Don Landolphi was the only choice for this award

He returned from England with a fifth-place medal, but please, don’t feel too badly for the USA coach – Don Landolphi.

He is set to be honored at the annual Italian American Baseball Foundation Gala, Dec. 5 at Marina Del Rey in the Bronx.

But coach, what happened in the tournament?

“We beat Hungary and China, and lost to Pakistan and Great Britain,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle upon his return to the states last week. “It was,” he said, “a very successful tournament.”

Cuba won, with Italy second and Pakistan third. “It was the first time Italy has lost the tournament,” Landolphi, the former Brooklyn College baseball coach said.

The coach’s last trip in the WBSC Blind International Cup was two years ago when his squad placed third with a bronze medal.

“We just weren’t as strong as we were the last time,” the 83-year-old coach admits. He lost several players this time around.

“One player did not have his citizenship; another never applied for one. That hurt us,” the grad of St. Michael’s Diocesan High School said.

Landolphi’s contributions to the game of baseball are being recognized as he has been named an Italian American Baseball Foundation Ambassador Award honoree.

He began his journey to Italy in 1973 as a coach selected to help coordinate baseball clinics. Later, he was asked to return to the Italian American National Teams, as an assistant.

The Blind International experience was certainly new for the kid who grew up at Avenue U and West 7th Street, right above the Sea Beach subway line.

“It was always baseball and basketball for me growing up,” he said. He was a three-year starter at St. Michael’s, located at Fourth Avenue and 43rd Street.
That school was replaced in 1957 by Xaverian High School.

The Blind Tournament had a roster of eight with two alternatives.

Each game is five to seven…