Al's Green Tavern

Elected : USSSA New York Hall Of Fame in 2007
Inducted : March 2008, Syracuse, NY

Francis 'VAN' Vendetti

Francis was one of the major reasons for the success of slow-pitch softball in Rochester, New York. In the late 50's, Van began his long commitment to the game as a sponsor, organizer and coach. As he was getting started, he took it upon himself to organize one of the very first slow-pitch tavern leagues in Rochester. This league was formed when slow-pitch softball was in its infancy. From this league, the fever of slow-pitch caught on and it wasn't long before 100's and even 1000's came to watch the games.

Together with Carol Colombo, in the 1970's, Van helped to organize one of the first womens slow-pitch leagues in Rochester. Van had the foresight of the ultimate peak this games would achieve. Van again took it upon himself to solicit an aggressive promoter and manager Frank (CISCO) Opaczewski and the results are legendary to this game. His teams were the Triple Crown Champions in 1961 and 1962, and runner up in the world championship. They were won major championships at Bayview, the Eastern Seaboard Regional Champions, Syracuse Open Championship and the Rochester Metro champions in 1961 and 1963. These are just a few of the over 400+ championship teams Van sponsored and coached.

Van was a pioneer for Slow-pitch softball. His 51 years of dedication and love for softball will live on through this induction for many generations to appreciate. The only question he may have asked is 'What took you guys so long.'