By Jeanne Sager
CALLICOON – June 4, 2002:

Name: Emanuel “E.T.” Toledo

Age: 18

Hometown: Callicoon

School and grade: Sullivan West/Delaware Valley, 12th grade.

Family: Toledo is the son of Laurie Buday of Callicoon. He has a sister, Cristina, who attends college in Massachusetts.

Favorite sport: Football.

Ultimate athletic goal or dream career: To compete on the college level.

College plans: Toledo is currently considering offers from both Hartwick and Hudson Valley Community College for financial aid. He hopes to play football at either school and possibly participate in track.

Favorite school subject: Social studies.

It started when he was 8 or 9 years old.
All of a sudden people started realizing Emanuel “E.T.” Toledo was going to be big.
“When I was little, I was really skinny,” the Sullivan West/Delaware Valley senior recalled. “So I didn’t think much about playing football.”
Instead the youngster played AYSO soccer and Little League baseball in the area.
But then things changed. He shot up. He put on weight. And family and friends started making suggestions.
“You should play football,” they said.
When he hit seventh grade, Toledo signed up for the football team. But he’d grown so big that his mom, Laurie Buday, was having trouble finding spikes large enough for E.T.’s size-18 foot.
So local resident Arthur Norden started making calls. Within a few weeks, the National Football League (NFL) had gotten involved.
“They asked the players if anyone had any old shoes because they usually just wear them for one game and throw them out,” Toledo recalled. “But no one had any that big.”
So the NFL called upon Nike to help out a gridiron buddy in need.
A few weeks later, Toledo opened his mailbox to find two boxes of brand new Nike spikes, size-18, wrapped in official NFL paper.
“It was cool,” Toledo said.
He’s been playing football ever since and growing each year. Now standing at 6-4 and weighing 250 lbs., Toledo has been an imposing presence on the offensive line as a guard and a dominant force as a defensive tackle on the Sullivan West team.
And he’s been filling the rest of his days shooting hoops for the Bulldog team, playing baseball in past springs and this year throwing discus and shot put for the outdoor track team.
But football is far and away his favorite sport.
“It’s a way to get all your anger out,” he noted. “And it’s something to do around here.
“It keeps you in shape, and it keeps you out of trouble.”
Besides, football is the sport Toledo excels at – he’s been named to the All-State team two years in a row.
“I like things I’m successful at,” Toledo explained. “I get frustrated very easily.”
But he’s enjoyed his time playing sports – first as a Delaware Valley Eagle and later on the combined Sullivan West Bulldog teams.
It’s been a good chance to spend time with friends and stay in shape. And going out for track this year has been a good experience.
In his first year on the team, Toledo won the Section IX Class C discus competition last month.
And he’s looking forward to going out for the football team in college next year. Hartwick College in Oneonta has contacted him to play for the school’s football team. But because it’s a Division III school, Hartwick is only able to give financial aid – not a football scholarship. The school will also offer him the chance to throw the discus on the track team.
Hudson Valley Community College, which is located in Troy, has also offered him a spot on its football team.
He’s decided to attend the school which will offer the most financial aid rather than put a strain on his mom.
Buday has been a supportive force, Toledo said.
She’s attended every football game since seventh grade, and tried her best to be in the stands at other games and meets.
“She knew football was the most important (sport) to me,” Toledo explained. “And the others she went to whenever she could.”