Chiefs’ Coach Steve Calabresi “Coach Cal” Passes Away

Stephen Calabresi, 65 of Stoneham, formerly of Medford, beloved husband of Jean M. (Coleman) Calabresi, passed away on Tuesday, April 25th at Tufts University Medical Center in Boston.

Born in Boston, he is the son of Margaret (Mongiello) Calabresi and the late Zorro Calabresi. Stephen grew up in Medford. Stephen was employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Suffolk County Registry of Deeds Office, as an Executive Assistant of the Land Court until his retirement in 2016. Stephen continued working part time at the Registry after his retirement.

Stephen’s real passion was baseball. On the field, he was affectionately known as “Coach Cal.” He was the Bench Coach for the Andre Chiefs, the former assistant baseball coach at Arlington Catholic High School and MIT and the coach for the North Medford Little League. Stephen was also the vice president for Medford Babe Ruth League. He loved being with the team. For 40 years, Coach Cal helped players excel at the game. It was his passion and he will truly be missed by all the players whose lives he made a difference in.

In addition to his wife of 35 years, Jean, he is survived by cousins: Joseph Mongiello and his wife Roberta and Patricia Howes and her husband Brad; sisters-in-law: Joan Coleman and Janet Coleman; brother-in-law: John Coleman and his wife Leslie, along with his loving nephews Daniel Coleman and his wife Abby, Brian Coleman and his wife Melissa and Michael Coleman and extended family and friends.

Funeral from the Barile Family Funeral Home, 482 Main St. (RT 28) STONEHAM Monday, May 1st at 8am followed by a Funeral Mass Celebrating Stephen’s Eternal Life in St. Patrick Church, 71 Central St. Stoneham at 9am. Family and friends are cordially invited to gather and share memories with the Family on Sunday, April 30th from 4-8pm in the Funeral Home. Parking attendants and elevator are available. Interment Lindenwood Cemetery, Stoneham.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in Stephen’s Memory to Northeast Animal Shelter, 347 Highland Ave. Salem, MA 01970.

For more information, www.facebook.com/BarileFamilyFuneralHome

Former ICL Umpire Bill Austin Passes Away

AUSTIN, William C. Jr. of Medford. Feb. 1, 2017. Beloved husband of the late Elizabeth (Boynton). Loving father of William Austin of Fort Myers, FL, Richard Austin of Foxboro, Scott Austin of Everett, Sheri Zammora of Malden. Brother of Sally Cefalo of Lynn. Also survived by 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. William was a Korean War Navy veteran. Retired after 34 years of the Medford Fire Dept. He was also on member of the Shirners. A funeral service will be held at the Keefe Funeral Home, 5 Chestnut St., Rt.60 (adjacent to St. Agnes Church) ARLINGTON on Tuesday at 10 am. Relatives and friends invited. Visiting hours Monday from 4-8 pm. Burial in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. For obituary, directions or to send a condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com.

Bill was an umpire at a number of levels of baseball including the Intercity League.

ICL Comedy Night to be held on Saturday, January 28th at Anthony’s in Malden

Hello & Happy New Year to the ICL, Alumni,Friends & Family
The ICL is asking for your support, and since we took a year off from the Hall of Fame, we have decided to put together a night to get together and have some laughs, present awards from 2016 winners and reunion.
Saturday, January 28th @ Anthony’s in Malden MA, some of the best comedian will be making you laugh.
John David & Sal Votano will be our headliners.
The night will have plenty of raffles, Celtics & Red Sox tickets, along with many more raffles.  A silent auction, with several signed memorabilia.
A buffet dinner will be starting @ 6:45, show begins @ 8:30.
Tickets are $40.00, you can reserve your spot by emailing
or
Call Orazio Azzarello  617-839-6843
Please pass this along. The ICL appreciates your support.  If anyone would like to raffle something or can not attend and would like to donate please get in touch with us.  The money donated helps the league pay for many expenses and will allow us to continue playing the Finals @ Morelli Field in Melrose.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Orazio Azzarello
ICL Event Coordinator
617-839-6843

Chiefs’ Mike Pagliarulo Named as Miami Marlins Hitting Coach

Mike Pagliarulo, who was a member of the Andre Chiefs Coaching Staff in 2016, was recently named Hitting Coach of the Miami Marlins. Below is a story written by Sun Sentinel Sports Reporter Tim Healey.

There are two things you should know about Mike Pagliarulo, the Miami Marlins’ new hitting coach.

The first is his last name is pronounced Pal-lee-ah-ROO-low — or, as Pagliarulo put it, “however it comes out.” Most people just call him Pags.

The second is that Pagliarulo, 56, is a researcher of sorts, always passionate and sometimes obsessive. The guy does his homework. From an amateur career that brought him to the University of Miami to his major league days when he was teammates with Don Mattingly to multiple stages of a post-playing career, Pagliarulo has made research and preparedness a hallmark of his baseball life.

Pagliarulo would have never ended up in South Florida if not for his research. He was a suburban Boston kid in the 1970s, an all-state player as a junior but not sure how good he really was, playing maybe two-dozen games a year in a part of the country where the winter comes early and stays late. So he started reaching out to college programs to gauge potential interest Florida Stateand Rollins College in the Sunshine State, Southern California and Arizona outside it. And then there was UM. Pagliarulo’s grandparents lived in Pembroke Pines, and during one family get-together he arranged a visit to Coral Gables, too. That’s where he met Ron Fraser, the late and legendary Hurricanes baseball coach, and assistant Skip Bertman. A 6-foot-2, switch-hitting shortstop? Pagliarulo had their attention. He ended up with a scholarship and a successful three-year collegiate career. “I felt like that was where I was born in baseball,” Pagliarulo said in a telephone interview Wednesday, a day after his hiring with the Marlins was announced.

The New York Yankees picked Pagliarulo in the sixth round of the 1981 amateur draft. Three years later, he made it to the Bronx and played third base opposite Mattingly, the All-Star first baseman and MVP candidate. It was the start of Pagliarulo’s 11-season big league career with five teams, plus a one-year layover in Japan. One of his best seasons came in 1991, when he was on the World Series-winning Minnesota Twins.

Pagliarulo spent half of his major league days with the Yankees, with whom he learned further lessons in research — in this case, research on a given game’s starting pitcher. The detailed scouting reports commonplace now were much less so then. “The Yankees had reports on everything,” Pagliarulo said. “I can say I was always prepared for first pitch.”

Research has remained the common career thread for Pagliarulo, but in his post-playing days it took on a more central role. Research became his job, as opposed to the preparation for his job, as he transitioned into the scouting world. Pagliarulo and Willie Fraser — a contemporary and fellow journeyman who also had a Japan stint and joined the Marlins as an advance scout last season — became part-owners of iScout, Inc., in late 2001. They consulted with major league and Japanese teams interested in bringing in players from the other country, a service complete with video scouting reports — a rarity for a turn-of-the-century enterprise.

By the end of last decade, Pagliarulo joined the Los Angeles Angels as a major league and advance scout. In 2013-14, he was the hitting coach for Triple-A Indianapolis in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ farm system, Pagliarulo’s only professional coaching gig until this week. Gregory Polanco, Josh Harrison and Jordy Mercer were among his charges. After two seasons, Pagliarulo wanted more. “I knew I could have an impact on a major league club,” he said. He started plotting his next move, getting back to his research roots: Now what? Instead of a high school kid looking for a college, Pagliarulo was the middle-aged father of two grown children and looking for another direction. He reached out to people in the game he knew to see where might be a fit. He thought hitting coordinator, usually a sort of organizational floater/overseer spending time with various minor league teams, would be a logical next step.

Talks with the Marlins and Boston Red Sox last winter didn’t result in a job. A year later, with the Marlins moving on from Barry Bonds after one season as hitting coach, Pagliarulo got the job. As he works with assistant hitting coach Frank Menechino, Pagliarulo will be tasked with helping Marlins hitters digest the occasionally intimidating library of information available to them — including video, an aspect of the club’s offensive game Mattingly stressed needed to get better as Miami’s season petered out to a disappointing end in September. Pagliarulo is confident he can do that. The skill set he has developed over the course of decades is one of a modern major league hitting coach. “I’m so glad the technology is as advanced as it is,” Pagliarulo said. “From my lived experience, with that technology, I can expand on what I’ve learned and what [players] need to learn.”

thealey@sun-sentinel.com, @timbhealey Copyright © 2016, Sun Sentinel

 

Next Hall of Fame Dinner will be in 2017

The Intercity League Board of Directors has announced that the next Hall of Fame Dinner will be held sometime in 2017.

The dinner was held annually since 2010 but the Board recently decided to hold the event every two years.

The date of the 2017 dinner will be announced soon.

 

Frank Andre Services

Frank Andre, age 94, a longtime resident of Medford, passed away peacefully, September 21, 2016.  He was the beloved husband of Norma (Luongo) Andre and together they shared seventy years of marriage. Born in Worcester he was one of five children of the late Michael and Phyllis (DeRosa) Andreottola.
 
Frank was raised and educated in Medford and was a graduate of Medford High School. Frank was a prominent local businessman and a true entrepreneur enjoying success in different business ventures. He owned and operated the Medford Cinema for many years as well as Andre Construction Company Inc., which built hundreds of homes in Medford in 1950’s and 1960’s. He also loved thoroughbred horses, owning and operating the Andre Stable for many years that had a string of horses that campaigned at New England racetracks. However his greatest joy was his family. He was an avid sports fan and he cherished being the number one fan of his son and then two grandchildren whenever they were participating in different sports over the years. He especially enjoyed being a fan of his son’s semi-professional baseball team, The Andre Chiefs of the Intercity League.
In addition to his beloved wife, Norma, Frank is lovingly survived by his devoted son, Chuck Andre and his wife Kathy of Medford. He was the doting and loving grandfather of Michael Andre and his wife Gwen of Medford, and Carla Andre of Medford. He was the cherished brother of Lena Mills and her husband Frank of Medford, the late Frances Belmonte, Anthony Andre and Nicholas Andreottola. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be held from the Dello Russo Funeral Home, 306 Main St., MEDFORD, Monday, September 26th, at 9:00 AM followed by a funeral mass celebrated in St. Francis of Assisi Church, 441 Fellsway West, Medford, at 10:00 AM. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours at the Dello Russo Family Funeral Home will be held on Sunday from 3:00 thru 7:00 PM. Services will conclude with burial at Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. To leave an online message of condolence please visit www.dellorusso.net

Services for Dave Ahern

AHERN, David M. of Bedford. Passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday Sept. 4, 2016. He was 28 years old. Beloved son of Joseph and Denise (Cajolet). Loving brother of Joseph Ahern and wife Catherine Middleton of Los Angeles, CA, Michael “Chip” Ahern of Boston and Rachael Ahern of Somerville. Boyfriend of Mia Morgan of Bedford, NH. Grandson of Alice Cajolet of Cambridge and Irene Ahern of Medford. Nephew of Kathleen Friedman of Lexington, Karen DiRusso of Medford and Paul Ahern of Medford. Also survived by many cousins. David was an accomplished baseball player. He played right field and pitcher at Babson College. During his senior year he was awarded All American. Most recently he played for the Lexington Blue Sox. Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours in St. Agnes Church, 30 Medford St., Arlington on Friday from 3-8 pm. A funeral mass will be held in church on Saturday at 11:30 am. Burial in Westview Cemetery, Lexington. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Michael Neely Foundation c/o www.camneelyfoundation.org For directions, donations, or to send a condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com

Dave Ahern, #41, has made it home

DA honor

 

IN MEMORY OF DAVE AHERN

November 2, 1987-September 4, 2016 

Intercity League champion Lexington Blue Sox pray for stricken teammate

The following story appeared in the Boston Globe on August 28.

By Marvin Pave GLOBE CORRESPONDENT  AUGUST 28, 2016

The Lexington Blue Sox captured their second straight Intercity League baseball title on Tuesday night with a 5-4 victory over Andre Chiefs at Morelli Field in Melrose.

But their celebration was subdued, their thoughts quickly turning to prayers for their stricken teammate, Dave Ahern.

A 28-year-old outfielder/pitcher who starred at Bedford High and then Babson College, Ahern has been treated at Tufts Medical Center since going into cardiac arrest last Thursday.

According to his family and Blue Sox manager Rick DeAngelis, Ahern had not regained consciousness since last week. He had suited up for the Blue Sox in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Intercity League playoffs.

His No. 41 uniform was displayed in the Blue Sox dugout and also delivered to his hospital room where family, friends and teammates – past and present — have congregated.

Blue Sox players also wore navy blue AHERN 41 t-shirts under their game uniforms and ‘DA’ decals on their helmets and caps as they swept the three-game series against the Chiefs.

BlueSox_28weahern01_liv-knCI-U824094980155IEC-300x225@BostonGlobe.com

Dave Ahern hitting for the Blue Sox (courtesy Lexington Blue Sox).

 

“Dave started playing for us in 2012 and right away became a major contributor, a team leader and a mentor to our younger players,’’ said DeAngelis.
“We rallied around Dave Ahern and his family this past week because he is a special young man and a tremendous human being.’’

A post on the team’s Facebook page said: “Dave, we took pressure off the game and put things in perspective. We all love you, we’re praying for you to make a full recovery . . . your contributions to our championship are immeasurable.’’

Another Facebook posting, by Ahern’s sister, Rachael, said, in part, “your prayers are appreciated. We are all holding David close to our hearts.’’

Last Thursday, before he was stricken at his home, Ahern went to the Granite Links Golf Club to sharpen up for a tournament the following day benefitting the Babson baseball program. He works fulltime as a sales manager.

As a Babson senior, he hit .438 while compiling a 5-2 record on the mound with a 1.19 earned run aveage. He broke or tied nine of the program’s game, season or career records. He was Babson’s Male Athlete of the Year for the senior class.

“He’s the best player I’ve ever had at Babson,’’ said Matt Noone, who has coached at the Wellesley school for 15 seasons.

“Dave has a larger than life personality and he was the guy our team looked to for strength. He was our rock. We’re all hoping and praying that Dave’s strength leads to his recovery.’’

To help defray Ahern’s medical bills, student loans, and rent, his friends have set up GoFundMe page, www.gofundme.com/DaveNeedsUs.

Marvin Pave can be reached at marvin.pave@rcn.com

 

 

This One’s for Dave

Lexington wins 12th ICL Championship By Bruce Hack Lexington Blue Sox Media Relations Director   Melrose – Determined to win for their stricken Blue Sox brother and teammate, Dave Ahern, Lexington held on for a hard-fought 5-4 win and a sweep of the Andre Chiefs for its 12th Intercity League Championship in 22 seasons. For the third straight game, and fifth consecutive playoff game against Andre, the Sox scored in the first inning. After a leadoff out, Taylor Ferguson (Holden/Rollins) singled and Dan Graham (Lowell/Central Connecticut) walked on four straight pitches to put Blue Sox on first and second. Julian Alvarez (Boston/Lee) followed with a double to the gap in left center and it was 2-0 Lexington as Graham beat the throw to the plate. The Chiefs did not wait long to strike back. In the bottom of the first, Tony Deshler (Pepperell/Brandeis) reached on an infield single into the hole at short. After a Billy Mottram (Haverhill/Dowling) fly out to left, Pete Copa (Malden/UMass-Amherst), was hit by the first pitch from Sox starter, Matt Karis (Southborough/Gettysburg). Chief’s catcher, Jordan Pallazola (Rockport/Framingham State) singled into left and Deshler scored cutting the lead to 2-1. Lexington scored three more in the third for all the runs it would need. With one out, Chiefs starter Jared Freni (Malden/UMass-Amherst) walked Ferguson and Graham for his second and third walks of the game. It was the fourth walk to Graham by Freni in the last five plate appearances between the two veterans. Alvarez doubled down the right field line and Ferguson scored for a 3-1 lead. Then with two outs, Dorian Rojas (Boston/Cumberland) singled up the middle to drive in Graham and Alvarez and it was 5-1 Blue Sox. Karis had gotten on a roll and retired eight straight Chiefs from the second through fourth innings before Mike Barbati (Melrose/Endicott) doubled to left to begin the bottom of the fifth. Barbati moved to third when Tony Serino reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on an infield single by Deshler, his second infield hit of the game. The Chiefs were not finished as Copa walked to start the sixth and Lexington manager Rick DeAngelis came out to talk to his ace. After a brief discussion Karis left the game to a loud round of applause and in came side-armer Rob DiFranco (Melrose/Bates). On a 0-1 pitch, Pallazola took DiFranco deep over the center field fence at the 385-foot sign and suddenly the Blue Sox lead was down to one at 5-4. DiFranco regrouped and got designated hitter Mike Andre (Medford/Merrimack) on a foul pop up to third and then retired Barbati and pinch-hitter Ryan Sonberg (Windsor, CT/Bates) on ground balls to short that ended any further scoring opportunities for the Chiefs. For Lexington’s veteran hurler, Karis, it was his second win of the postseason and the eighth straight year he has had two wins in the postseason. He pitched five innings, scattering five hits, allowing three runs, walked two, and struck out four. It was a different story for Freni the Chiefs ace, who had been a nemesis for Lexington over the past six seasons. Maybe it was the date or the memories of what happened exactly a year ago, but Freni had the shortest start of his career against Lexington in the playoffs. In four innings he gave up four hits, five runs, all earned, and uncharacteristically walked five Sox batters. After Alvarez’ double in the first, Freni set down six straight Lexington hitters, before Ferguson started the third inning rally with a walk. This championship featured the awarding of the Les DeMarco Intercity League Championship Trophy for the first time. The trophy lists all the ICL champions since 1960. For both teams it was the culmination of a long summer of baseball. The Chiefs had swept Lexington in all four regular season games, for the first time since 2006. The Chiefs finished 20-7-1 in the regular season for 41 points and in first place for the third time in the last four summers. The Blue Sox found themselves finishing in third place at 19-8-1 for 39 points, which had them not receiving a first-round bye and playing an extra round of playoff games for the first time in over a decade. That did not deter the Sox as they defeated Somerville 2-0, then Watertown 3-1 in the semis before sweeping the Chiefs 3-0 in the finals. For the third straight season, the league champion was crowned at Morelli Field in Melrose and the games were well attended by ICL fans that were treated to outstanding baseball. Now for final time the lights have been turned off at Morelli and the boys of summer will be heading back to college or work and only have memories of the 2016 season. All of the league teams say thank to the fans for coming out and cheering on the players and supporting the teams and look forward to the 2017 season.     – 30 –