Hometown Heroes

Tony and Bertha Saladino, founders of the Saladino Baseball Tournament, are Brandon's legendary baseball family.

Tony Saladino spent much of his youth throwing a ball against a wall and playing in pickup games at the Boys and Girls Club at 15th Street and Columbus Drive. Sometimes he spent hours out there alone, honing his skills.

Baseball has been his life for as long as he can remember.

To many Brandon residents, baseball and the Saladino name have been synonymous for 30 years. Tony and his wife, Bertha, have poured their heart and soul into Hillsborough County’s Saladino Tournament. The annual 28-team high school baseball tournament, which started in 1981, has drawn national praise from pro scouts and media such as Sports Illustrated. It has helped produce MLB talent such as Dwight Gooden, Fred McGriff, Gary Sheffield, Tino Martinez and Wade Boggs, all of whom later became professional stars.

The Saladino’s are honored that such incredible players have taken part in their tournament, but some might argue that the real hometown heroes aren’t the ones who made it big, but the ones who stuck around to teach kids that there’s more to life than baseball.

“We want them to be caring, respectable and just overall good citizens,” Tony says about the student baseball players.

Tony Saladino fell in love with baseball because “a small man like me can compete.” Born and raised in Tampa, he played in recreational leagues until trying out for the Jefferson High School varsity team. Only five slots were available, and Tony recalls his classmates warning him not to bother.

“People said, ‘Don’t waste your time, you’ll never make it,’” he says. “Well I hustled and made that team. I wanted to go on and play at Army (West Point), but my father told me to go to the University of Tampa and get my education.”

If there’s anything that Tony loves more than baseball, it’s his wife of 46 years and his father, who nurtured his love for the game. To honor Tony Sr., the couple organized the baseball tournament that has put Brandon on the map.

Tony spends 10 months a year planning and raising money for the event; Bertha handles the cooking duties, making hamburgers, baked beans, apple pie, strawberry shortcake and her famous potato salad. Tony says the two try to give the kids the same treatment they’d receive in the majors. And everyone knows when Bertha is cooking.

“They know I’m only there (cooking) Monday and Tuesday,” she says. “I go through 60 pounds of potatoes that week.”

The tournament typically runs the first week in April and concludes with one player receiving the Tony Saladino Sr. Award, an honor that goes to the player who has proved himself to the county’s coaches on and off the field.

Saladino tears up when he thinks of his father, who passed away several years ago. The award has been Saladino’s way of carrying on his dad’s legacy.

“He said the best thing for me was to get my education,” he says. “I had offers financially to be anything, but I love sports and I knew I had to give back to the kids.”

Tony found his calling at Forest Hills Elementary and later Valrico Elementary School as a physical education teacher. He has 47 years of teaching under his belt and hopes to make it an even 50 before he’s done.

After 30 years of Saladino tourneys, you would think Tony and Bertha would start to slow down, but the couple is full throttle for 2010. In fact, Tony plans to challenge himself on the field at the 79th Annual Kids and Kubs old-timer softball tournament. This will be the first year the 75-year-old rookie will be eligible to play in the charity event.

Tony says he and Bertha will keep running the tournament as “far as we can.” Their children, including son Tony Saladino III, who runs the Saladino Baseball Academy, have taken on many of the tournament’s duties over the years. Tony III will keep the tournament alive after his parents step down.

As for those 16 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, Bertha says that if anything, Tony has one admirer in their grandson, Sharky. One day Bertha asked him, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

He turned to Tony and said, “I want to be you, grandpa.”