Bethpage-Tribune_1972-05-25

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Island Trees . . *W^4-«..~.> i.-
Serving Bethpage - Plainview — Island Trees — Plainedge — Seaford
VOL. 6 No. 29
uid Bethpage
Thursday, May 2 5 , 1 9 72
James F. Tucci
1937-1972
A Chapter Closed
SSeeaflo^rdn Vpa's se^dU CaCwia' y *o n M°f ayM 2205, 1C9o7t2o naifatel r Ca oluornt,e
suurrvviivveedu hby° ThisS w*i£f*e,t LilHliOanSp;i t3al «c hihldornekne,r sS.t eHphe efnc
J S E S i - S R C h a r d : hlS P k r e n t s ' ^ephineand S 2 2 T£L! brother- Anthony and S * < -
n^HMaSL°f t h e Resur™*ion was held on Wed­nesday,
May 24, at 9:45 a.m. at St. James RX.
Cemetery^ B"r i a l W*S ** ^ ^ I s l a n d Nati°na»
He wasn't a verv tall ~
man, perhaps 5'7"^t toe m a n a 6 e m e n \ . of the
most - h e was dark nhv! S s m e w P^ctices of the
skinned IZlt^y But D , s t n c t ? » e f f o r t* were
"Jim" Tucci stobtf' held s u ,DPo r t e d <>* **
and Shoulders atovetoe S S f f l E S ' J * ^ WOn
crowd toe Board Majority in the
Ho «,o* «*••»• -*•_ tast Section. As a result of
sPrlirWf^LK^Lne f their combined efforts the
service in the Korean War S t r i c t not only passed its
and he was quick to tell budget, negotiated a two-you
that "once a Marine y e a r contract with its
always a Marine" He was teachers but also produced
proud to be an American, one 0f the smallest tax
Jim came from the increases in the county.
typical hard-working The people loved Jim
Italian family. He was Tucci — Despite pressures
brought up in the from the political minority
traditional way and within w n o opposed him he fought
his family a fierce pride on
was nurtured for his They used every gimmick
beloved country. in the book to discourage
Jim Tucci believed in him — from personal
the democratic principle harassment, intimidation,
of the people's right to vote insults and the final effort
and the concept of local to have him unseated from
control and local govern- his trusteeship
ment. He became active in But the people elected
his community and fought him again and again. He
hard for these principles, respected their wishes and
Yes he was "con- they loved and respected
troversial" because he him Iwould not let the ever- jim Tucci was a man of
growing bigness of courage, a symbol of
government or bigness of strength in a world
power engulf the personal confusion and doubt,
freedom of individuals. , He was staunch — he
Jim .was one of the never strayed from his
leaders and past president purpose,
of the Island Trees Tax- He was a man who loved
payers Association. He children — he took the
was a member of the
Island Trees School Board
and served as President,
and Vice President. He
was an accountant by
profession and he gave
untold hours of time and
diligent effort to the
financial problems of the
Island Trees School
J District. Through his ef­forts,
economies were
made and he pushed for
m o r e e f f i c i e nt
The Xavier Story
By Jon Trootz a#
Of
V l l l I V U ^ i j .
time to coach a team in Mayfair Little League
The kids loved him.
He loved kids — he
initiated a recreation
program for the high
school kids and he also
worked actively to get a
Drug Program in Island
Trees.
Jim Tucci will be missed
— He looked for nothing
(Continued on Page 3 j
Back in the days when baseball
was king, there lived a ballplayer
named Xavier Rescigno. A
former resident of Jackson
Heights, he now lives in Beth­page,
and though he is through
with the game on the diamond, he
is far from being out of the in­ternal
happenings of baseball.
His career, his stories, live on
forever.
Xavier Rescigno first started
playing organized "Doubleday"
in St.Anne's High School, which is
now Archbishop Molloy. He was
team captain his last two years,
and, not coincidentally, the team
won championships those
seasons.
After his" baseball career,
Rescigno received countless
scholarship offers, including
some from the Ivy League
colleges. He chose Vittanova, but
despised it after only one week,
and came rushing back to the big
city. His high school coach
thought Manhattan would be a
better choice, for the simple'
reason that Xavier would be close
to home. But Rescigno wanted to
play major league baseball, a
wish he had had since
childhood...and the reason he
returned to New York was to play
for the hometown fans.
Still, Rescigno went to
Manhattan, where his blazing
fastball made him a success. "I
enjoyed college ball a lot", he
recalls. "It was fun, just real
good fun." The fun became more
| serious bis third year, however,
for then he noticed big league
scouts in the stands, all looking
.at him, a bona fide prospect.
Xavier graduated from
Manhattan in 1935. That year, Paul
Kritchell, the Yankees head
scout, offered him a contract to
play for the "Pin Stripes"
organization, and Rescigno
jumped at the chance." Being a
New York kid, I always dreamt
of playing with the Yankees," he
explains.
Xavier rated a $2,500 bonus, big
money in those days, especially
with so many players anxious to
break into the Yankees. The
Bronx Bombers farmed him out
to the Middle Atlantic League in
Akron, Ohio. He finished up the
year there and moved up the
minor league ladder until he
graduated to Newark, Triple A
ball, in 1940. Though this was to
be a temporary home for the
pitcher, his 35 scoreless innings in
spring training forced a change
of plans in the New York front
office and he remained with the
Newark Bears the whole year.
Xavier saw limited action with
the Bears, for they had a superb
corps of hurlers destined for the
big leagues. That year Newark
won the "Little World Series",
but Rescigno was far from beatg
ecstatic:
"In those days the Yankees had
such a powerful team that you
coudn't dream of breaking in",
he notes. So Xavier went to
George Weiss, the Bombers'
business manager, and com­plained
he was wasting his time.
When he refused to report to
Chattanooga the final month of
the season, he was sold to the
Brooklyn Dodgers farm system.
Xavier was not in his prime. In
1942, he had a superb year in the
minors, winning 24 games, and he
broke into the majors. Along with
Ralph Kiner and two others he was
bought by the Pittsburgh Pirates,
where he would play his three
years of major league ball.
"It was funny spending an
entire life in the streets of New
York and then finding yourself in
Pittsburgh", he recalls. "But I
got used to it very quickly."
No rookie in 1943 (he was 30),
Xavier won his first game as a
Pirate by beating the Reds, 8-3. It
was a good start, but it soon
became a nightmare :by suc­cessive
scores of 2-1, he lost to
New York, t o Boston, and "King
Carl" Hubell, who was pitching
his last game.
Xavier was not without a mtmmm
of humor in all this. When Mel Ott
won it for' New York with* a
12th inning homer, "Mr. X"
trotted around the bases with
him, congratulating him on the
Xavier Rascigno
shot. Still, the losses hurt.
"I remember Frankie Frisch
(manager of the Pirates) calling
me in and saying, 'X, you're
having tough luck and though I'm
sorry to say it, let's put you in the
bullpen for a while.'" But Xavier
was not disheartened. As he said
later, "playing anywhere was
good for me."
Rescigno remained in the pen
enabled the Bucs to become a
first division club.
Back in those days, the
(Continued on Page 3)
Wszystko Jest Smaczne
Sonaetaiag new has just hit long Island - a Polish-American
Restaurant, "BresUn's".
Jeaa and Joe Breslia have been in the restaurant business for
many years. They know every phase of the business because they
have worked it and combined all their years of experience into their
own place.
The Polish cooking is done by Jean who was taught by her Polish-bom
Mother. The menu features: Golombki. Baranina. Kielbasa.
Kura and Sztaka (truly different, truly delicious... try it, you'll like
HI.
Joe tends the bar and has invented several drinks - there's
Breslin's Volcano, Peach Zombie and a brand new martini cocktail
called "The Wild One".
For something different - for something special - try "Breslin's"
the Irish-Polish combination that can't be beat, at 43 Broadway.
Ilicksville. right by the railroad underpass.
Photo Story-Ray Shalton