Daniel C. Parrell

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Daniel C. Parrell was a football standout at Hazleton High School and Bloomsburg State College (now university). He lettered for three years in football as a fullback-linebacker at Hazleton High and he also lettered in basketball. In football, he scored 24 points on the 8-1 1941 team, led by one of the all-time greats at HHS, Anthony “Hunky” Moran; 24 on the 1942 5-2-1 team, and a team-leading 48 on the 7-4 1943 team. The legendary Stan Olenn (23 straight wins) coached the ’41 and ’42 teams, and George Kavel was the ’43 coach. Daniel was named to The Plain Speaker All-Regional team two years and received All-State honorable mention. At Bloomsburg State, once again playing fullback and linebacker, he lettered for four years in football and played on the college’s first undefeated team. He finished with 28 career touchdowns. He led the Huskies in scoring as a freshman, led the state conference in scoring as a junior with 11 touchdowns, and scored 11 more touchdowns as a senior. Parrell scored 28 touchdowns and one extra point at Bloomsburg for a total of 169 career points. He was one of the top scorers in the state and seventh in the nation. His longest touchdown run covered 80 yards, and in one game he scored three touchdowns. As a result of being the team’s leading scorer for two years, he was named All-Conference two seasons and received Little All-America honorable mention. He was also the team captain. He played for a legendary coach at Bloomsburg, Bob Redman. Parrell was a recipient of the coveted four-year Varsity Key at Bloomsburg. The key goes only to athletes who have earned four varsity letters in one sport. Parrell was an assistant football coach to Eddie Brominski at Hazleton High from 1951 to 1957, and then top assistant to Tony Scarcella at HHS. Scarcella is the last coach with a winning record at HHS. Parrell was also the athletic trainer for all sports. Later, he was an elementary teacher and principal in the Hazleton City School District at Arthur St. School, principal at Hazle Elementary School in the Hazleton Area School District, assistant superintendent of HASD in 1971-72, and superintendent of the HASD from 1972 to 1988. He received a B.S. degree in Education from Bloomsburg and a master’s degree in Education and Administration from New York University. He also completed graduate studies at the University of Scranton, Kutztown University, Temple University, Bloomsburg, and Penn State. Parrell served two years in the U.S. Navy in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific theaters of operations during World War II. Parrell is a member of the Most Precious Blood Church. He was inducted in the Hazleton YMCA Sports Hall of Fame. He is married to the former Lucille Caccese, and they have three children, Mrs. Diane Kundrat, Daniel, and Mrs. Lori Chapman, and four grandchildren.