul to 21-3 and 3-3 in NBL – Redwood play, Bonfigli recorder career coaching win No. 864 since he began in 1981 at Cardinal Newman.
According to the Cal-Hi Sports Online Record Book the 864 career wins is the sixth most all time in state history, No 2 all-time in the CIF North Coast Section to the legendary Don Lippi, and No. 1 in the Redwood Empire by 94 games over retired Branson-Ross head coach Jonas Honick.
Bonfigli accumulated his coaching wins mostly at his alma mater Cardinal Newman where he won 591 games in two stints, for his first 14 years before being let go over some of the previously mentioned adversity, 12 seasons at Justin-Siena where he won 225 games, the second at Newman after being rehired where he stayed for 12 seasons, and the last three seasons at St. Vincent de Paul after he left Newman for the job in Petaluma.
The closest active coach in the CIFNCS to Bonfigli is Bill Mellis of Salesian-Richmond. Mellis currently has 634 career wins, meaning it could take between 15 and 20 years before Mellis could pass Bonfigli.
Besides the coaching victories Bonfigli has garnered the following accolades.
- In the 43 seasons Bonfigli has coached he has won 25 more games 20 times, with 2024 looking like it will the 21st and final time.
- Bonfigli has won 30 or more game four times, including his 1989 team he called his “best ever” that went 31-4 and defeated Archbishop Mitty-San Jose 62-57 in the state CIF Northern Regional Division IV title game.
- Along with the NorCal title his 2013 also won the CIF Northern Regional Division IV championship
- There have been two CIFNCS championships, both at Cardinal Newman in 1992 and 1993
- He has 16 league titles and a total of 58 playoff wins combined at the NCS and CIF level
- Bonfigli was named the 2022 CIF North Coast Section Honor Coach, twice named the Division IV State Coach of the Year, a five time Coach of the Year in the Redwood Empire, and a 12-time league coach of the year.
- According to Maxpreps his 843 career coaching wins ranks No. 52 nationally all-time on the list of career wins for boys high school basketball coaches.
Fittingly, at the conclusion of the festivities, and in his final remarks, Bonfigli closed with a reference to his deep faith.
“When I get to heaven, and I hope to make it, when I meet the Mother Mary, all I want her to say is ‘job well done my son.”
If the positive impact the man they call “The Bonfather” has had on the lives of thousands of young people he has touched in five decades he’s dedicated to teaching and coaching isn’t a job well done, than why were there over 300 people gathered at St. Vincent de Paul to honor him?
The bottom line is job well done high school coach and educator Tom Bonfigli.
