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'Phony Spumoni!'

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By DAVID SOMMER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 5, 2008

ST. LEO - Baseball Hall of Fame broadcaster and former player Joe Garagiola held up a copy of Saturday's Tampa Tribune and told a room of Saint Leo University graduates-to-be that a recent news report angered him.

He cited a story about job prospects for college graduates that included comments from a University of South Florida graduate who said their parents had warned this was not a good time to be getting out of college and looking for work.

"Phony spumoni! You chose a great time to graduate! Right now," said Garagiola, the commencement speaker at one of two graduation ceremonies Saturday for the Saint Leo University Class of 2008.

Garagiola, 82, spoke at an afternoon graduation ceremony, in which an estimated 311 graduates were honored. The retired broadcaster's sports career included playing on four MLB teams.

"Take the chances. Don't be afraid to fail. You can't steal second base if you keep your foot on first. You gotta get called out once in a while," Garagiola said, drawing cheers.

There were also plenty of laughs. Master of Ceremonies Dennis Mullen, Class of '76, said he wished Garagiola had spoken at his graduation.

Garagiola, who played catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 World Series and grew up across the street from famed New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, had plenty of lessons to share from his youth.

He recalled the time he got in trouble for asking a nun if the Corinthians ever wrote back to St. Paul.

He also recalled the time he answered the question: "What was St. Paul's vision on the road to Damascus?" Response: "Twenty-twenty." That earned Garagiola punishment in seventh grade - but laughter on Saturday.

Garagiola also worked Berra into his speech. He said his childhood pal called him while he was recuperating from an illness a few years back to ask what he had been up to. He told Berra that he had just seen a movie that Yogi liked, but that the book was better.

"I didn't see 'The Book,'" Berra deadpanned back, recalled Garagiola.

He drew his loudest applause when he urged the graduates to follow their dreams and never accept no for an answer.

"If the front door is locked, try the back door. If you can't get in that way, try a window," he advised. "Graduating from Saint Leo, you are ready for that dream. Meet it head-on," Garagiola said.

His were not the only words of inspiration at Saturday's ceremony.

Undergraduate Class President Mary Major urged her friends to keep an open mind.

"We must remember we are not done learning yet. We don't know everything there is to know," Major said.

Saddlebrook Resorts Inc. founder and CEO Thomas L. Dempsey, who received an honorary doctorate, urged graduates to set long-term goals and then work to achieve them.

Also honored Saturday were Dade City attorney Glen Greenfelder and his wife, Gail.

Glen Greenfelder graduated from Saint Leo in the early 1960s. He and his wife, an honorary graduate, have donated time and effort to improving the school, Saint Leo President Arthur F. Kirk Jr. told the crowd.

Kirk awarded the couple the fourth and fifth Father Marion Bowman Distinguished Service Award medals granted since the honor was created in 1998, Kirk said.

Garagiola received an honorary Doctorate of Humanity from the school.

He took the opportunity to thank a woman who was translating the ceremony into sign language for the deaf. He drew cheers when he asked her how to sign Yogi Berra.

Then he drew more laughter when he asked: "How do you say Dr. Joe Garagiola?"

Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 815-1087 or dsommer@tampatrib.com.

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