Well-deserved honor
Pawtucket’s Calista to receive RIBCA’s Ben Mondor Award
PAWTUCKET — Jeff Calista had been sitting home in his Daggett Avenue den relaxing one night back in mid-June when his cell phone rang. At the other end of the line was Theo Murray, the Tolman High varsity baseball skipper and longtime friend.
Calista believed it to be merely a casual “How are you doing?” type of call, but the conversation, he admitted, took an astonishing turn.
Murray had great news – that is, Calista had been selected the newest recipient of the R.I. Baseball Coaches Association’s prestigious Ben Mondor Award, which recognizes an individual for major career contributions to the advancement of youth baseball in the Ocean State.
Calista had officially retired as the Wheeler School varsity team’s mentor nearly a year before, so he initially thought it was some kind of mistake. Murray assured him it wasn’t.
He will accept the honor when the RIBCA conducts its annual awards banquet on Wednesday night at Warwick’s Crowne Plaza Hotel.
“I was shocked,” stated Calista, who spent 30 years as the Wheeler chief before his retirement, when reached on Monday afternoon. “I’ve coached a lot of youth baseball, from Little League to high school to Pawtucket RBI teams, but only for eight years at Wheeler within the R. I. Interscholastic League (as the Warriors had previously competed in the Southeastern New England Prep School League).
“I just said, ‘Wow! Thank you so much, Theo!’ and he just said, ‘Don’t thank me. I didn’t vote for you,’” he added. “Of course, he was joking. Typical Theo. I’ve known him since he was 16, playing third base for Shea, so that (remark) came of no surprise.
“You know me, I’m an under-the-radar kind of guy, but this is something that has really touched me. When I looked up the list of previous Ben Mondor Award winners, I was so honored. I actually had a relationship with two of them, including Art Pontarelli, who coached me when I played for the