HAVE A BLAST WITH OUR PAST
Softball, not hoops, was Sellitto's specialty

By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer

Learn about Hawai'i sports history and those who figured prominently in it in this feature. We'll ask a question Wednesday and present the answer in an in-depth profile on Thursday
	Q: Although he is known more for winning basketball titles on the state high school and national collegiate levels, this person was such a standout in fast-pitch softball that he was banned from playing in local leagues. Who is he?

A: Tony Sellitto led Maryknoll to a state title and Hawai'i Pacific University to a national basketball title. But he was a standout fast-pitch softball player who not only was banned locally but was good enough to play against the renowned King and his Court twice.

"Softball was always my favorite (sport)," says legendary basketball coach Tony Sellitto. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

And that's no surprise, since the former head coach at Hawai'i Pacific University left an indelible mark on the basketball scene in Hawai'i after his retirement last season. He led Maryknoll High to a state title, turning the tiny private school along the H-1 into a state power. During his 14-year tenure at HPU, he compiled a 295-136 record, the most victories of any small college coach in Hawai'i history.

Sellitto's HPU teams qualified for postseason national tournaments eight times, and 12 of his 14 teams finished with winning records. He also led HPU to the NAIA Division I championship in 1993, the only national basketball title ever won by a Hawai'i school.

Sellitto became a legend in the basketball world, but ask him what his favorite sport is and you might be surprised with his answer.

"Softball was always my favorite," said Sellitto, 65. "I loved it with a passion and I played it with a passion."

He picked up the sport as a teenager in West Orange, N.J., playing in community fast-pitch leagues. While in high school, his team won the league championship.

In fact, softball was such a huge deal in his hometown, games would draw more than 2,000 spectators, he said.

So committed to softball, Sellitto resisted playing baseball in high school until his senior year, when he joined the team as a third baseman.

"Baseball, to me, was really boring," said Sellitto, who also lettered in football, basketball and track. "Games lasted two to two-and-a-half hours. It was crazy. 'Why am I still in this uniform?' "

He was drafted after high school, but opted to go to Napa Junior College, where he played baseball, football and basketball. After two years he transferred to Colorado College, lettering in football, basketball, baseball and boxing. And no matter where he was, he continued to play softball.

After graduating with a sociology degree in 1961, Sellitto joined the Army, figuring it was the best way to become an intelligence officer. (He wanted to be an FBI agent.)

"But they asked me if I wanted to play baseball in Hawai'i and that was the end of that," he said with a laugh.

After a 15-hour plane ride, he arrived in Honolulu. Six days later he was playing baseball in the interservice league.

But his participation in the military league made him ineligible to play in the local community league.

"The only way I could play was if I was a pitcher who had never pitched before in his life," Sellitto said.

Two years later the O'ahu Open Softball League started at Cartwright Field. It accepted anyone who wanted to — and could — play. Sellitto quickly signed up.

He played on the Midas Muffler team for 12 years, alongside Les Murakami, Clay Fujie, Steve Martin and Cal Kawakami. His team won numerous state championships, playing in tournaments on the Mainland and in Japan.

Pitching suited Sellitto, who was only a position player in baseball. Like other local pitchers, he didn't overpower hitters with fastballs. He utilized a nice rise ball and a drop ball that went inside.

"If you lost the game, it was my fault. That's the way I felt about playing," said Sellitto, who pitched a bunch of no-hitters. "Give me the ball, I'll do it."

And his teammates became lifelong friends.

"It was a very good, friendly, nice situation," he said.

When Sellitto underwent successful surgeries for a stroke and prostate cancer in 1997, Murakami, the former University of Hawai'i baseball coach, visited him in the hospital. Sellitto returned the favor in 2000, when Murakami suffered a severe stroke that forced his retirement The two still talk every week.

"I made Les a coach," Sellitto said. "Because if you could coach me, you could coach anybody. I was a tough guy; I'd rant and rave. He was mellow, laid-back, but a great athlete."

Sellitto still talks about his softball years with a child-like enthusiasm, remembering games and players as if it all happened last Sunday. He still doesn't know why he never coached softball, a game he knows inside-out. But it doesn't matter. Like his job as HPU's head coach and athletic director, Sellitto is retired from the sport. He spends his days walking in Waikiki, visiting his grandchildren and just keeping busy.

"I don't get bored," he said. "There's too much to do."