Memory Lane: Nicosia Family Legacy
The history of sports in Fayette County never ceases to amaze me. Recently a treasure trove of Fayette County sports history was given to me by the sons of Joseph Nicola Sr., who passed away at the age of 91 on January 11, 2014.
Sons Joseph Jr. and James were in town to visit and pick up some things from their father蘑菇视频 estate that were being held by a lawyer. They called me and told me that their father had some memorabilia from the old Big 10 baseball league that he wanted them to give to me. As a co-founder of the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame, he figured that some of the memorabilia might be used in the Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame exhibits on the second floor of the Uniontown Public Library.
They gave me a scrapbook detailing the exploits of the Oaks baseball team that played in the Big 10 League. There were three sign baseballs in the box and a full Oaks uniform 鈥� circa 1940s 鈥� that will make a wonderful display piece for the Hall of Fame.
As I read some of the newspaper articles, the legacy of the Nicosia family in Fayette County sports history started to come into focus.
Alfonso Nicosia Sr. and wife Nellie owned the Union Shoe Store in Smithfield. They had three sons: John, Joseph and Alfonso Jr., and a daughter Antoinette. Alfonso Sr. passed away in 1940 and Nellie in 1960.
Joseph worked in the store starting at the age of 15.
鈥淚 quit school when I was 15 and began working for my father when he became ill,鈥� Nicosia stated in a 蘑菇视频 article in 2005. 鈥淚 learned a lot from my mother as well.鈥�
Because he quit school, Joseph didn鈥檛 play high school sports, but he had a long stint playing baseball in the Big 10 Baseball League.
Nicosia was a first baseman and third baseman for the Oaks in the Southern Section of the Big 10 (1945-53). In 1947, when the Oaks won the Southern Section championship, beating Isabella in seven games, Nicosia batted .400 in those games. One of his great moments was in 1950 when he was involved in a triple play against the Fairchance Exchange Club. He was inducted into the Big 10 Fayette County Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Digging further, I discover that older brother John was a standout in football, basketball and baseball for Georges Township in the late 1930s.
John played football for Georges at a time when Jock Adams鈥� York Runners were among the strongest of district elevens. Three of Nicosia蘑菇视频 teammates 鈥� Mike Mihallik (Mississippi State), Joe Goode (Duquesne) and Al Radvansky (Memphis State) 鈥� also performed in the collegiate ranks. Big John played the center position at Northeast Louisiana under Jim Malone.
Big John later had an outstanding high school coaching career, as he coached all three sports: football, basketball and baseball at Winnsboro LA High School and Lake Charles LA High School. He was later the principal at Lake Charles High School. John passed away in 1990.
Brother Alfonso Jr. was an outstanding athlete at Georges, and was recruited to play football and baseball at Northwestern State in Natchitoches, LA.
Nicosia lettered in football and baseball at Northwestern from 1946-50. He was an All-Gulf States Conference selection in baseball, he made the team as a catcher his junior season (1949) and as a first baseball his senior campaign (1950). His 17 home runs topped the GSC his senior year and he hit over .300 each of his four varsity seasons.
Big Al also made his mark with Bernice in the Old Big-8 Baseball League, one of the fastest semi pro circuits ever to hit the diamond in Louisiana.
One highlight from Nicosia蘑菇视频 days in the Big-8 league occurred in 1951. The Bernice Lions were playing in Dulbach, LA. In that game as told in a column in Catahoula News Booster, Big Al stepped up to the plate and hit the first pitch for a gargantuan cannon shot that all the old timers declared was the longest ball ever hit in the town of Dulbach.
After graduating from Northwestern State, Al coached at Oakdale LA High School developing a track and field program and winning an AA State Championship in 1960. He also coached at Hammond High School, Jackson High School and West Monroe. He received his master蘑菇视频 degree from NSU in 1960 and his doctorate for the University of Oklahoma in 1973.
He taught at Texas Women蘑菇视频 University in Denton, TX before passing away in 1989.
That is quite a sports legacy for the Nicosia family, and if you add in another side of the family the Andria蘑菇视频 it is even more impressive, but that蘑菇视频 another story for another day.
George Von Benko蘑菇视频 鈥淢emory Lane鈥� column appears in the Monday editions of the 蘑菇视频. He also hosts a sports talk show on WMBS-AM radio from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.