The many hats a man wears to raise a child properly
By Ron Ciancutti
Photo Credit: © Can Stock Photo / monkeybusiness
My father, Ronald Henry Ciancutti—son of Henry Ronald Ciancutti and future father of me, Ronald Drew Ciancutti—stared at the ceiling in the gymnasium as the light grew brighter in the early morning hours. Football players on scholarship slept on cots that were rolled out onto the basketball court at night and then folded up and stored during the day. Players were allowed one suitcase. Each morning after their shower, they folded up the suitcase in the cot and wheeled it off the floor so the gym could be used that day. At night they rolled the cots out to center court, opened them, put the suitcase underneath, and snored the boards off the parquet floor. This inevitable team camaraderie was similar to being in the Army with the relationships it rendered. Ron looked around the gym and thought how much he would miss his great friends, but he knew it was time to move on. He thought about his interview with Ford Motor Company that day. He thought about his graduation from Baldwin Wallace College in the next week. But mostly, he thought about his fiancé and how much he was looking forward to his new life with her.
Well On His Way
In 1953 my father graduated, having been educated through a football scholarship that brought him from New Kensington, Penn., to Berea, Ohio. He was a solid student with good grades, but his passion was athletics. One particular story from his junior year was like folklore: he had broken his leg, but played the entire second half of the championship game without telling the coach. After the victory, he was taken straight to the hospital and wrapped in a cast for the next four months. “I had to keep playing,” he later said. “It was the championship.”
His talents and determination as a defensive end landed him a tryout with the (then) Baltimore Colts. He reported to camp and had been accepted for the developmental squad, but had yet to report back to the team about the invitation. In those days, a pro football offer meant maintaining a regular job in the pertaining town and playing ball on weekends. It was an easy choice for a single man, but not a reliable way to start a family. Ron had met the girl of his dreams so he wanted to offer her a solid life, a nice home, children, and all the things he felt she deserved.