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Sport Hobby Turned Into a
Major Museum for Chicago |
By
Michelle DeMarco
Swimmer Matt Biondi's
11 Olympic Medals are on display in the Gallery |
George Randazzo, a
former boxing promoter and buyer for Motorola, was an avid
collector of boxing memorabilia. Never one to miss an
opportunity to help his community, Randazzo’s hobby inspired
him to organize a fund-raising dinner to purchase sports
equipment for a local Catholic school in 1977. The event
honored twenty-three Italian-American boxing icons. Rocky
Graziano, Jake LaMotta, and Willie Pep were a few of the
boxing legends to accept awards at the dinner.
The response to the dinner inspired Randazzo to found the
Italian American Boxing Hall of Fame. According Randazzo,
“Answering machines had just come out and when I got home
after the dinner there were a lot of messages. I thought
they were from last minute ticket buyers for the dinner. But
they were from people, who had come to the dinner saying, ‘I
love what you’re doing: I have a trucking company that can
help you: I have an office in an insurance company where you
can set up shop.’ It was one o’clock in the morning!”
The response was so overwhelming that Don Ponte, a local
businessman and friend, encouraged Randazzo to start a hall
of fame to honor all Italian-American athletes. In 1978 the
National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame was founded as
a non-profit, educational institution in Elmwood Park,
Illinois. |
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Why a sports museum for Italian
Americans? Randazzo feels the contribution of Italian Americans
to sports is enormous and needs recognition. “Many coaches are
Italian American and they are the mentors to African American
players.” He sights Velvano as an excellent example, because “he
would take players home and feed them and explain how important
food was to Italian Americans and how food kept the family
together.”
He also points to Dan Baisone, an Italian immigrant and owner of
the Syracuse Nationals, who saved basketball. Baisone worried
the game moved too slowly and feared the audiences may stop
attending the games. So in the late 1950’s Baisone introduced
the 24-second clock. The result is history.
In 1988 the Hall of Fame moved from Elmwood Park to Arlington
Heights. In 1994 Inductee and Chicago Heights native, Jerry
Colangelo, was asked by Randazzo to serve as Chairman of a new
Hall of Fame building. He accepted the challenge, and since then
has succeeded in bringing together men and women from across the
country to support the project.
In the year 2000, this new facility was named “The Jerry
Colangelo Center,” as a tribute to all his efforts. The museum
moved into its newest location in 2004. Now two minutes from the
Sears Building, they are currently in the heart of Chicago’s
Little Italy.
In July of this year, Randazzo will lead a capital campaign
along with Nancy Sinatra to build the Frank Sinatra Performing
Arts Center. According to the website, the Frank Sinatra
Performing Arts Center will be a 225-seat theater capable of
hosting a wide array of special performances. The center will
present dinner theater, film events, concerts, youth programs,
and scholarship competitions. “It will also be a community
center and a learning center for children,” said Randazzo.
There are over two hundred inductees in the Hall of Fame. The
very first induction ceremony and banquet was a great success;
it included sports stars such as Lou Ambers, Eddie Arcaro,
Charlie Trippi, Gino Marchetti, and “The Yankee Clipper,” Joe
DiMaggio. Over the years the organization has raised
approximately six million dollars for scholarships and other
charitable causes.
In the twenty-seven years since Randazzo founded the Hall of
Fame, the collection of sports memorabilia has increased and is
considered second to none. These artifacts include Mario
Andretti’s Indy 500 race-car, Rocky Marciano’s first heavyweight
championship belt, Vince Lombardi’s last coat as coach of the
Green Bay Packers, and swimmer Matt Biondi’s Olympic Gold
Medals.
Another point of interest is the Piazza DiMaggio, located across
the street from the Hall of Fame. It was a gift from the City of
Chicago to revitalize Little Italy’s Bishop Street area. At the
1998 induction ceremony Dominic DiMaggio spoke and mentioned
that the street where the Piazza is located shares the name of
the street in San Francisco where the DiMaggio boys grew up. The
Piazza also features a beautiful sculpture of “The Yankee
Clipper.”
Located on the first floor of the Hall of Fame, is the Tommy and
Jo Lasorda Exhibit Gallery. It offers a wonderful tribute all
inductees enshrined at the Hall of Fame. This gallery also
features a five screen, twenty-five foot display, which offers a
stunning tribute to our most beloved sports heroes. The content
of the display can be changed to meet the unique needs of each
upcoming special event, and provides a personalized audio/visual
presentation. Finally, the cherry wood exhibit cases include a
state of the art audio system that provides one with localized
sound combined with video presentation and artifacts to provide
an educational experience for all
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