Ron Luongo, Dave Caiazzo will celebrate their combined 37-strikeout performance
By Cary Shuman
Everett and Malden sports fans will celebrate at an event highlighting “The Greatest Pitching Duel in High School History” on Tuesday, July 14 at 5:30 p.m. the Pearl Street Station Restaurant, Malden.
Guests will join former interscholastic pitching legends Ron Luongo of Everett High and Dave Caiazzo of Malden High to reflect on their combined 37-strikeout performance in Everett’s 2-0 victory.
During that incredible afternoon of baseball on April 24, 1972 at Everett Memorial Stadium, Luongo struck out 17 batters. Caiazzo was equally dominant, striking out 20 batters in only eight innings of work. The 37 strikeouts are believed to be Massachusetts and USA high school records.
Ron Luongo remembers the game well. He was in his third year as a starting pitcher for the Crimson Tide and the hard-throwing 6-foot-1-inch righthander was being scouted by Major League Baseball teams in each start.
“I went mostly with my fastball that day,” said Luongo. “I knew Dave would be throwing heat as well. It was a really good game.”
The Luongo-Caiazzo matchup drew a large turnout of scouts as both hurlers were projected as MLB prospects.
“Obviously that game sticks out because of the results,” said Luongo.
Luongo noted that his catcher for his strikeout performance was John Romboli. “He was a very good football player and an outstanding athlete,” said Luongo. Other members of the 1972 team included outfielders John Capra and Steve Anzalone, first baseman Mike DeAngelis, second baseman Dougie Clark, and a pretty good junior shortstop named Frank Nuzzo Jr., who would be drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1973.
Luongo averaged more than 10 strikeouts per game throughout his career. He led Everett baseball to a GBL title in his senior year. Luongo also excelled in football and hockey (goaltender) and in fact, went on to play hockey and baseball at Boston College.
Luongo, 72, who now lives in Florida, said there was no pitching rematch versus Caiazzo in the second Malden-Everett baseball game as the starting rotation didn’t match up for either team. But, following their professional careers, Luongo pitched for the Hosmer Chiefs in the Intercity League while Caizzo was the ace on the Augustine A’s staff.
A graduate of Everett Little League, he played for the Parlin Junior High team before entering EHS in the tenth grade. In addition to his baseball stardom in high school, he was also the Greater Boston League MVP in hockey as a goaltender. Luongo attended Tilton School for a post-graduate year and went on to pitch four seasons at Boston College where he outdueled UMass pitcher and future MLB All-Star closer Jeff Reardon for a victory. Luongo also played two years of hockey at BC before focusing exclusively on baseball. Following his college career, he signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees organization.
Luongo played Single-A Baseball for the Fort Lauderdale Yankees where he led the team in innings pitched, complete games [ah, those days when pitchers worked all nine innings) strikeouts and wins.
“By the time I got to the Yankees, I was throwing the ball much harder [90 mph-plus] and I had developed a good changeup,” recalled Luongo. “I learned a lot of my pitching from Sammy Ellis, who had been an All-Star pitcher with the Cincinnati Reds. He was my pitching coach with the Fort Lauderdale Yankees. He taught me how to throw a circle change, and I used that a lot against lefties because the ball would go away from them.”
Interestingly, Luongo’s Yankees would often play the Orioles’ Single-A team based in Miami, who had a rising shortstop named Cal Ripken Jr.
“We played Miami a lot and I had good success against Ripken,” said Luongo. “I threw him a lot of sliders, but don’t forget he signed out of high school, and I had four years of college baseball experience.”
Despite being beset by arm problems in his second professional season, Luongo had a 9-2 record with a 1.67 ERA. Continuing his trajectory toward the Majors, Luongo moved up to Double-A baseball the following season but was released due to lingering issues with his arm.
Today, Luongo lives in Florida, and is helping his grandchildren, ages 8 and 2, develop their baseball skills.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my teammates and friends at the event next Tuesday,” said Luongo. “We share some great memories of Everett and playing sports in high school.”
Malden High’s
greatest pitcher
Dave Caizzo had a superlative career at Malden High. His 20-strikeout effort versus Everett was one of many gems on the mound.
In fact, Caizzo might have added more Ks to his single-game record. “They beat us, 2-0, and that’s why I only pitched eight innings. We lost it on two first-and-third situations. They scored their runs on double and delayed steals.”
Caiazzo remembers the many scouts in attendance for his duel with Luongo.
“The head of scouting for the Red Sox was Neil Mahoney, and he was at the game,” said Caiazzo. “He brought his top scout, Tommy McDonald. Years later, I saw Tommy and he said, ‘Dave, that was the greatest game by far I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Caiazzo said his head coach offered a scouting report on the Everett hitters. “I took the report and said, thanks, Coach. I got into my car, wrinkled up the paper and threw it out. I wanted to throw to my strengths, not to their weaknesses. I stayed with my fastball and the curveball once in a while.”
Caiazzo, who stands 6 feet, 3 inches, said he was hoping to pitch against Luongo in the second half of the season. But Malden went with another hurler, and Everett scored 18 runs in the game.
Caiazzo matriculated at Mass Bay Community College where he pitched for Coach Moe Maloney, who eventually coached at Boston College. Caiazzo led Mass Bay to two state baseball titles and was selected an All-American, hitting a nation-leading 10 home runs.
He continued his career at the University of New Haven for Coach “Porky” Vieira. New Haven advanced to the College World Series where Caiazzo won the opening game on the way to a third-place finish.
Caiazzo played professional baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies, but a sore arm sidetracked his bid to reach the Major Leagues.
“I was pitching against the Dodgers, and they had Mike Marshall, Steve Sax, Candy Maldonado and they were coached by Jim LeFevbre,” recalled Caizzo. “I had a no-hitter going into the sixth, and I threw Marshall a curveball, and he swung and missed and I hurt my arm. I went into the dugout and talked to our manager, Tommy Zimmer, who was Don Zimmer’s son. He asked me if I was alright, and I said I was fine. I went out for the seventh and threw one pitch which landed halfway to the plate. The next pitch landed even close to me, and that was it.”
Caiazzo became a Major League scout for 18 seasons and his recommendations about area players are still welcomed by MLB teams.
Reflecting on the day he and Luongo lit up Everett Stadium for 37 strikeouts, Caiazzo offered, “Ron always had a great arm. It’s a game I’ll always remember. I’m looking forward to seeing Ron again.”
The two incredibly gifted righthanders will talk about their record that will likely never be broken. For one thing, almost all high school baseball games in Massachusetts are seven innings in length.
It truly will stand as the greatest pitching duel in history.