By Zach Cavanagh
Former Saddleback College and Dana Hills High School football coach Bill Cunerty died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on Thursday, Oct. 22. Cunerty, 74, was diagnosed with the disease in April of 2017 and had been in hospice care for more than a year.
Cunerty first made his name locally as the head football coach at Dana Hills in 1975 and at Capistrano Valley High School in 1977. Cunerty later was a quarterback coach and offensive coordinator at Saddleback College before becoming head coach in 1995. Saddleback went undefeated and won a national championship under Cunerty in 1996.
Cunerty may be known more locally for his time as a high school football broadcaster for the local Cox 3 Game of the Week. From 2003 to 2017, Cunerty worked alongside broadcaster Kevin Turner and former Los Angeles Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo covering and highlighting South Orange County football.
Cunerty is survived by his wife of 51 years, Claudia, daughter Kelly, son-in-law Cameron, daughter Shannon, son-in-law Ben, three grandchildren and sister Patty.
The memorial service for Cunerty will be livestreamed at reverencechurch.org on Nov. 14 at 2 p.m.
Zach Cavanagh
Zach Cavanagh is the sports editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is a multiple California Journalism Award winner and has covered sports in Orange County since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports. Email at zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com.
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