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© St. Petersburg Times, published March 25, 2003
SAINT LEO -- Some good-natured ribbing harkened back to days gone by for two former Saint Leo baseball players who struck it big in the major leagues.
J.P. Ricciardi, the Toronto Blue Jays' general manager, and 10-year major-league veteran Jim Corsi traded barbs Friday during the 16th annualSaint Leo Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the McDonald Center on campus.
Ricciardi teased Corsi about his weight gain since retirement and exuberant personality, saying, "This guy makes Dick Vitale looks like he's sleeping."
Corsi shot back, targeting Ricciardi's nose and Italian heritage before adding, "I'm going to ask him about a job."
On a more serious note, Ricciardi called baseball teammate Jim D'Aloia "the best player on our team."
D'Aloia, one of seven inductees, was a middle infielder who batted better than .300 for four years and spent three seasons in the minors.
Softball player Kelly Bowe and basketball player Shawn Jennett also were inducted in Saint Leo's largest class (six members were inducted in 1990 and 1991).
Bowe and Jennett, as well as the baseball trio, attended Saint Leo College before it became a university in 1999.
Two others, Joe Mason Sr. and Fred Rust Jr., were inducted from the Saint Leo Preparatory School (the school became Saint Leo College in 1959).
"Who would think, at the age of 70, I would be standing here at Saint Leo accepting this award," said Mason, a tri-sport athlete and class president. "All I did was have fun and try to be competitive. Today, that joy came back."
Rust, who set a state shot put record, came to Saint Leo after a sister and aunt drowned.
The monks, Rust said, "taught me how to deal with life ... they taught us to be men."
Ricciardi echoed a similar refrain in discussing former baseball coach Jack Gillis, who guided the 1978 team to the NCAA tournament and a 26-15 record.
"(Gillis) made Bobby Knight look like a choir boy," Ricciardi said. "He would do things you can't get away with today, but he made us men."
Jennett said he learned perseverance at Saint Leo.
"Whatever goals you set for yourself you can achieve," said Jennett, the school's career free throw leader (431). "I came here without a scholarship, saying to myself that I was going to make this team."
Corsi offered some advice for current Saint Leo athletes, many of who attended Friday's ceremony.
"Don't take things for granted," he said. "It goes by fast."
ALUMNI GAMES: As part of the weekend festivities, alumni soccer and baseball games were scheduled but Sunday's baseball game was rained out. In Saturday's soccer game, Tony Rossi scored twice in leading the current team to a 4-1 win over the alumni.
LATE HONOR: John Kozak, a Saint Leo outfielder and 1982 graduate who never received his Academic All-American award from 1982, finally got it during Friday's ceremony.
The school's sports information director, Walt Riddle, looked into the oversight after Kozak mentioned it during last year's 20th class reunion.
"I didn't want to take away from these guys' night," Kozak said after hugging his former teammates. "It was a very tight-knit group."