SAN FRANCISCO BASEBALL

OLD TIMERS ASSOCIATION

(Established 1941)

“FROM THE DUGOUT”

AUGUST 2021 Edition
_______________________________
Officers Directors

Joe Marino, President Bill DeMattei Nick Poppin

Bill Angel, Vice-President Cliff Righetti Bob Fife

Mike Koppel, Secretary Dave Longa Grant Becker

Paul Varni, Treasurer Gene Hartje Jim McCoy

Bob Mitchell, Sgt. at Arms Paul Giambra Tony Marotto

Gary Bader, Membership Chair Mark Shustoff Jon Hanlon

Leo Martinez, Goodwill Chair

Rich Ford, Golf Commissioner Fashion Consultant

Jim Jarvis, Immediate Past President Ken Mooney

Lou Landini, Newsletter Editor

Leo’s Prayer
Heavenly Father, we ask your blessings on the Old Timers Association, its members,
and the souls of the members and their spouses who have recently passed on.
We thank you for the continuing progress that is being made in dealing with the
scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for a return to a life which permits gathering
to worship in Your Holy Name and to enjoy the fellowship that the Old Timers
provide. We offer You praise and glory. Amen.
COVID-19 Update Repeated---Too Important Not To
If you have been paying attention to the news lately, you’ve seen that some positive
results have been reported in the Battle against COVID-19. The process of providing
vaccines to the American People and to the world is proving effective and we are
seeing the incidents of death and illness dropping. This is great news but this evil
disease is far from eradicated and still poses a major health threat. Spikes in
infection rates are still popping up and public health officials are re-imposing
cautionary measures as they see fit, so pay close attention to the news and follow the
experts’ mandates. Your goal? Keep yourself and your Loved Ones safe, healthy and
off our DL!
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 Important Dates Department
THURSDAY, August 5, 2021, 6:00 PM---The monthly dinner at Nick’s, preceded by a
Board Meeting at 4:30. NO RESERVATIONS are necessary as Nick’s has increased
capacity.
WEDNESDAY, August 18, 2021, 12:00 Noon---The Marino Pieretti Lunch Group will
convene at Dominic’s at the fabled Oyster Point Yacht Club in SSF. Cocktails and the
usual bull session that goes with them starts at 11:00 AM. Clothing is mandatory, and
we suggest you bring a mask just in case the County Health Dept. throws a curve.
New Pisa Alumni Society Update
The New Pisa Alumni Society is proudly devoting donations in memory and honor of
Connie Benedetti. We have seen a sharp increase in New Pisa Alumni Members
making their donations in Memory of someone special. If you would like to do that,
just let us know and we’ll gladly make that notation. The Benedetti name is
synonymous with great generosity, and the New Pisa Alumni Society is a tribute to
Dante, Connie and Donald.
Kathy’s Fund Update
If you can’t come to a monthly dinner, you can still donate to Kathy’s Fund by
making a check out to SF BASEBALL OLD TIMERS, and indicate on the memo line
“For Kathy’s Fund” and mail it to LOU LANDINI, 208 FOREST PARK DRIVE,
PACIFICA, CALIF 94044. We received amazing and exceedingly generous donations
this month from Grant and Kathleen Becker, Bill Jones, Alan and Annealisa Dworkin,
Jim and Mary Degnan, and Rene and Louise Courpet. Since the inception of Kathy’s
Fund, we have raised over $13,000. We all keep hoping that one day, the Alzheimer’s
Association will put out the earthshaking announcement that a cure or effective
treatment has been developed. If anyone in the Old Timers is seeking information
about or assistance with a problem concerning Alzheimer’s disease, your news staff
can provide you with contact information within the Alzheimer’s Association.
Confidentiality will be maintained.
Famous Quotation
“I offered my opponents a deal. If they stop telling lies about me, I will stop telling
the truth about them.” Adlai Stevenson, 1952 candidate for President.
Words of Wisdom
“Many of life’s problems come from two things: we act without thinking, or we keep
thinking without acting.” Anonymous
Membership Report
We in the press room received word from Membership Chairman Gary Bader that our
membership increased by 4 guys in recent days. They are ART LIDSTROM and the
Legendary MIKE MURPHY, both former members who have re-joined; PETER
FATOOH, one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet; and DAN ANGEL, who is a lot taller,
younger and far better looking than his Dad, Bill Angel, our current Vice-President.
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 In Memoriam
We are deeply saddened to announce the loss of Brother Old Timer Jerry Maxwell.
Jerry was an accomplished boxer and we welcomed him into our baseball world
several years ago. May God keep Jerry in His Hands and comfort his Family in their
time of sorrow.
On the Mend
Ray McDonald---Diane Hartje—Bill & Hallie Angel--Mieko Poppin
Pete Dalton--Nick Cannuli--Len Grilli—Don & Paula Collopy—Virginia Simon
Chuck Garcia--Ralph Burns—Tony Boyadzis—Bill McCullough—Jim Mullan
Jim Perry—Roldan Vigil---Rene Courpet---Kris Longa
(A Special Note, the kind we love to report: Recently your news staff sent out an
email reporting that Brother Old Timer Kris Longa, the son of Old Timer and Marino
Pieretti Chief Dave Longa, became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. Dave has
reported that Kris is now out of the hospital and making great strides in his return to
health. Dave and Family would like to thank all the Old Timers who offered their
prayers and best wishes for Kris.
You Know You’re An Old Timer When
---you were here when the Giants came to SF in 1958.
---you knew Lon Simmons’ Home Run call “Tell it Goodbye!”
---you went to a Giants’ game at Candlestick Park in 1960, its inaugural season.
---you were young and hearty enough to survive a night game at the ‘Stick.

The Mitchell Family Legend Grows

In Bob Mitchell’s lineage, there was his great uncle, four times removed, named
Rigoberto Aloysius Poindexter (“but you can call me Bob”) Mitchell, who was an
absolute golf addict and a fairly skilled player to boot. Uncle Bob played every day,
all day, no matter the weather. He would not be deterred and was very singular in his
purpose. One day, while Uncle Bob was with his usual group and playing the 14th
hole, a funeral cortege drove by on the road abutting the golf course. Uncle Bob
stood at attention, doffed his hat in a sign of respect, and waited until the hearse was
out of sight. He then knocked in a 20-foot putt for birdie. One of the other golfers
said “Bob, that was very touching that you showed such respect for the deceased.”
Uncle Bob said, “It was the least I could do. She and I had been married 30 years.”
Let’s Talk Baseball
As of this writing, the Giants have the best record in MLB, hold a two-game lead over
the Dodgers, and are about to begin a 3-game series against the LA guys here at
Oracle Park. In their last road trip, the G’s dropped 2 of 3 to the Cardinals in St.
Louis, and went down to LA for a 4-game outing. They won Game 1 handily, then
Game 2 was lost in a bullpen melt-down. They came back to win Game 3, beating the
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famed Dodger closer Kenley Jansen in the 9th inning, and in the series finale, the
Giants again rallied to beat Jansen in the 9th inning again. The Fortunes of Baseball
smiled benevolently on the Giants in that 4th game, and some huge breaks went the
right way for the Orange and Black. They left LA for SF still in first place, then
proceeded to drop two of three at Oracle to the not-so-good Pirates. In the first two
games of that series, the Giants defense and starting pitching stunk it up, with the
Giants feeling the effects of All-World Shortstop Brandon Crawford and First Base
Wizard Brandon Belt being on the IL, as well as a brutal pitching performance by staff
ace Kevin Gausman. Our guys came back in Game 3 with a solid win behind Alex
Wood and some gutsy relief work. The offense also generated another barrage of
home runs, and the defense held up its own end.
So now, with the Bad Boy Dodgers in town, a little short of pitching at the moment
with starter Clayton Kershaw and late inning reliever Joe Kelly on the IL, and starter
Trevor Bauer on leave over a bizarre off-the-field “night game” situation, the Giants
are two games up and facing a crucial 3 games against their arch-enemies. If the
Giants win 3, LA slithers out of town 5 games back. If the Giants win two, they will
be three up. If the G’s lose two of three, they will still be one game up. But if the
Giants get swept, LA leaves town in first place by one game. And not insignificantly,
the Giants and LA will be tied in the loss column. But ya gotta like the Giants’
chances of a decent result from this series---our guys are competitive and scrappy.
Stay glued to your TV, or if you are adventuresome and can score some tickets to one
or more of the games, make sure you wave to Duane Kuiper who is now back in the
broadcast booth with his Magic Wandoo Bat. (Do we have the best broadcast team in
all of baseball or what?)

Sunnyvale, 07/12/21 Golf---Closest to the Pin

4th Hole---Forward Tee Back Tee
1st Joe Matranga 23-7 Rick Baptista 33-0
2nd “The Phantom” Gil Ybarra 37-7
7th Hole---Forward Tee Back Tee
1st Joe Matranga 14-3 1/2 Rich Huddleston 6-9
2nd “The Phantom” Vic Cipparrone, Jr. 10-3
13th Hole---Forward Tee Back Tee
1st Ron Restani 0-6 (!!) “The Phantom”
2nd Roger Strack 8-8 “The Phantom”
15th Hole---Forward Tee Back Tee
1st Gil Ybarra 11-7 “The Phantom”
2nd “The Phantom” “The Phantom”
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 Thank You Once Again and Always to Our Loyal Sponsors
ROB FIFE, 729 SOLUTIONS
1618 Sullivan Ave, Suite 535, Daly City 94115 650-755-7049

LOREN A. KERTZ, CHARLES SCHWAB CO.

403 Corte Madera Town Center, Corte Madera 94925 415-945-6408 loren.a.kertz@schwab.com

ROBIN GRIDER THE DEIGNAN FAMILY

2020-2021 OLD TIMERS PRESIDENT JOE MARINO, COLUMBUS CAFÉ

562 Green St, SF 94133 415-326-3088

FRANK J. PISA BARBER SHOP

5 Civic Center Lane, Millbrae 94030 650-697-0736

GREG RIGHETTI, MARIN LOCK & SAFE

808 Third St, San Rafael 94901 415-456-4346 marinlockandsafe@gmail.com

MARK BENEDETTI INSURANCE

199 California Dr, Suite 702,Millbrae 94030 650-697-2044 mbinsuru@hotmail.com

NICK DUTTO, METROPOLITAN ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION, INC.

2400 Third St, SF 94107 415-642-3002 ndutto@metroelectric.com

CHUCK GUST, NICK’S SEASHORE RESTAURANT

100 Rockaway Avenue, Pacifica 94044 650-359-3900 www.nicksrestaurant.net

SAN FRANCISCO FIREFIGHTERS TOY PROGRAM

Leo Martinez, the late Al McCarthy, the late Vince Tudoni. Rich Blackburn, Skip McKinney, George
Schnapp, Jim McCoy, Art Citron, Dan Jacobsmeyer, Brian Kearney, Ray Molinari

TOM CREEDIN, SCOMA’S RESTAURANT

Pier 47, Fisherman’s Wharf, SF 94133 415-771-4383

THOMAS J. BRANDI, THE BRANDI LAW FIRM

354 Pine St, 3rd Floor, SF 94104 415-989-1800 tjb@brandilaw.com

JAR OF GOLD DAVE LONGA

Jim Jarvis, the late Bill Difu and the late Ernie Golding The Friends of Marino Pieretti Group

RETIRED SAN FRANCISCO FIREFIGHTERS

Nick Cannuli, Bill DeMattei, Mel Canevaro, Jim O’Connor, Don Dennehy, Bob Moser,
the late Milt Panagotacos, Mike Pera, Jack Bonnici, Roger Bross, Frank Kelly

ALUMNI OF BALBOA HIGH SCHOOL

Emily Powell (Everybody’s Sweetheart), Nick Poppin, Bob “The Carrot” Mitchell, Gene Hartje, Tony
Boyadzis, Joe Marino, Donald Basso, Elliot “Bart” Bartholomew and Grant Becker

THE BALL TEAM

The late Frank Strazullo, the late John Alameda, Mike Bagdon, Rich Ford, Con Maloney, Billy Jones,
Art White, Ken Mooney, and the late Jerry “Big Sully” Sullivan

THE 1956 BIG 8 CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP BASEBALL TEAM

Bob Bandettini, Glen Buckowitz, Ron Castro, Ken Dito, Russ Fadeef, Roger Ferrari, Lew Flores,
Fred Glosser, Blair LeMire, the Late Legendary John McCarthy, Pete Nielsen, Larry Nissim, Jim
Poppin, Fred Quinn, the late quintessential gentleman Ray Warman, the Late and Great Frank “Cic”
Williams, the late and venerable Victor “Bud” Williams

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 DANIEL DUGGAN, DUGGAN’S SERRA MORTUARY
500 Westlake Av., Daly City, Calif. 94014 650-756-4500 dan@duggansserra.com

ANONYMOUS DONOR
Thanks, Old Timers---Your Monthly Newsletter Is A Great Read

WILLIAM DeMATTEI ALUMNI OF MISSION HIGH SCHOOL

Retired San Francisco Firefighter Fellow Old Timer Eddie Gutierrez, and the late Joe Blea

RETIRED SAN FRANCISCO DEPUTY SHERIFFS

Bill Angel, Carole Murphy, Jim Mullan, Ron Lim, Al Dworkin, Paul Varni, Mike Koppel, Jim Deignan,
Gil Ybarra

HAT TRICK RACING

Grant Becker, Troy Onorato, Pat Ward and Marvin Cortes

TJC FLOORING FLOOR EFFECTS

Terrence Cody Brian Grdeen
415 Old County Road, Unit C 415 Old County Road, Unit C
Belmont, Calif. 94002 650-773-5782 Belmont, Calif. 94002 650-574-0457

GARY BADER & RAY McDONALD

In Memory of Bob Farber

OLD TIMER PAUL NAVARRO, LUCETTI’S RESTAURANT

109 W. 25th Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94403, phone: 650-574-1256

NEW PISA ALUMNI SOCIETY (2021 TEAM MEMBERS)

The Legendary Dante Benedetti; Rich & Victoria Murphy in Memory of Connie Benedetti; Bob
Devincenzi in Memory of Frank & Joan Strazzulo, Manny Piriano & Bob Tobener; Cris & Ron Belli in
Memory of Dante Santora; Roldan & Frances Vigil; Joan, Dave and Ed Paulus, Jr. in Memory of Ed
Paulus,Sr; Bill Kirkpatrick; Pat Sullivan; Tad & Barbara Tassone; Grant & Kathleen Becker in Memory
of Vince Zuardo; Leo Martinez; Lou & Judy Landini in Memory of Larry & Patricia Lawson; Jere &
Sandy Driscoll in Memory of Tony Patch; Gene & Diane Hartje; The Honorable Judge Quentin Kopp;
Mike & Denise Koppel; in Memory of Mike Dunne from a fellow Funston Playground Rat; Phil Kelber;
Jim Jarvis; Don & Penny Basso; Bob Mitchell in Memory of Marino Pieretti; Mike & Carole Murphy in
Memory of Ed Paulus, Sr.; Bob & Arlene Fife; Gary Bader & Ray McDonald in Memory of Bob Farber;
Loren Kertz; Donald, Mark, Sharon & Phil Benedetti in Memory of Our Grand Duchess Connie
Benedetti; in Memory of Pete Giovanola from his OT Pacifica Fog Buddies; Joe Gualco; Emily (Queen of
Balboa HS) Powell; Nick & Mieko Poppin; Sue & the late Rudy Bertolozzi; Roger Ferrari; Tony
Rodriguez; Bill Angel in Memory of Tom King; Ken and Carole Mooney in Memory of Connie Benedetti
and Nancy Markey; Jim & Ana Regan; Bob Coffey in Memory of Dr. Rudy Bertolozzi; Steve Callahan in
Memory of Tony Makjevich; Bob & Nancy Crosat in Memory of Mike Dunne; Rene & Louise Courpet in
Memory of Rich Baptista; Jim & Mary Deignan in Memory of Connie Benedetti, Don & Penny Basso in
Memory of Terry Landini-Brennan.

Jim Perry’s July 2021 Trivia Challenge
Which of these teams lost a World Series game 7 on 4
separate occasions?
1) Cardinals 2) Orioles 3) Red Sox 4) LA Dodgers
A: The Red Sox to the Cardinals in 1946 and 1967, to the
Reds in 1975, and to the Mets in 1986.
Jim Perry’s August 2021 Trivia Challenge
J.D. Martinez and Scooter Gennett each were the
last two MLB players to accomplish a very rare
feat. What did they do? What were the dates?
What team was each guy playing for? And against
what team did he did do this?