List of Sicilian Americans - Athletes

Athletes

• Charles Atlas, (1892–1972), born Angelo Siciliano in Italy, he moved to Brooklyn, New York at a young age. Initially a small, weak child, Siciliano worked hard to tone his muscles, using a variety of weights. Contemplating the strength of a tiger in a zoo, he conceived the idea of working muscle against muscle, rather than working out with weights. Using this system, later dubbed Dynamic tension, he acquired a physique that earned him the nickname "Charles Atlas", after the mythical Atlas, the Titan who held up the heavens. He later filed for and received trademark status for the name. He soon took the role of strongman in the Coney Island Circus Side. His company, Charles Atlas, Ltd. (1929-and continuing today) markets a fitness program for the "97-pound weakling", a registered trademark.
• Dom DiMaggio, born Dominic Paul DiMaggio (born February 12, 1917 in San Francisco, California) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–42, 1946–53). His small stature (standing five feet nine inches) and eyeglasses earned him the nickname "The Little Professor". He is the brother of outfielders Joe DiMaggio and Vince DiMaggio. DiMaggio was a teammate and close friend of Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Johnny Pesky. Their friendship was chronicled in David Halberstam's book The Teammates. Dom DiMaggio was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.
• James Maritato (born March 12, 1972) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring names Little Guido and Nunzio. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Maritato was born in his native Sicily.
• Joe DiMaggio, born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr. (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an Italian American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career (1936–1951) for the New York Yankees. The eighth of nine children, DiMaggio was born in a two-room house in Martinez, California to Sicilian immigrants; delivered by a midwife. His mother, Rosalia, named him "Giuseppe" for his father; "Paolo" was in honor of Saint Paul, Giuseppe's favorite saint. The family moved to San Francisco when Joe was one year old.
• Vince DiMaggio, Vincent Paul DiMaggio (September 6, 1912 – October 3, 1986) was a Major League Baseball center fielder and right-handed batter who played in the National League for the Boston Bees (1937–38), Cincinnati Reds (1939–40), Pittsburgh Pirates (1940–46) and New York Giants (1946). The older brother of Joe and Dom, DiMaggio was born in Martinez, California.
• Johnny Dundee, (b. November 22, 1893, d. April 22, 1965) was a featherweight and junior lightweight boxer who fought from 1910 until 1932. Dundee was born Giuseppe Carrora in Sciacca, Sicily, but was raised in the United States. Although today he is almost completely forgotten, Dundee was highly regarded by many old time boxing experts. The Ring founder and editor, Nat Fleischer, rated Dundee in the top five of his list of greatest featherweights of all time.
• Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 - October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker. Marella is also a member of the Ithica College Athletic Hall of Fame and placed second in the 1959 NCAA National Wrestling championship tournament.
• Paul Malignaggi, (b. November 23, 1980) is a professional junior welterweight boxer and a former IBF Junior Welterweight Champion most notable for defeating Lovemore N'dou twice, as well as losing in bouts with Miguel Cotto and Ricky Hatton.
• Mike Piazza, born Michael Joseph Piazza (September 4, 1968 in Norristown, Pennsylvania) is a U.S. Major League Baseball player. He is generally recognized as the top-hitting catcher of all time. He is a ten time All-Star. On May 5, 2004, Piazza surpassed Carlton Fisk for most home runs by a catcher with the 352nd of his career. Mike grew up for the first few years of his life in a small house in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The house was barely big enough to have Mike's entire family inside. His family consisted of his two parents, Vince and Veronica Piazza, and his brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Tony and Tommy.
• Gene Sarazen, (also known as Gene Saraceni) (February 27, 1902 – May 13, 1999) is one of the few golfers to win all the major championships in his career, including
  • 1922 U.S. Open
  • 1922 PGA Championship
  • 1923 PGA Championship
  • 1932 U.S. Open
  • 1932 British Open
  • 1933 PGA Championship
  • 1935 The Masters

Winner of 39 PGA Tour events, Sarazen was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974. He invented the modern sand wedge in 1930. He hit "The shot heard 'round the world" in the 1935 Masters. It was a final round 225-yard 4-wood on the par-5 15th hole that went in, giving him a very rare double eagle 2 on the hole. It led to him later winning the tournament in a playoff. For many years after his retirement, he was a familiar figure as an honorary starter at the Masters.