College of the Holy Cross basketball legend Togo Palazzi, the Most Valuable Player of the Crusaders' 1954 National Invitation Tournament championship team, passed away on Friday, August 12. He was 90 years old.
Born August 8, 1932, in Union City, N.J., Palazzi played at Union Hill High School, where he was recognized as one of the top prep basketball players nationwide. He enrolled at Holy Cross in 1950, during a time when freshmen were not eligible to play on the varsity squad. As a member of the freshman team, Palazzi led the Crusaders in scoring during 14 of their 21 games while averaging a team-best 24.0 points per game.
As a sophomore in 1951-1952, Palazzi led the team in scoring with 370 points and an average of 13.7 points per game. He set a school single-game record by hitting 15 field goals against Springfield and scored more than 30 points in a game twice. His 32 points against Brown were the third-highest single-game output in Crusader history at the time. Holy Cross finished the season with an overall record of 24-4 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament.
During the 1952-1953 campaign, Palazzi set a school single-season record by scoring 593 points while finishing the season 10th in the nation in scoring with an average of 22.8 points per game. He smashed the school single-game scoring record with 47 points against Brown and was named a first team All-American at the conclusion of the season. The Crusaders ended the year with a 20-6 overall record and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.
Palazzi wrapped up his Holy Cross career by earning first team All-America honors for the second time in 1955-1956. He broke his own school single-season scoring record with 670 points for an average of 24.8 points per contest. As a team captain, Palazzi led the Crusaders to an overall record of 26-2. During the National Invitation Tournament, he scored 77 points in three games and won Most Valuable Player honors as Holy Cross claimed the title.
Over the course of his three varsity seasons at Holy Cross, Palazzi totaled 1,633 points and 1,086 rebounds in just 80 games played, breaking the all-time program record for rebounds and ranking second in scoring behind only Bob Cousy. He was also the first player in school history to finish his career with a scoring average of better than 20 points per game (20.4).
Following his graduation, Palazzi was chosen in the first round of the National Basketball Association Draft by the Boston Celtics in 1954. He went on to play six seasons with the Celtics and the Syracuse Nationals, totaling 2,382 points and 1,113 rebounds in his professional career.
Palazzi returned to Holy Cross in the 1970s, serving as an assistant men's basketball coach under George Blaney from 1972-1980 and again from 1985-1987. In between those two stints, he was the head coach of the Crusaders' women's basketball team from 1980-1985, posting an overall record of 103-28 and leading the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 1985.
Palazzi was inducted into the Holy Cross Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1967, and had his jersey (No. 22) retired by Holy Cross in 2008.
He is survived by his companion of 38 years, Judith Hoss; his six children, Francis, Vincent, Michael, Mary Ann, Elizabeth and Matthew Palazzi; his sister Diana Palazzi; 11 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
There will be a funeral mass on Saturday, August 20, at 10 a.m. in Blessed Sacrament Church, 555 Pleasant St., Worcester. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery, Worcester. There are no calling hours.
Tributes to Palazzi can be found below.
Obituary (Legacy.com)
Holy Cross hoop great Togo Palazzi dies, 90; starred in '54 NIT (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
Per the Celtics, Boston alumnus Togo Palazzi has passed away at the age of 90 (USA Today)
Togo Palazzi, Hudson County basketball great, dies at 90 (NJ.com)
Do it for others': Family, friends remember Togo Palazzi's basketball life, love for Holy Cross (Worcester Telegram & Gazette)
