Florida didn't have a lottery until 1988, but Tony Saladino Jr. says he hit it in 1963. That was the year he married Bertha. The joyous union has led to a wealth of family, friends, well-wishers and one of the most noteworthy high school baseball tournaments in the nation.
In the lunch trailer at the 24th annual Tony Saladino Sr. Baseball Tournament at the University of Tampa, the Brandon couple talked about how they met, why they devote so much time to kids and the appreciation they have for all the volunteers who helped stage the 24-team tourney.
Pull up a chair and join us.
ERNEST: Last December, you celebrated your 40th wedding anniversary.
BERTHA: It was the most beautiful thing you ever saw. It was at the garden club on Davis Islands and every one of the five kids did a little something to help with the party. My daughter helped with the catering with her brother, my other daughter got the wedding cake and my other son got fireworks and they had that game, a moonwalk. We had two bartenders and we had Christmas lights all over the place. We had a DJ. People didn't want to go home.
How did you guys meet?
BERTHA: I came down to Tampa and I was in the district for Forest Hills Elementary and my (future) husband was the coach there. My daughter Linda was in fifth grade and she just went crazy over my husband. Oh mom, you gotta meet my coach, you gotta meet my coach. She finally set up a conference. I get to his office and he's locking up his office. I said Did I miss the appointment? What is going on? He said he was taking me to lunch. I said Do you do this with all the parents?
TONY: The rest is history. I had just lost my father and I was down in the dumps until I met her. I was grieving a lot at that point. After we got married, she said why don't you do something good for your dad, to memorialize him. That's when the award started in 1970.
So Bertha, you were the inspiration for the Tony Saladino Award, which goes to the county's top player every year?
BERTHA: By then we had our son, and Tony was upset his father never got to meet his grandchild. Tony was an only child and his father died so fast. He was 46 and he died of a massive heart attack. They were bowling. I always told him instead of being upset about him and sad about him, just memorialize him all year long. I said let's do that.
The tournament started 10 years after the award. Did you ever think it would blossom into something that's been featured nationally by the likes of Sports Illustrated?
BERTHA: We knew that sooner or later it had to become what it is because when you give so much love, you have to get some back.
TONY: When we started at King High 16 years ago, we had one trailer. Now we have two.
Did you serve food for the scouts the first year of the tournament?
BERTHA: I started asking scouts, when you are out, what do you miss most? They said, true home-cooked food. The following year, I got a friend of mine to give me $300. I bought ham and in the trunk of the car with an ice cooler I fixed them all kinds of sandwiches and they were coming like little flies. Then it got bigger and bigger and that's where we're at.
How important are the tournament's sponsors and volunteers?
BERTHA: To run a thing like this, it takes a lot of hands. One person can't possibly do it. The sponsors are so big. I would say if you were to do it, it would cost $70,000 to $80,000.
TONY: But you can't put a price tag on these people.
BERTHA: To be able to do what we do, you have to have all these volunteers. They come and they help me and it has to be a love and a belief to do what they do, otherwise you couldn't get them to work. They were here all last week.
TONY: The hardest problem is thanking everybody that helped. There's some people who do things I don't even know about.
We always talk about you guys having a love of baseball, but it's also about a love for each other and a love of kids.
TONY: I know for a fact I would not be able to do all of this if it wasn't for her. She pushed me into this, she started the idea and she stands behind me in everything I do. A lot of men don't have that pleasure. She's my biggest critic and my biggest fan.
Bertha, you never criticize Tony, do you?
BERTHA: When I think he's not doing the right thing, I'll step right in it. But you know what, I have to because it's very easy to get unfocused. Don't mess with my focus. I think it's too bad more counties don't do more stuff like this. I know for sure the more love you show and the more you keep the boys busy, the less trouble they will get into.
Can you ever envision a time when you guys sit in the press box and let everybody else do the work?
TONY: I get asked often, "What's going to happen to the tournament when you're gone?" Well, I'm going to live forever so I'm not worried about that. When it does happen, I don't know what's going to happen to the tournament, but I can't see myself sitting in the press box. I will go as long as she goes.
What's the most rewarding thing about the tournament?
TONY: For me, it's seeing these kids become caring and responsible citizens. If they get a college scholarship or a pro contract, that's a bonus. Through the tournament, we involve the community.
BERTHA: For me, it's to see them - the scouts, the players, the coaches - content and loving me back as much as I love them. And then I know (Tony) is happy too. And you're doing something good. We were walking in the mall and this young couple comes up and says, "I was in the tournament. This is the only trophy I ever won," and you just melt. It started as work and now it's heaven.
DESSERT: A postscript from Ernest
The Saladino Tournament concludes tonight at UT's Sam Bailey Field with a home run derby at 5:30 and the championship game at 7:30. Saladino's love of baseball is legendary. His home is a baseball shrine filled with memorabilia. His doorbell and his cellular phone ring to the tune of Take Me Out To the Ball Game. And last year, Bertha had his UT college ring restyled into a baseball diamond.
- Ernest Hooper also writes a column for the Tampa & State section of the St. Petersburg Times. Lunch With Ernest is edited for brevity and clarity. To suggest lunch partners, call Ernest at 226-3406 or e-mail hooper@sptimes.com
