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Athlete

Ted was born on February 7, 1947 in Vineland, NJ. and knew from age 8 he wanted to be a professional baseball player.

At Vineland High School, Ted excelled at playing the four major sports with baseball definitely his favorite. In ’66, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st Round (11th player taken overall – just after the Phillies’ John Vukovich) in the Amateur Draft.

Assigned to the Dubuque (AA) Packers, Ted, an outfielder with a strong arm, hit .263 in 71 games, with 6 HR’s and 25 RBI’s in 262 AB’s. He played winter ball with future major leaguers Reggie Jackson, Cito Gaston and Rick Monday.

Promoted in ’67 to Pawtucket (AA) hitting .210 with 42 RBI’s in 132 games, his season was shortened when drafted into the Army to serve state-side in Louisiana.

Discharged in ’69, and working his way back into shape, Ted made the ’70 Cleveland Indians club and debuted vs. the Orioles on April 7, facing Dave McNally, going 0-2 with a BB. After only 50 plate appearances, Ted was sent to Wichita (AAA) hitting .326 with 12 HR’s and 57 RBI’s in 106 games.

After shuttling between AAA and Cleveland in ’71, Ted played winter ball in Venezuela with Rod Carew, Dave Concepcion and Graig Nettles.

Ted was traded to the expansion Texas Rangers (Washington Senators) in ’72 for Tommy McGraw after catching the eye of Manager Ted Williams. In his Rangers debut on April 28, Ted hit a game-winning 3-run HR, driving in Frank Howard and Tom Grieve. He played in 129 games in ’72, leading the team in HR’s with 14, hit .235 with 19 doubles and 50 RBI’s AND lead the American League with 10 Assists from right field!

Between ’73 and ’82 Ted played for the Rangers, Indians and San Diego Padres affiliates as well as several Mexican teams, before retiring to Hammonton, NJ. He returned to Texas in 2012, opened a youth baseball camp and was an assistant coach for his youngest son’s (Tim) college baseball team.

Ted, 76, had a younger brother, Lambert (1949 – 2022) and a grandson, Darren, 38, both who played professional baseball.

Athlete

Darren was born in Vineland, NJ on October 1, 1985. He excelled in the South Vineland baseball leagues and was a stellar athlete at Vineland High School on the varsity baseball, football and indoor track teams. Upon graduation, Darren attended Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Fla.

Darren began his professional baseball career in 2004 when he was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th Round of Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft. Assigned to the Brewer’s Rookie team in Helena, Montana, the ultra speedy outfielder hit .271 in 61 games in 2005 and .283 in 125 games in 2006 with the Brewer’s Single-A team, the West Virginia Power, playing alongside teammates Ryan Braun, Michael Brantley, Ned Yost and Lorenzo Cain. As a defensive stalwart and a stolen base specialist, he played in the Brewer’s minor league system until July 2008, when he was traded to the San Francisco Giants organization for all-star Ray Durham.

Darren made his major league debut with the Giants on September 1, 2010 when he scored the winning run vs. the Colorado Rockies. In case of an injury to a rostered player, he traveled with the team during the Giants’ post-season run to their 2010 World Series title.

In 2011, Darren played in 26 games for the Giants before an ankle injury ended his major league season. From 2012 through 2016, Darren signed minor league free agent contracts with the Giants, Seattle Mariners and the Pittsburgh Pirates before signing Independent League contracts from with the Somerset Patriots and New Britain Bees from 2017 – 2019. When the Covid pandemic closed down the entire Minor League system in 2020, Darren opted to retire.

Darren, nicknamed “The Bullet” for his blazing speed, played in a total of 1,592 professional games, garnering 6,481 plate appearances, a career .262 batting average, and 583 stolen bases while playing with hundreds of major leaguers over his 15 years in professional baseball. His career took him to cities throughout the U.S., Hawaii and Venezuela.

Currently, Darren resides in Burlington County and is a Coach for the Trenton Thunder, a MLB Draft League team. Darren is the proud father of daughter, Alahnia, and is the grandson of former major leaguer, Ted Ford.

Media

The All Sports Museum of Southern New Jersey is proud to welcome Bridgeton native and St. Augustine Prep graduate, Mike Catalano, into its Hall of Fame.

Mike is the News and Sports Director for 13WHAM TV in Rochester, NY.

Mike began his sportscasting career in Binghamton NY before moving to Channel 13 in 1987 where he was promoted to Sports Director 2 years later. The Ithaca College grad has covered Super Bowls, World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, and the PGA Masters Tournaments. Also the sideline reporter for Buffalo Bills Television Network since 2000, Mike individually, and his staff collectively, has garnered numerous prestigious media awards for sportscasting excellence.

Mike is also an active member of the greater Rochester community serving as President of the American Heart Association, a board member of the Ronald McDonald House and further volunteers his time for the local Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Chapter and The School of the Holy Childhood.

Mike and his family reside in Rochester.

Growing up in South Jersey and playing and loving sports, Mike stated at his induction ceremony “that he knew
that sports would be a big part of my life and I’m honored to do the job I do now”.

Athlete

Lou Piccone was born July 17, 1949 in Vineland, NJ. He played nine seasons in the NFL as a WR & KR for the NY Jets and Buffalo Bills. He played college football at West Liberty State College. Initially spurned by the pros due to his size, the 5-9, 175-pound speedster played two seasons of semipro ball before signing a free-agent contract with the NY Jets in 1974. He led the NFL in kickoff returns as a rookie, and spent three seasons with the Jets as their primary kick and punt returner. Piccone was traded to Buffalo in 1977. He had his best season as a receiver with the Bills in 1979 with 33 catches for 556 yards and two touchdowns. Piccone played in 118 games during his NFL career, caught 100 passes for 1,380 yards and six touchdowns, returned 111 kickoffs for 2,559 yards, and returned 73 punts for 482 yards and one touchdown. During his playing days, Piccone was a player representative for the NFL Players Association and an influential member of the NFLPA executive committee. Following his retirement, he served for many years on the NFLPA’s Steering Committee for Retired Players.

Athlete/Media

Greg Zyla was born in coal-mining Brady (Ranshaw), PA in 1949. From an early age, Greg was enthusiastic about old cars; namely, Packard, Henry-J, Kaiser, Frazer, Rambler, Willys, Studebaker and Tucker. In 1957 he moved with his family to Vineland, NJ, and immediately became a fan of the Vineland Speedway, which featured a quarter mile drag strip for stock car racing on many Fridays through Sundays during his youth. Greg became an instant subscriber to several car magazines; namely, Motor Trend, Car Life, Road & Track, Car Craft and National Speed Sport News. His enjoyment of those magazines eventually led to an interest in writing for several publications; namely, More Content Now, BestRide.com and other Gatehouse Media publications. Greg Zyla is a well-respected syndicated auto columnist who is an authority of collector cars, old-time racing and auto nostalgia.