John Cappadonia was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and baseball during the early 1960s. He was a leader on both offense and defense who helped lead the football team to a record of 5-2 in 1961, and was a major contributor to the only undefeated football team in school history in 1962.
In basketball, he was the starting guard and second leading scorer as a junior on the 1962-63 varsity basketball team that finished 12-6, good for second place in the LCAA. He followed that up with a huge senior year in which he led the team in scoring at 18 points per game. In this year he scored 39 points in one game on December 26, 1964, against Scio. This is tied for the fourth highest point total in one game in school history. This game was part of a holiday tournament at Canisteo. His point total of 62 in the two-game tournament led him to be named a tournament all-star. This performance came after he scored 33 points in a game just a few days before in a win against Lima on December 20.
In baseball, he was a strong hitter, infielder, and pitcher who helped lead the team to two consecutive LCAA titles in 1962 and 1963. These two teams combined for a record of 22-3, and the 1962 team finished the regular season undefeated at 10-0 making it the second undefeated varsity team that this man helped lead. All those that played with this inductee say what a great teammate and tough competitor he was. These words were made more evident after he graduated in 1974. He went on the play both basketball and baseball for the United States Army. In fact, while in the Army, he played baseball alongside Yankee legend Bobby Mercer.