Polio failed to strike down Sam Bello.

Truth be told, it only fired him up.

While the longtime Butler resident could not directly participate in organized sports as a child — he was victimized by polio at age 3 and spent two years in the polio ward of St. Francis Hospital from age 8-10 as a result — he went on to a dedicated career as organizer and coach in the Butler Area Midget Football League and other youth sports.

Now he will be posthumously inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame during the organization’s annual banquet at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Butler Days Inn.

“We’ve very blessed as a family to have this happen for him,” Bello’s daughter, Cathy Swift, said. “Dad never did any of that (work for kids) for the glory of it, but we’re very excited as a family.”

As a child, Bello’s prognosis for even being able to walk again was minimal. He wound up walking with a limp, but never using a cane or a crutch until his later years.

Bello died of cancer in February of 2005.

“He was the type of person who lived life to the fullest, right to the very end,” Swift said. “He played stickball as a kid on the street up on Institute Hill and, when he put his mind to it, could run faster than a lot of the kids in the neighborhood who weren’t handicapped.

“He broke that (polio-affected) leg in a motorcycle accident in his late 50s. When the doctor saw that leg, he couldn’t understand how he ever walked on it.

“But that was my father. My favorite quote of his was: ‘Being handicapped is a state of mind, not a state of being.’ And that’s how he lived his life,” she added.

And what a life he lived.

Bello developed a friendship with Butler Cubs coach John Gazetos, who asked him to become the athletic manager for the Cubs football team. Bello developed his love for football through years of working with that team,

In 1955, Bello hosted several meetings in his home with Butler High School football coach A.G. Cappezutti, Alf Allam, Ed Ford and then Butler Eagle sports editor Mike Surkalo to discuss the plight of the BAMFL.

“They came up with an idea to raise money so the program could really thrive,” Swift said. “Things took off from there.”

Peanut sales and a reverse raffle were among the fundraisers. When Memorial Park became available for the league to use, Bello helped spearhead the efforts to get a locker room and stands built at the facility.

“He’d haul stone over there in his truck and he would be over at the park every day helping with rhe construction,” Swift said. “Any kids who couldn’t come to practice, Dad would pick them up and bring them.”

Bello coached Institute Hill and Center Township to BAMFL championships. He coached eventual NFL players Terry Hanratty, Rich and Ron Saul.

As the owner of Bello’s Auto Body for many years, Bello painted the football helmets for every team in the league. He stored the football equipment in his facility during the offseason.

Bello served as BAMFL president for a couple of stints. He coached Little League baseball and was a Little League umpire.

He coached his sons, Sam Jr. and George, when they played youth football.

“Sam wound up coaching Ben Roethlisberger in high school at Findlay (Ohio) and was an assistant coach for Findlay College teams that won national championships,” Swift said. “George went on to be a running back at Butler High School and scored on one of the longest touchdown plays in school history.

“Dad had a major influence on his sons’ sports careers and numerous other youths who went on to do big things,” Swift said.

For a man who wasn’t supposed to be able to walk, Sam Bello walked miles in terms of his impact on Butler athletics.

Tickets for the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame banquet are $30 in advance, $35 at the door. They are available at bcshof.com, Parker’s Appliance in Chicora, Saxonburg Drug, Moses Jewelers, Snack n’ Pack and Bill’s Beer Barn in Butler.