TRIB NOTES: A great career on diamond cherished

As the story goes, the day Jack Vallely Sr. first stepped on the Curry College campus in 1948 as the director of admissions, basketball coach and assistant to the president there were 37 students at the school and few hints of the athletic reputation the Waltham native would help build over the next 51 years there.

Those five decades as a college baseball coach, as well as a successful run as the school's basketball coach and parts of five decades as a major league baseball scout, were all celebrated on Friday night when Vallely was inducted in the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame Saturday night in San Diego.

Nearly 10 years removed from coaching following a stroke on the first day of what would have been his 52nd year on the Curry diamond, he might have been the biggest star of the night even though he was unable to travel to the ceremony. But his youngest son and assistant coach for 21 years, Brian, was there to speak on behalf of his father and field the well wishes of many of the 2,000 in attendance.

``I gave a speech and, while I may be a little biased, I think he got the grandest ovation,'' said Brian Vallely from San Diego last night. ``I shared with people the journey he'd been on for 51 years, and his personal qualities of mind and heart, and how they were forged as a young guy growing up in Waltham. I talked about his work ethic, and all the positive traits that he embodies.''

Those qualities were formed as a young athlete in Waltham who once had hopes of playing professional baseball or football. But after his father passed away, he looked into a career in sports that involved coaching and managing several local barnstorming teams in basketball, baseball and softball.

He coached high school sports at St. Mary's of Waltham and Sacred Heart of Newton, with his work at the Newton school earning him a look as a coach at Northeastern University's Huntington Prep in Boston. After one year there, he took the job at Curry College and never looked back despite many, many opportunities to move to more prominent posts.

During his 15-year basketball coaching career, he built Curry College from a school with just more than three dozen students to a Division III national power with a winning percentage near 84 percent. But his longevity came on the diamond where he worked for eight different teams as a scout and received five World Series or pennant rings before retiring with the Cleveland Indians in 1987. At the same time, he managed at Curry for 51 years - never missing a single game or practice until his stroke on Feb. 9, 1999.

``He has one picture with Cal Ripken Jr.,'' noted his son, Jack Vallely Jr., ``that's autographed. On it, Cal Ripken writes: `Jack, your streak was amazing.'''

Even after the stroke that left half of his body paralyzed, Vallely remained active and regularly attended Curry events until the past year or so. In that way, he showed his sons that he lived the philosophy that he preached on the field.

``I always remember when I was hanging around he had one standard speech that he'd give the kids,'' Jack Vallely Jr. said. ``He would say that they all had a certain amount of ability, and the he expected you to go out and do your best with that ability. But the one thing that he really expected out of you is to never give up. If you are going to give up in a game, you are more likely to give up in life. Throughout his life after the stroke, he has lived that. His quality of life has been tremendous.''

``When I saw him have the stroke, and how he reacted to it, I knew that speech was part of his DNA,'' Brian Vallely determined.

Along with their brother, Ron, and sisters, Anne and Janet, Brian and Jack Vallely Jr. show their pride in their father's accomplishments with a passion for the details of his long and storied career.

Jack Vallely Jr. recalled the tales of how his father set up a basketball game against McGill University (then the Canadian Olympic team) that was played at North Junior High in Waltham in 1951, and the game he promoted against an American Negro League barnstorming team in 1940.

Jack Vallely Jr. said that his father's attempts to sign an African-American player in 1949 cost him a job in professional baseball, but he remained committed to the effort.

``That was still at a time when that was not necessarily an easy thing to do,'' his son noted. ``But he always had a very fair streak in him. If you were able to play, you deserved the chance.''

Brian Vallely got that chance when he went to Curry to play for his father and stayed by his side for more than two decades as an assistant. During that time, Vallely earned his 700th career victory on the diamond, was honored with Jack Vallely Day at Fenway Park, became the first coach in Curry College history inducted into its Hall of Fame and was named Division III ``Coach of the Century'' on Feb. 6, 1998.

Eight months later, the field at Curry was renamed the Jack Vallely Diamond, though his stroke left him about two months short of the opportunity to manage a game on the field named in his honor.

It brought to an end the active portion of one of the more accomplished careers the sport of baseball has ever seen.

``When I was young I wanted to be just like my father,'' Brian Vallely said. ``Then I played for him and coached with him for two dozen years. I got to realize two dreams there. I never saw him have a bad day on the field. His joy for the game just shined through every day.

``My dad's a baseball person,'' he concluded. ``Even though he has hung up his cleats, he will always be that.''

It's a big week over at the Boston Fencing Club of Waltham as the club will be hosting 10 Danish teen fencers for a weeklong exchange program. The fencers from the Trekanten Fencing Club in Copenhagen, Denmark will train with the BFC fencers this week and then compete in the ``Sword in the Snow'' Super Youth Competition at the University of New Hampshire this weekend.

Teen fencers from the BFC will be going to Denmark March 23-30 to compete in the Trekanten Open/Invitational and World Cup competition.

As part of the exchange, a public practice will be held with the BFC and Danish fencers tomorrow at 7 p.m.

The Boston Fencing Club is the oldest and largest fencing club in the country with the largest youth fencing program in the Northeast. The club encourages youth fencing for those as young as 7 and holds eight-week sessions throughout the year.

For more information on the program, contact the Boston Fencing Club at 781-891-0119.

Good luck to the new Nonantum Boxing Club as it hosts a series of ``Fight Nights Down at the Lake'' to promote the club and create a renewed interest in the sport.

The first of the Fight Nights was on Friday with a schedule of competitors that included 2008 Vermont Golden Glove and 2008 New England champion (and Nonantum's own) Keith Derrig, 2008 Golden Glove Super Heavyweight champion Jessie Fabian, 2007 New England champion Alexi Santos, 2008 New England champion Tommy Duquette, of Waltham, and 2003 and 2004 Golden Glove champion Nathan Busa, of Newton.

They will also have a youth boxing segment that will feature the club's 5- to 10-year-old boxers in three one-round exhibitions. For more details on the events, contact the club at 617-340-3700 or go to www.nonantumboxingclub.com.

And, finally, a tip of the scally cap to Waltham High's Dana Centofanti, who has accepted an opportunity to attend Boston University where she will play field hockey for the Division I school.
Centofanti's older sister, Liz, was a four-year varsity goaltender at archrival Northeastern University, which should lead to some spirited Terrier/Husky ``Top Dog'' debates around the dinner table over the next few years.

Congrats to a tremendous Hawk field hockey talent on entering the next stage of her career.