Football announcer, secret Santa who gave it back
Andrew Sebastian once attempted to be included in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest gift basket in the world. He and his wife organized a fundraiser to collect toys in a giant blow-up pool.
They collected a lot of toys, but he never made it into the record books.
That did not deter Andy, as Mr. Sebastian was known.
He gift-wrapped each toy and gave it to the children at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. For several years, Mr. Sebastian and his wife, Sondra, would continue to take toys to children at the hospital through similar fundraisers.
It is no wonder then that Mr. Sebastian’s family, friends and acquaintances, and strangers who came in contact with him, remember him as a man determined to give back.
Mr. Sebastian died Sunday of cancer. He was 75.
As the public address announcer for the Plum High School football team, Mr. Sebastian was often called the “voice of the Mustangs.” Mr. Sebastian continued to be the announcer for three decades before retiring a year and a half ago for health reasons.
“He took up announcing for the football when I began playing for the Plum High School football team. He never looked back,” said Steven, one of his three sons.
He said for his father it was not just announcing.
“For him it was all about the kids. He loved the kids who played. So many of them called me after he passedaway to tell us how he had an impact on their lives,” said Steven, who now livesin North Carolina.
Mr. Sebastian also was passionate about amateur and professional boxing and was the ring announcer for the sport for 30 years. “We were looking for an announcer and asked him to do it for us. That is how it began for him in boxing,” said Jimmy Cvetic, a friend and director of the Western Pennsylvania Police Athletic League.
His love of announcing spilled into other fields as well, with Mr. Sebastian taking up the mantle of host for several community day celebrations.
He also was the captain of the Pittsburgh Central Catholic football team in 1960.
Mr. Sebastian was married to Sondra for 56 years, and both grew up in East Liberty.
Owner of Rudy’s Subs on Route 286 in Plum, Mr. Sebastian also set up a gift basket company named Send Me No Flowers.
“He was a special man; his life was all about taking care of his family and giving back to his community,” said his wife.
“He had a business going, family to take care of and his passion for sports. My mom helped him take care of businessand ensured that he had clean underwear, for otherwise he wouldn’t notice. That is how consumed he was with his passions,” said Steven Sebastian.
For his contributions to sports, Mr. Sebastian was inducted into the Pennsylvania Golden Gloves Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Plum High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
As an announcer, Mr. Sebastian knew firsthand the power of applause and perhaps that is why he went on to invent an “applause box,” his son said.
The box, which was one of the several novelty products that he would come up with, had an inscription that read, “Do you feel unappreciated and underestimated?”
“The box had a push button which when pressed would give you 30 seconds of applause. It was to help people feel appreciated. In fact, he was featured on the ‘Today’ show for the invention. He went on to sell the applause box all over the world,” his son said.
In addition to his wife and son Steven, Mr. Sebastian is survived by two other sons, Andrew Jr, and Gregory, both of Plum, and six grandchildren.
Mr Sebastian’s family said a Plum High School Memorial Scholarship Fund will be set up in Mr. Sebastian’s name. The academic scholarship will be given to a football player.
Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursday at Maurice L. Knee Funeral Home, 7663 Saltsburg Road, Plum.
A funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Church, 2000 O’BlockRoad, Plum.