(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photos by Corrado Benedetti & Marco Stoovelaar)
...Salvatore Varriale with Collecchio-Mayor Paolo Bianchi...
...after being knighted Cavaliere della Repubblica...
(© Photo: Corrado Benedetti)
(photo published with permission of Salvatore Varriale) |
 High Italian decoration for Salvatore Varriale
Nederlands
 PARMA (Italy) -
Salvatore Varriale, the wellknown former player and coach of the Italian National Baseball Team, has been awarded the title of Knight of the Republic (Cavaliere della Repubblica) for his sporting merits.
Besides being a popular and respected player while being associated with the National Team in the seventies and eighties, Varriale also was very successful as a player and coach of the baseball-team of Parma for many years.
The ceremony in which Varriale and others received this Medal of Honor took place at the Prefettura di Parma (Prefecture of Parma) in Parma on December 19.
Present at the ceremony were Dr. Giuseppe Forlani, the Prefect of Parma and Paolo Bianchi, the Mayor of Collecchio, who handed out the decorations.
A concert by students of the Liceo Musicale 'Attilio Bertolucci' from Parma opened the ceremony.
Varriale got his decoration for his 40 years of engagement in national baseball and especially in the city of Parma.
Also honored were Sergio Beatrisotti, Claudio Bondani and Franco Zoni for their longtime activities as volunteers in public assistance in Parma.
After being knighted, Varriale stated: ,,In baseball you don't win alone.
I dedicate this title to all my teammates of Parma and the Italian National Team''.
...Salvatore Varriale as Coach...
...of the Italian National Team...
...during the 1991 European...
...Championship in Nettuno (Italy)...
(© Photo: Marco Stoovelaar) |
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Ordine al merito della Repubblica Italiana) was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi (1874-1961).
It is the highest ranking honour of the Republic and is awarded for 'merit acquired by the nation' in the fields of literature, arts, economy, public service and social, philanthropic and humanitarian activities, as well as for long and conspicuous service in civilian and military careers.
The order is bestowed by decree of the President of the Italian Republic.
Born in New York (USA), Sal Varriale came to Italy in 1972 as a foreign player, but he got an Italian passport the next year and has stayed in the country ever since.
In 1973, Varriale set a then new league-record with 63 runs batted in and won the Triple Crown.
As an outfielder, Varriale made his debut in the Italian Baseball League playing for Parma, the club where he played (and later was a coach and manager) his entire career.
In 1975, Varriale moved to first base, which then became his prime position.
He retired after the 1984 season.
The next year, in mid-season, he became the new Manager of Parma and led the team to the Championship-title.
Varriale also was the Manager in 1986, then was a coach of the squad in 1988-2008.
In this span, Parma captured nine Championship-titles.
In more recent years, Varriale became the Sports Technical Director of Parma.
While playing and coaching with Parma, the won twelve European Cup-tournaments.
Always playing with uniform number 27, Varriale made his debut in the Italian National Team in 1973 and went on to play for the national squad ever since.
As a player of the Italian squad, he won three consecutive European Championship-titles in 1975, 1977 and 1979.
After he ended his playing career, Varriale became a valuable member of the coaching-staff of the National Team.
As a coach with the Azzurri, Varriale took part in three Olympic Games, as well as many other international events, including winning several European Championship-titles.
(January 9)
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