From 1998 to 2007, he served as general manager of the New York Giants, responsible for drafting quarterback Eli Manning and signing many of the players who won Super Bowl XLII. In the city that never sleeps, Accorsi was still the toast of the town.
Through it all, however, there was never any doubt as to where his heart belonged.
"No matter where ever I lived, Hershey has always been home," said the recently retired NFL executive, who maintains homes in Hershey and New York. "Now that I'm retired, I have more time to spend in Hershey, which I plan to do."
Accorsi returned here last weekend to be inducted into the Capital Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the Harrisburg Holiday Inn East in Swatara Twp.
Many well-wishers were on hand to greet the 1959 Hershey High grad, who was accompanied by his son, Patrick.
Colorful stories of his days in the NFL flowed like wine and the tasty sauces at his favorite Hershey Italian restaurant.
"I've always loved the sauce and the food at Fenicci's DeAngelis Restaurant in Hershey," said Accorsi. "The new owner has done a great job of restoring the tradition and the atmosphere of the place.
"I warned him that now that I'm retired, I have more time to spend in his restaurant. And I told him, if he does anything to change the sauce or the pizza, I'd put him out of business. But we laughed. He assured me nothing has changed and he has 50 people who'll attest to it."
PLAYING DAYS
Among Accorsi's favorite Hershey stories is one from his baseball playing days. He played baseball up to the American Legion level.
"In 1956, when I was 15," he said, "we played in the teener league in Lebanon County. We were undefeated through the whole year when we played our last game at the old Fredericksburg Stadium where the Fredericksburg Chicks played. I believe even Babe Ruth played in that stadium.
"Anyway, we were losing by a run when I got a hit to tie the game. Then in the last inning, I was playing shortstop and a guy hit a ground ball toward me. My third baseman cut in front of me to play it, but it got through him. I got to the ball and threw, but it was too late and we ended up losing the game.
"Well, in a season-ending meeting the next day, our manager, who's no longer with us, said, 'Accorsi, you cost us the game.' I didn't say a word, because our third baseman was our class president. But one of my teammates stood up for me and said, "No, sir. Ernie did not cost us the game.' I learned a big lesson that day that stayed with me throughout my career."
After graduating from Wake Forest, where he also is a Hall of Fame inductee, Accorsi went from the Army to the newspaper business, to the athletic departments at St. Joseph's University and Penn State.
It was at Penn State that he learned the Football business under athletic director Jim Tarman and head coach Joe Paterno.
NFL PALS
Following is Accorsi's brief assessments of some of the people who influenced his NFL career:
Wellington Mara: "Absolutely the greatest owner a guy could work for. He was literally a walking library. He was there for the very first game the Giants played. I was always afraid of asking him too many stupid questions, but he was always a very kind, generous, wonderful man."
George Young: "Learned a lot from George. He was very cerebral, very intellectual. He was a teacher for many, many years and he taught me a lot. You could say he was my mentor. I learned a lot from some other great guys, like Joe Thomas and Pete Rozelle, but George was a great teacher."
Phil Simms: "Great commentator. Great quarterback. I didn't get to work with Phil when he played for the Giants, but I know him very well. A real gentleman. As far as I'm concerned, he should be in the NFL Hall of Fame. His Super Bowl win was amazing."
Kerry Collins: "Another great quarterback, both at Penn State and in the NFL. He took us to the Super Bowl with the Giants. His NFC championship game in which he threw five touchdowns in a 47-0 win over the Vikings stands as the greatest quarterback performance in Giants Stadium, if not New York, history."
Eli Manning: "I liked Eli from the first time I saw him play at Mississippi. Great arm. Great vision. I think he'll win a few Super Bowls before he's done. He had something that Johnny Unitas had, the ability to save something that would work until you needed it in a game."
Lawrence Taylor: "The greatest defensive player I ever saw play. He was the best."
Amani Toomer, Plaxico Burress: "The best pair of receivers I ever had the pleasure of working with. Amani owns every receiving record the Giants have and without Plaxico, we never would have won the Super Bowl."
Accorsi's praise extended to the cities in which he worked.
"Baltimore was great because we had Johnny Unitas and he was a great one," he said. "I drafted John Elway for the Colts, but he didn't want to play for us.
"Winning the Super Bowl in New York City was fantastic, but I really enjoyed my years in Cleveland. The fans in Cleveland were the greatest. We had Bernie Kosar, who took us to the playoffs five years in a row. One of those tough losses was to Elway and his 'Drive.'
"But old Cleveland Municipal Stadium was so big, it held 82,000 and the people always supported the Browns.
"Our rivalry with the Steelers was very special. That was when the Steelers were somewhat down, but they always brought their fans. There were so many seats in Cleveland, the Steelers fans always got in, but we never could get seats in Pittsburgh for our fans.
"But even though the Steelers were down, they were always tough. I'll never forget 1989. We beat them 51-0 in Pittsburgh in the very first game, but when they came to Cleveland later in the season, they beat us 17-7. That was the kind of rivalry it was."