• Rocco (Rocky) Santilli

     

     

                                                                                                 2018 Inductee

     

    • A 1940 graduate of the West Leesport School and later, Reading High School, Mr. Santilli enlisted and served as a 3rd Class
      Petty Officer, naval radio operator, during WWII. Upon returning stateside, he owned and operated the Santilli Oil Company for
      more than fifty years.
    • Beyond those accomplishments, Mr. Santilli is known throughout the international softball community for his leadership and dedication to the sport. He was a highly successful softball coach with more than two thousand wins. Between 1959 and 1996, he coached the Sunners men’s softball teams, which qualified for twenty American Softball Association (ASA) national tournaments, winning the championship in 1975, 1977, and 1978.
    • In 1976, he coached the International Softball Federation world championship title, team. Mr. Santilli served as head coach for the silver-medal winning USA Pan-Am games softball teams in 1983, 1987, 1989, and 1991. He coached the US Olympics Sports Festival teams, winning gold in 1978 and 1979, silver in 1982, and bronze in 1986.
    • From 1998 to 2005 he was the head softball coach for Schuylkill Valley. Mr. Santilli has been named a Community Citizen by
      the Ontelaunee Grange, crowned King of Reading Baseball Towne by the Reading Phillies and has a road, Rocky Santilli Way, named for him at the Berks County Youth Recreational Facility in Leesport.
    • He contributed to the community by rebuilding the Leesport playground’s baseball fields, supporting many area recreational activities, and donating his softball memorabilia to the Leesport Area Historical Society.