Local Seattle legend Tony Ventrella
In memory of western Washington's favorite Italian American sportscaster
Tributes are pouring in today after the news of Tony Ventrella’s passing. I am not a big sports fan, but even I enjoyed listening to and watching him work. His charisma and positive attitude reached out through the airwaves to his listeners, and maybe, just maybe, you thought, like I did, how can I be more like Tony? In a time when many broadcasters were just talking heads, Tony stood out because he was genuine, the real deal.
I listened to sports news because it was Tony delivering them, not necessarily because I was interested in the data. If he was on, I listened because I trusted him and enjoyed his delivery. He’s the personification of something Maya Angelou taught: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
While not Seattle-born, he was definitely a household name. He was considered a native of the city in which he spent the better part of 40 years in sports media. Whether it was his late-night reporting, radio broadcasts, gameday play-by-plays, news anchoring, take on politics, or cutting someone’s hair (he comes from a long line of barbers on the East Coast), Tony consistently brought his intellect, attention to quality, humor, optimism, honor, and communication skills to the task at hand.
Fun fact: He owned a barbershop in Connecticut after a stint in the armed services.
Over the years and regardless of where and with whom he worked, his fellow co-workers regularly praised his work ethic, kindness, cooperativeness, resilience, storytelling abilities, and charity work—what a legacy to be remembered by.
Fun fact: He ran for Congress in 2016, lost in the general election, suspended his campaign, then went on to earn the nomination out of the primary election.
Bill Kaczaraba, news director at KCPQ-TV and one of his first bosses in Seattle, said, “The mark of a man is what he says and does when other people aren’t paying attention. Tony was kind to everyone. He always had a spare moment and a listening ear.” What a wonderful thing to have someone say about you, and I like to think he had probably heard most of these types of compliments throughout his life, rather than just at the end. In fact, I would bet on it.
Fun fact: When he lived in Newcastle, he created a group called Newcastle Players and he helped stage two murder mysteries and one production of “Charlie Brown” in 2017. Murder mysteries? Theatre? A man after my own heart.
From 2002 to 2017, the sports icon turned to writing, too, so I have additional respect for him as an author. Even his publishing and motivational speaking company, Positive Energy Productions, speaks to his personality that shone through not just on our radios and televisions, but on the printed page as well. A theme in his life that he always kept in mind as he went from job to job and experience to experience is mentioned in his one of his books, Here’s Smiling At You: “Learn all you can from other people, help as many people as you can, never take yourself too seriously, and no matter what, keep smiling.”
Words to live by. Thank you, Tony, for all of yours.
