The baseball diamond at HHS was the scene on Saturday, April 18, 2014 for the first annual Jack DiSalvo Charity Baseball game. Alumni players from 1982 to 2013 put on their spikes to take to the field once again for a good cause.

Although admission was free, proceeds from donations by players and spectators will fund the Jack DiSalvo Leadership Scholarship for a senior athlete who shows both academic and leadership skills. Additional monies will be donated to St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital in Paterson as well as to other projects planned by the Jack DiSalvo Foundation.

The Jack DiSalvo Foundation was founded by DiSalvo’s sons, Chris and Brian. The boys created the Foundation after their dad’s death this past December, knowing that their dad’s years as a coach at Hawthorne High School touched thousands of young men on the football and baseball fields.

At HHS, Coach DiSalvo racked up more than 300 baseball career wins and was named the Passaic County Coaches Association’s baseball Coach of the Year five times.  During his time at Hawthorne, he also wrote the book College Admissions for the High School Athlete, which earned award recognition by the New York Public Library System as a top book for teen readers.

The current Bears baseball coach, John Passero, was DiSalvo’s first baseman on a 24-3 team in 1992.  Passero told a Record reporter: “He [DiSalvo] loved us and we loved him right back.”

The day was a success by all measures. More than 35 alumni players joined together for a competitive game, ending in a 1-1 tie. Spectators enjoyed watching “old timers” on the field while eating from the “Ball Park Style” menu served up by celebrity chef Anton Testino of Hell’s Kitchen.