Where Are They Now? Rico Bellini

On Monday, June 10, Seton Hall will welcome five more all-time great Pirates into the Athletics Hall of Fame at the Annual Hall of Fame Golf Outing and Induction Dinner at Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, N.J.

In advance of the event, SHUPirates.com will feature all five honorees as a part of the ongoing Where Are They Now? series.  

As the current Pirates continue their push towards postseason glory, we look back at the career of our first inductee from the Class of 2013, Rico Bellini ’75 of baseball. No stranger to the postseason himself, Bellini manned the shortstop position and the leadoff spot for SHU in the mid-seventies, guiding The Hall to some of the most successful campaigns in school history.

In 1973, he led the team in at-bats, runs scored and triples as the Pirates posted a 22-8 record and advanced to the NCAA District II playoffs. The following year, Bellini batted .280 and again finished first on the squad in triples during a season in which SHU established a then school record for wins in a single year with 33. This time, the Pirates swept their way through the District playoffs and advanced to their third College World Series since making their first appearance in 1964.

As a senior, Bellini earned AACBC All-District honors for a Seton Hall team that won 28 games in the regular season and posted three-straight victories in the District playoffs to book a second consecutive trip to Omaha. After going 2-for-4 with the team’s only RBI in an opening game loss to South Carolina, Bellini helped the underdog Pirates score a monumental win over Florida State, the #1 ranked team in the nation, that was memorable in more ways than one.

Just prior to taking the field against FSU, the Seton Hall team was informed that longtime baseball coach and fellow SHU Athletics Hall of Famer, Owen Carroll, had passed away at the age of 73. The resilient Pirates responded by drubbing the Seminoles, 11-0, and eliminating them from the tournament. Bellini played a major role in the offensive explosion, scoring a run and driving in another.

The 1975 season remains the last time the Pirates advanced all the way to Omaha and the ’74 and ’75 teams, squads which Bellini served as co-captain of, account for two of the four College World Series appearances in program history.

With his induction date approaching, Bellini took some time to fill SHUPirates.com in on what he has been up to since that trip to Nebraska in 1975.

Q: Where do you live now and what are you up to these days?

Bellini: I live in Montville, New Jersey with my wife Sheila. We have been married for 30 years and we have two boys; Michael, 28, and Joseph, 24, who both live in Hoboken. After a 25-year career on Wall Street,   I am now a personal baseball instructor at the Strike Zone in East Hanover and coach the North Jersey Cardinals 17u travel team.

Q: What is your favorite memory as a Pirate?

Bellini: Arriving in Omaha, Nebraska in 1974 & 1975 to participate in the College World Series and playing in Rosenblatt stadium. Also, in 1975, when we knocked out the #1 seed Florida State.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with any of your former teammates and if so, who?

Bellini: Yes, I am fortunate to spend time with a number of my former teammates - - Jack Cust, Rick Cerone, Marty Caffrey, Ed Blankmeyer and Coach Mike Sheppard.

Q: Do you still follow the Pirates and what are your thoughts on the program today?

Bellini: Very much so – I am a big fan and I follow the team on the internet daily.  I love the way the team has played the last few years. I am especially proud of what they have accomplished this season, bouncing back from a slow start to now being nationally ranked.   

Q: You are being inducted into the Seton Hall Athletics Hall of Fame on June 10; this is certainly a special honor.  What was your reaction when you first heard you were being inducted and can you explain what this honor means to you?

Bellini: I was thrilled to be included with such outstanding former Pirate athletes.  Baseball is such a team sport and I always strived to be a good teammate. It was an honor to be a captain during the 1974 and 1975 seasons and I believe our accomplishments as a team had much to do with me being elected to the Hall of Fame.

The SHU Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2013 also includes four-time BIG EAST Champion swimmer Jennifer Heider-Berenyi ’94, former men’s soccer standout and current men’s soccer head coach Gerson Echeverry ’94, two-time All-American wrestler Joe Burke ’95, and men’s basketball great Andre Barrett ’04.

Check back soon to see the next installment of Where Are They Now? featuring another one of this year’s honorees.  

For more information on the Hall of Fame event, please CLICK HERE

Previous Where Are They Now? Interviews

April 17, 2013

Jamie Bosworth - Men's Golf

 
March 27, 2013

 Kristen Downing - Women's Tennis, 1992-97

February 20, 2013

Alumnus Joe "Gyrating Joe" Lorenzo

February 6, 2013

 Luther Wright - Men's Basketball, 1991-93

January 16, 2013