Sons of St. Rita's: How a Gang of Poor Italian Kids Defied the Odds and Won at Softball . and Life

Son's of St. Rita's is the true story of the rec softball teams my father, uncles and their friends played on from 1958 to 1988 in Tacoma, Washington. But the book isn't about balls and strikes. It's about family and friends, camaraderie and community. These guys didn't just play a game. Together with their wives, they created an entire society, an inclusive group of fun-loving, family-oriented people where things like economic status were irrelevant. At its peak, six different teams played under the banner of this community. Our summers revolved around softball.I'll bet your family had a summer thing, too. Maybe you went camping, or you had a beach house you went to on weekends, or you took a long road trip. Your family no doubt has a lot of great stories about your summers together. These are my stories. You'll enjoy them even if you know nothing about softball.Sports fans will also enjoy reading about the competition. The events of the book happened at a time and place where slow pitch softball was the rec sport for adults. In 1980, Tacoma/Pierce County parks had the 5th-highest number of slow pitch participants per capita in the entire country. Almost all the best athletes played, and our teams were among the best in this highly competitive environment.I wanted to share these stories, to use softball as the frame for a book about my family, especially my father. If people like it and (more importantly) buy it, I'll write another. We're an interesting bunch, and I think you'll enjoy learning about us.This is a family story ... for adults. Be warned: There's drinkin' and cussin' and tales of people behaving badly. It's basically PG-13, with a few f-bombs and three pictures of butts.