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Sandlot legend DeAngelo recalled
The 94-year-old once dazzled on area pitching mounds
By Greg Gulas
YOUNGSTOWN
To area sports enthusiasts and the many players that he coached over a four-decade sandlot baseball career, the passing in January of William “Dibbie” DeAngelo evoked many fond memories of the manager they nicknamed “The Lip.”
Born Nov. 3, 1918 in the Smoky Hollow section of the city, DeAngelo was most proud of his Italian heritage and his tight-knit neighborhood.
He was anything but plain on the field while away from the diamond, he preferred to live an ordinary, unassuming existence.
A player’s manager, DeAngelo never compromised his values or morals just for a victory. He opted instead to use a loss and when necessary, a win in order to teach his players not to repeat the same mistakes.
DeAngelo was anything but a conformist, repeatedly committing baseball’s cardinal sin by going against the book, but only if he felt it would gain an advantage.
He was an outstanding shortstop during his playing days, eventually gravitating to the managerial ranks.
While many friends, especially those of Italian extraction rooted for their hometown Cleveland Indians or New York Yankees (because of another Italian hero, Joe DiMaggio), it was DeAngelo who bucked that trend by remaining true to his beloved Boston Red Sox and the man he called the game’s greatest hitter — Ted Williams.
He didn’t let the U.S. Army or World War II interrupt his love for the game, instead using it as a way to hone his managing skills.
While serving with the 9th Infantry Division and fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, he was named as the manager of his division softball team.
Unlike many who served in the military, he transitioned to civilian life rather easily by gravitating once again to the softball field, leading the likes of his Harrison Post 610 and Sons of Italy squads to the Ohio State Fast-Pitch finals.
Known as an excellent recruiter, he managed Palkovic Insurance to the 1963 state fast-pitch title where they defeated Mechanicsburg and Ohio Hall of Fame pitcher Rip Riley, 3-2.
That squad featured mound ace Charlie Biddle and outfielder Ed Winsen who caught the final out to preserve victory.
“Dibbie was a great strategist who pushed the right buttons all season long, especially in that title game,” Winsen said. “He knew the game as well as anyone, assembling our team but more importantly, keeping us together so that we always played as a unit.
“That was the biggest reason we won.”
Biddle is still considered one of the very best fast-pitch twirlers to ever grace the local sandlots. In that title game he fell just shy of throwing a perfect game en-route to tourney most valuable player honors.
“Dibbie and I had a connection in that my wife also grew up in Smoky Hollow,” Biddle said. “The fact that he knew the game was secondary to his being a very fair manager. He truly was one of the good guys to ever coach and play baseball locally.”
“There are some opposing managers for whom you had a natural dislike, but not Dibbie,” said Jack Jones, a former Boardman High baseball coach. Inducted into the Ohio State Softball Hall of Fame in 1980, DeAngelo was honored with induction into the National Softball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Until her death in 2002, his wife, Lucy, was at his side for his games and also rooted just as hard for their beloved Red Sox.
His son Bill served as his batboy in those early days while sons Tom and Joe were excellent athletes in their own right.
Yet it was his daughter, Debbie, with whom he could converse for hours on end about strategy and everything baseball. She shared an interest in watching him manage both his Little League and softball teams and like her mother and brothers, also helped cheer on the Bosox.