Joe Natoli Park, Morningside: 100 President Way
Tucked away behind the main streets of Morningside, there’s a little neighborhood playground with athletic fields and a basketball court. The space is named after Morningside resident Joe Natolie, who worked for Pittsburgh Parks and Recreation for 35 years and also coached the Morningside Bulldogs youth football team from 1950 to 1979. That longevity is impressive enough, but when you add that he retired with a final record of 271-19-8, it’s clear why residents petitioned the city to honor his contributions.
Joe was born in 1927 in Bloomfield and moved to Morningside with his family ten years later. It was here that he discovered the joys of playing football at the recently created Sophia Evert #4 park and field. In 1930, East Liberty businessman and whiskey distiller Fred C. Renziehausen passed away, and his will stipulated that funds be granted to the city to create five playgrounds in his mother’s name, Sophia Evert.
While Renziehausen’s gift may not have been as grand as those that established Schenley or Frick Parks, it enabled the city to purchase land and improve residents’ quality of life. That gift certainly influenced Joe Natoli’s life, and I don’t doubt that, in his 30 years as a coach, he passed it along to countless others.
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