Donald Snyder, legendary Farmingdale High School football coach, dies at 98

Donald Snyder coached at a time when high school football coaches were often described as ornery, overly strict and even a little cruel. But you won't hear those words uttered about Snyder, and his methods were profoundly successful.

Snyder was the Farmingdale High School football coach for over 40 years and compiled a .712 winning percentage. He went 237-93-8 and won six Rutgers Cups, which are presented to the top team in Nassau County, from 1953-92. He also served as the school’s athletic director from 1961-91. His 1972 team went undefeated and was ranked No. 6 in the country.  In 1978, Farmingdale went undefeated and did not allow a single point, outscoring opponents, 275-0. The football field at Farmingdale High School is named after Snyder.

Synder died on Sunday in hospice at Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, his family said. He was 98.

Farmingdale head football coach Buddy Krumenacker played for Snyder before taking over for him as coach in 1993.

“He was demanding, naturally," Krumenacker said. "You don’t have the success you have without being demanding, but when I look back, he always had everyone’s best interests at heart. That’s something I’d say about Coach for sure. He was always a gentleman, caring, kind and considerate.”

Snyder’s influence on Nassau County athletics is extensive and ongoing. His list of Hall of Fame inductions includes: the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, Nassau County Athletics Hall of Fame, New York State Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame and National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He also served as the wrestling coordinator for Section VIII, which governs high school sports in Nassau County, for many years.

He has multiple national and local football awards and honors, and the Nassau County Football Coaches Association created the Snyder Award, which is given annually to the outstanding quarterback in Nassau County, in 2004.

“He was just a classy guy,” said Peter Melore, who played for Snyder, coached in Farmingdale and is the current athletic director at Connetquot. “You’re a kid and you watch how he carries himself and you try to carry yourself the same way.”

Ron Heller, who played 12 years as an offensive tackle in the NFL, played for Snyder in 1978 and 1979. Heller played for coaches like Joe Paterno at Penn State and Don Shula with the Dolphins and said Snyder shared many commonalities with those coaching immortals.

“I was coached by them in football, but I know any one of them could have run any business in the country, it just happened to be football,” Heller said. “The common thread between those three was the organization, the preparation and the work behind the scenes.”

Heller said practice under Snyder wasn’t easy but, “you knew it was going to be worth it.” He added Snyder instilled confidence in the 1978 team that they could go unscored on if they remained focused on the team’s principles.

“You were just so proud to be walking behind him because you knew what he represented,” Heller said. “That’s what made us different. We were proud to be a part of that program.”

Snyder was born at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester on Feb. 17, 1926. He graduated from Le Roy High School in 1943 before joining the Navy and graduating from Springfield College in 1949. He met his wife, Melissa, at Columbia University while they were both working on their Master’s Degree in Physical Education and the two were married on June 23, 1951. Melissa, known as Mickey, died in 2004.

Snyder was heavily involved in the community, including serving as chief and commissioner of the Wantagh Fire Department. He was commissioner for 55 years until 2021, his son, Keith Snyder said.

“He just had so much love for other people and he just wanted to be at service all the time to everyone and in every capacity,” said Keith, who is the athletic director for the Levittown school district. “Just everything he did was almost magical.”

“People in Farmingdale will come up to me and tell me, ‘I want to be just like him,' " his daughter, Pam, said. “People just felt so strongly and loved him so much and he really was a role model to everybody.”

Keith Snyder remembers his father visiting opposing team’s players in hospitals, volunteering at different local events and even helping former players who fell on bad times later in life.

“He was legendary,” Keith Snyder said. “He had so much care for everybody. He was so benevolent and so understanding. He’d be the first one anyone would turn to if they needed help and he’d always be the first one to offer.”

Krumenacker, who was the head coach at Hempstead High School for 11 years before joining Snyder at Farmingdale, said he just wanted to maintain what Snyder built when he became the head coach.

“I had a very simple goal when I took over and that was to keep the thing exactly the way it was,” Krumenacker said. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix something that’s going along real fine. Just go in and carry the torch.”

Melore remembers Snyder as a true role model, both when playing for him and coaching with him.

“I just think that he got the big picture,” Melore said. “He understood that these are high school kids. Yes, we are going to be highly competitive, we’re going to be tough. There’s an expectation to win at Farmingdale, there still is, but I just think he kept that balance of understanding it is just a sport and there’s more important lessons to be taught than to just win football games.”

Snyder is survived by his four children, Ron of Florida, Keith of Coram, Pam Ball of Wantagh and David of Patchogue, along with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

There will be wakes on Aug. 13 and Aug. 14 from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. at O’Shea Funeral Home in Wantagh. There will be a remembrance ceremony on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Levittown.