Years with the Lancers: 1967 (forward)
Born: Agropoli, Italy
An original member of the Rochester Lancers. Played amateur soccer in his native Italy before coming to the US in 1956. Joined the Italian American Sports Club amateur side upon his arrival in Rochester and played for 12 years and was a top scorer for teams that consistently won local titles and made deep runs into the National Amateur Challenge Cup. In 1963, his play was key in the IASC winning the Cup. Had 2 goals and 2 assists in the semi-final match and scored the match winning “Gol Olympico” directly off a corner kick in the final, a 1-0 win over St. Ambrose of St. Louis. Was also a starting forward on the IASC 1959 Final Four and 1966 runner-up teams in the Challenge Cup. Played on the Lancers team in 1967 that was made up of many players from that great IASC side and competed against some of the best teams in the world, including Chelsea, Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund.
The first of 3 generations of his family to suit up for a Rochester-based soccer team. His son Pat Tata was a member of the Rochester Flash in 1984 and his grandson Dominic Coco played for the NPSL Rochester Lancers in 2017. Another grandson, Nick Tata was a Division 3 soccer All-American at Cortland State.
Worked at General Motors for many years. Married to Emma for 50+ years and has 4 children, Pat, Roseanne, Linda and Lisa, along with 7 grandchildren. Spending his retirement years supporting his grandkids playing soccer on their youth, high school and collegiate teams.