Career
He was known as the National Basketball Association"s last two-handed set shooter. After playing at Niagara University, he joined the Philadelphia Warriors in 1954. Two years later he was traded to the Syracuse Nationals.
He retired in 1965 from the Philadelphia 76ers (the former Syracuse Nationals), but eventually came back for the 1966-1967 National Basketball Association season after new head coach Alex Hannum told him he needed a veteran point guard.
With 42 games into the season, Costello ripped his Achilles tendon on January 6, 1967 and was replaced by Wali Jones. He did, however, come back to participlate in the 1967 playoffs.
Costello ended his career for the second and final time in 1968. During his National Basketball Association career, Costello was selected to six National Basketball Association All-Star Games (playing in five).
He led the league in free throw percentage in the 1962-1963 and 1964-1965 seasons.
Costello began his coaching career at East Syracuse-Minoa High School where he coached the boys varsity basketball team to the state championship for the first time in school history. After a 3–15 start into the 1976-1977 season, he was fired. He coached the Chicago Bulls for 56 games in 1978-1979 before returning to Milwaukee to coach the Milwaukee Does of the Women"s Professional Basketball League for part of the 1979-1980 season.
Costello"s last coaching job was at Utica College in the 1980s.
The school was making the transition from Division III to Division I as an independent. Costello coached one season in Division III. He retired in 1987.
Costello died on December 13, 2001 after battling cancer for more than a year. Costello was featured in the book, Basketball History in Syracuse, Hoops Roots by author Mark Allen Baker published by The History Press in 2010.
The book is an introduction to professional basketball in Syracuse and includes teams like (Vic Hanson"s) All-Americans, the Syracuse Reds and the Syracuse Nationals (1946–1963).