Giulio Glorioso passes away at 84

Giulio Glorioso passed away this past Friday at the age of 84. Glorioso was without a doubt one of the first symbols of the game of Baseball in Italy, having played in the early days of the Italian Baseball League, posting records that are still noteworthy today. 

The president of the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation, Riccardo Fraccari made note that Italian Baseball lost a symbol of the game this past Friday… All fields across Italy will be holding a moment of silence in Giulio Glorioso’s honor. The funeral has been scheduled for Monday, June the 22nd.

Glorioso, “I was an outfielder for Lazio, pitcher out of necessity in 1951.” It was that year that, 1951, that Giulio Glorioso punched his name in the record books as being the first ever to toss a no-hitter in the Italian Baseball League, and just a year later in 1952 Glorioso earned his first MVP award.

Giulio Glorioso was born on the 4th of April in 1931 in Udine, later moving onto being one of the most celebrated Roman athletes of all time. This was evermore relevant when his name was announced back in 2002 at the Acquacetosa in Rome during the 50th anniversary of the Italian National Team. As soon as the announcer that day called out the name Giulio Glorioso, the whole crowd in attendance stood to their feet, erupting in a standing ovation that will be remembered for a lifetime. 

Glorioso loved reminiscing about his passion, baseball. Remember the little details such as his surprise as being named the first pitcher for the Italian National Team, to the roar of the crowd during the important games he participated in. This all-around 5 tool star will be remembered for ever as one of the first names to bring importance to the game of baseball in Italy. 

Giulio Glorioso’s career record was 235-88, supporting an lifetime ERA of 1.90 with 2884 strikeouts in 2706 innings, he also tossed up 173 complete games. He played for Lazio, Nettuno, Parma, Milano and Roma in Italy. He led the Italian Baseball League in ERA in 1959 (0.68), 1961 (0.46), 1962 (1.27), 1963 (0.68), 1964 (0.81) and 1966 (1.65). He also led the league in batting in 1960 (.423) and 1961 (.444). Adding to his already impressive resume, Glorioso also won an impressive 7 league titles and appeared in 68 games for the Italian National Team.

This first class Italian Baseball Hall of Famer (elected into the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005) will be missed.