Article on Italian-American Managers -response

In regards to a recent post, we received a response regarding the Italian-American managers in baseball:

We will put a “clarification” about Mr. Maddon in the next issue of our magazine. Thank you all for the head’s up


Dona De Sanctis, PHD
Editor-in-Chief
Italian America Magazine
the most widely read publication in the U.S. for people of Italian heritage

219 E Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002


Tel: 202 547 2900 - Fax: 202 547 1492

Il Villaggio wine tasting and dinner review

For those of you that couldn't make it, you missed an awesome dinner with wine that complimented each course perfectly!

There was even a magic show as part of the entertainment.

They will have more events like that in the future.

Sign up for our mailing list, and we will pass that information along to you, or check back on this site periodically.

Thanks,

Larry Aiello
Vice-President,
Young Italians Lodge, #2668

Italian-American managers in baseball

Hello baseball fans. We just received our latest Italian America magazine, summer edition and were reading it over dinner. There's an article about Baseball's Italian American Managers, but the writer forgot someone very important - Joe Maddon. Here's a message we sent; feel free to send your own if you would like.


On Aug 19, 2009, at 5:50 PM, Joe Lomascolo wrote:


Dear Mr. Darden:

My wife and I enjoyed your article, Play Small Win Big - Baseball's Italian American Managersthat appeared in the Summer 2009 Italian America magazine.

Unfortunately, you missed the 2008 Manager of the Year, and manager of the American League Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Maddon. Joe was the Angel's bench coach from 1996 to 2005 under Mike Scioscia, and is a former Minor League catcher who had been in the Angels organization for 31 years. In 2006, Joe was chosen to manage the Tampa Bay Rays.

Joe grew up in Pennsylvania the oldest of three children in a tiny apartment atop the business started by his Italian immigrant grandfather, C. Maddon & Sons Plumbing and Heating. (The family name was originally Maddoninni.) Joe was an excellent high school quarterback — nicknamed Broad Street Joe after a main Hazleton thoroughfare.
In the Tampa Bay area, as well as in his hometown, Joe and his wife help serve food to the homeless.

My wife and I live in Palm Harbor, Florida (Tampa Bay area) and are both Italian Americans

Joe Lomascolo, Orator of the Young Italians of Florida Lodge 2668
Suzanne Lomascolo, President of the Young Italians of Florida Lodge 2668

P.S. By separate e-mail I forwarded you an article about Joe Maddon.


Subject: Re: In response to your article on Italian-American Managers
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:27:16 -0700


Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lomascolo:

Thank you for telling me of Joe's Italian lineage. I regret not being aware of it. Unfortunately, when an individual's family name has been changed, as you know, the lineage is often not publicly known after a couple of generations. I have long been familiar with Joe's professional as well as personal qualities which your email causes me now to realize have their roots in his Italian heritage.

The way I remember it, Joe spent three decades with the Angels before being promoted to bench coach by Mike Scioscia early in Mike's career as manager. Mike didn't come to the Angels till after the close of the '99 season. So if Joe became bench coach in '96 as you say, I am in error. However, I still attribute his great success in that job to Scioscia's support as well as to his own skills. They learned from each other. Mike's support continued in Joe's gaining the Tampa Bay job, and Joe has done Mike a big favor since, which I won't elaborate on here. I understand they communicate regularly by Text messages.

Thanks to you, I will now support the Rays not only because of Joe's relationship to Mike, but because of his own Italian bloodline. While I don't possess Italian blood myself, I have strong personal ties to your race.

I haven't found the article you sent me. Please resend.
Ciao,
Lloyd

Festa della Madonna, Ybor City

One of our members asked to put up this flyer regarding the Festa della Madonna, at the Italian Club in Ybor City:

August '09 dinner at Cafe' Amaretto

We had a nice turnout for our previous meeting, and had a couple of new folks show up! The food at Cafe' Amaretto is really excellent. I had the Pasta Puttanesca, a dish typical of the Naples region of Italy. It is a little spicy, and tangy, usually made with garlic, olives, capers, etc. in a tomato-based sauce.




Special thanks to Bob Scarpetta, for his presentation that honored the life of his late mother. His family even created (and passed around) a nice hard-cover book in her honor. It is a beautiful memory that his family can share for many future generations.

Young Italians are Awesome Baby!!!

Former Young Italians president, Larry Aiello, pictured with Mr. Dick Vitale, famous ESPN college basketball broadcaster and Hall of Famer; and of course, a proud and outspoken Italian-American.

Mr. Vitale was guest speaker and honored guest at a Grand Lodge of Florida (Sons of Italy) quarterly meeting in Bradenton circa 2000. He gave a very moving and tear-jerking speech when he spoke about his late friend Jim Valvano.

Mr. Vitale's lesson was to live life to the fullest and live it with passion every day.

The Alligator

By popular demand, I posted a picture of the alligator we saw at our June picnic at Lake Tarpon.

We plan on doing another picnic at this location in November.

The exact date is to be determined.

Check back on this web site for further details when they become available.

Thanks

Change in plans for Saturday

We had a change in plans for the meeting this Saturday!

Here is the new location:

Café' Amaretto
5915 Memorial Hwy Tampa, FL 33615
Phone: 813-885-4700

We'll be meeting at 7PM.

Hope to see you there!

August 8th Meeting,

Come join us this Saturday, August 8th, for our next Young Italians of Florida meeting:

Where:
Italiano's Pizza, Pasta & Grill Ristorante
7924 Gunn Highway (near Sickles High)
Tampa 813-926-3354
www. italianosmarket.com

When: 7PM

Our last picnic on Lake Tarpon

We had a great time at the June picnic at Lake Tarpon. The spot was perfect, thanks Joe and Suzanne for staking out that one! There was plenty of good food, and we got to see many people we haven't seen in a while. We also got a chance to play some games afterwards.

Thanks everyone that came out and made it a success!

A Super Bowl Party

This is a pic from a super-bowl party we had a few years ago. I forgot who won the game, or who even played, but all had a good time!