Risso calls it quits after 34 years at the helm of WBUA

Kevin Pomeroy, Sports Editor
Posted 11/20/14

By KEVIN POMEROY

Sports Editor

Back in 1980, Tony Risso didn’t start the West Bay Umpires Association for any reason other than the obvious one.

Warwick needed real umpires.

Risso, now …

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Risso calls it quits after 34 years at the helm of WBUA

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Back in 1980, Tony Risso didn’t start the West Bay Umpires Association for any reason other than the obvious one.

Warwick needed real umpires.

Risso, now 82 years old, remembers that time period, when umpires in the city weren’t dressed in the traditional attire, and they weren’t formally trained in how to officiate the game.

A former umpire in the Air Force, Risso simply tried to make things better.

“Having a little bit of knowledge from umpiring in the air force, and I played baseball myself, I thought it would be nice to train umpires to give the kids the thrill of having umpires that looked professional,” he said on Wednesday.

Thirty-four years later, Risso stepped down as the head of the Association this week after a run that helped create stability throughout the city’s Little League baseball landscape.

He was surprised by friends and family and members of his association on Tuesday with a party at the Warwick FOP Lodge, giving a proper send-off to the man who took pride in making sure baseball ran properly for over three decades.

“He was very shocked and emotional when he walked in the door,” said Charlie Jackson, who has worked under Risso for 21 years and is now the senior umpire in the association.

It was a perfect culmination to an unlikely career that started out small and simple, but one that grew into something much bigger and much more influential than anyone could have imagined.

Rizzo trained and sent out over 235 umpires during his tenure, about 40 of which are still with the association. Under Rizzo’s watch, umpires have gone on to work in Little League World Series games, college baseball, regional baseball tournaments and the Little League Softball World Series.

Through it all, he’s done it with a sense of pride in his work, while creating a respectful environment for the game to flourish around him.

“That’s what I have achieved – respect from the players and surrounding myself with good people,” Rizzo said.

Rizzo’s path to umpiring began with a background in baseball. Born in Brooklyn but raised by nuns in Puerto Rico in a Catholic orphanage, he grew up and quickly fell in love with the game of baseball.

Before long, he was playing second base in Puerto Rico’s professional league when he was noticed by Puerto Rican Major League Baseball player Louis Olmo. Olmo brought Rizzo back to the United States for Spring Training with the Dodgers.

From there, Rizzo played baseball in South America before being drafted into the Korean War. At war, Rizzo started to take up umpiring the pick-up games he and his friends held.

“I always thought people got out of control too easy,” Rizzo said. “I got to throw out a lot of my friends, because they yelled too much.”

He enjoyed being involved with the game, and after that he was involved in the youth coaching ranks and eventually moved to Rhode Island at the behest of a friend.

He held various jobs in the city of Warwick, but along the way noticed the way the umpiring was being handled at the local leagues.

“They looked like they came off the streets,” Rizzo said.

Hoping to make a difference, he started the West Bay Umpires Association. Initially it was just him and a friend, but it grew quickly to six umpires. They worked at St. Greg’s, and then at Warwick National, all the while implanting a very specific code of conduct, gleaned from various baseball manuals, to keep the games on a safe, respectful path.

“We didn’t just have to keep the players in line, we had to train the coaches how to coach,” Rizzo joked. “So we tried to set a code of conduct. For the umpires we had to set some rules for them.”

Realizing that his organization might be able to succeed in the long run, Rizzo recruited more umpires and began to train them at no cost to the umpires. They held weekly meetings in a local church, every Monday.

As the organization progressed, so did the meetings, as the meetings soon moved to City Hall, where they continued to be held for years.

“I finally wind up with the city hall, which was kind enough to lend us a room every Monday or Tuesday,” Rizzo said. “That’s where we met. The city was very good to us.”

It was all predicated on one simple rule.

“Our guys will be gentleman,” Rizzo said. “The coaches will be gentleman.”

The West Bay Umpires Association, as time wore on, took care of seven different leagues, sending two umpires to each game per field. It does that to this day, while also handling local tournaments at no cost, such as the Red Andrews Tournament and the Sally Eddy Tournament.

Humble, Rizzo and his organization have existed and thrived because of the pride they take in doing it the right way.

“We keep it low, and we keep it quiet,” Rizzo said. “If you’re a good umpire, and you show off that you’re so good, I’ll pull you outside and tell you what we’re here for. The show is the kids, not the umpires.”

That’s how, for 34 years, Rizzo drew his satisfaction from the game of baseball.

“If they don’t know who the umpire is when they leave the field, you did a super game,” Rizzo said. “That’s the best game you ever did. Nobody knows you.”

Now, though, it’s time to step away at age 82. Brenda Miller, a longtime umpire, is taking the reigns, and Rizzo will still be involved in some capacity as long as he’s able.

In his words, it’s “his time.”

“You have to give people a chance to do what they like to do,” Rizzo said. “I’ve done what I like to do most of my life. God has blessed me.”

He’s leaving behind a tremendous legacy, and a tremendous organization that has helped preserve the game of baseball in Warwick.

“Tony is a great, forward, doesn’t beat around the bush type of guy,” Jackson said. “He’s always been knowledgeable. He’s polite, friendly and he loves the game of baseball. He loves giving the game to the community.”

And he’ll still be around, making sure Warwick still has its real umpires.

“I still want to help,” Rizzo said. “I’m not out. Brenda won’t let me out. I still can teach, I still can help with the rules.”

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