Joey Amalfitano
Baseball
A major league baseball scout, coach and manager for over 35 years. Amalfitano got his start at the age of 20 as an infielder for the Giants.
Joe Amalfitano has been a major league scout, coach and manager for over 35 years. He made his major league debut in 1954 as an infielder for the New York Giants. That year, as a twenty-year-old, he found himself playing under Leo Durocher, alongside a heroic old Dusty Rhodes and a young Willie Mays. The Giants were involved in a scrap for the National League pennant, from which they would emerge as the victors.
Amalfitano returned to the minor leagues in 1956 for additional training, then returned to play as a utility infielder with the Giants in 1960. However, he did not score enough hits to earn a regular position. Amalfitano’s major league career also includes stints with Houston and the Cubs, but he is probably best known for his work as a coach and manager.
Amalfitano served as coach for the Chicago Cubs from 1967-71 and again from 1978-80, and managed them for portions of three seasons (1979, 1980 and 1981). He also coached the San Francisco Giants (1972-75), the San Diego Padres (1976-77), the Cincinnati Reds (1982), and, in 1983, joined the Dodgers as their third-base coach. He currently serves as a special assignment scout for the San Francisco Giants.
Joe Montana
Football
With his late-game heroics and steady play in the biggest games, Joe Montana is widely regarded as one of the top quarterbacks in NFL history.
Selected by the San Francisco 49ers in only the third round of the 1979 draft, the relatively unheralded QB went on to a legendary career with the 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.Montana had a strange career at Notre Dame. Not always a starter, he won acclaim for his ability to come off the bench and rally the team to victory, most notably in the 1979 Cotton Bowl, when he brought Notre Dame back from a 23-point deficit in the fourth-quarter to win 35-34.
As a pro, Montana became a true student of the game. His season awards include: the NFL’s passing leader (twice), NFC passing leader (five times), all-NFL (three times), all-NFC (five times), and eight Pro Bowls. He was also the three-time MVP of the Super Bowl, which he won four times with the 49ers.
At the time of his retirement, the “Montana Magic” accounted for 40,551 passing yards (despite missing the equivalent of two-plus seasons due to injury), 5,931 attempts and 273 touchdowns, all fourth in NFL history at the time of his retirement. His 3,409 completions rank him third in pro football history, and his career passer rating of 92.3 ranks second.
Montana was elected to the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in 1996-97 and to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
Brian Boitano
Figure Skating
Brian Boitano, the only American man to win a gold medal in figure skating at the 1988 Winter Olympics, is regarded as one of the sport’s most accomplished and athletic competitors. Starting his skating journey at the age of eight in his hometown of Sunnyvale, Boitano quickly rose to prominence, winning multiple national championships. At the Calgary Games, he made history by becoming the first skater to land eight triple jumps in a single program, a feat that remains iconic. His skates from that historic performance are now preserved in the Smithsonian Institution.
Boitano’s post-Olympic career was equally remarkable, as he went on to win 20 professional championships. His artistic achievements were also celebrated when he won an Emmy for his performance in Carmen on Ice. In 1996, his impact on the sport was cemented with his induction into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
Recognized for his contributions to both competitive and professional skating, Boitano was inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. His legacy endures as one of figure skating’s greatest athletes, both for his technical prowess and his artistic performances on the ice.
Luigi “Lou” Carnesecca
Basketball
A colorful coach known for his sideline demeanor and bright, red sweaters, Lou Carnesecca was also a fantastic craftsman of NCAA basketball teams. Lou Carnesecca’s enduring legacy as a basketball coach will be his amazing streak of consistency. In 42 years of coaching, he won more than 830 games and never failed to take his team to a post-season tournament.
Upon his retirement, he left behind two of college basketball’s most impressive streaks: longest run of successive winning seasons and longest run of taking teams to the post-season.
The level of excellence that Carnesecca created at St. John’s University brought in a wealth of awards in the 1990s. In 1992, he was named to the International Basketball Hall of Fame. A year later, he was inducted into the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was inducted in the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Lou Duva
Boxing
Lou Duva, the legendary patriarch of Main Events, has had a multifaceted and groundbreaking boxing career that has spanned over 50 years as a boxer, trainer, manager, and promoter. He is best known for his work in the corner of 15 world champions, including iconic fighters like Evander Holyfield, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, Johnny Bumphus, Bobby Czyz, Vinny Pazienza, and Michael Moorer, among others. Duva’s relentless dedication and motivational prowess made him one of the most respected figures in the sport.
Duva’s unparalleled commitment to his fighters is evident in his remarkable ability to be in two places at once. On February 4, 1989, he achieved a rare feat by being in two corners on opposite coasts in less than 24 hours. He guided Mark Breland to a WBA welterweight title victory in Las Vegas and then helped Darrin Van Horn upset IBF junior middleweight champion Robert Hines in Atlantic City the very next afternoon—a feat that remains unmatched in boxing.
Duva’s rise to prominence began with his first champion, Joey Giardello, but he reached the pinnacle of boxing when he signed five members of the 1984 U.S. Olympic team—Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker, Mark Breland, Meldrick Taylor, and Tyrell Biggs. With his late son Dan Duva as a promoter, he co-founded Main Events, which quickly became a major rival to boxing giants Don King and Bob Arum. Together, they reshaped the promotional landscape of the sport.
Throughout his career, Duva’s contributions to boxing were widely recognized. He received the Manager of the Year Award in 1984 and the Long Meritorious Service Award in 1993 from the Boxing Writers Association of America. He was also named Trainer of the Year by the WBA in both 1987 and 1994. Lou Duva’s legacy as a trainer, motivator, and boxing innovator remains firmly established in the sport’s history.
Lewa Yacilla
Softball