By Marc Raimondi
“And I was hooked,” Gatto said.The rest, as they say, is history. Gatto has been the St. John's Prep (formerly Mater Christi) boys' hoops coach for 38 years, amassed 550 wins, a pair of city titles and 12 division championships. On Saturday, the 68-year-old was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Glens Falls Civic Center.His baseball jones continued – Gatto worked in stadium operations at Shea Stadium from 1969 to 2000 – but he's now a basketball guy. Not to mention an institution in Astoria. His teams never made it to the state Federation tournament in Glens Falls, but he'll be forever immortalized there after Saturday's proceedings.”I was kind of overwhelmed,” Gatto said of the ceremony. “I might come every year just to watch the games.”Reach Associate Sports Editor Marc Raimondi by e-mail at mraimondi@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 130.
