Baseball coach and scout Claudio Reilsono donated this selection of artifacts that represent milestones from his baseball career, which spans three decades. Reilsono has been the head coach of the Carnegie Mellon University's Tartans since 2005, leading them to their first baseball championship in the school's history, the 2015 District V Conference Championship. His jersey number is 16, a number he has worn since 1977, in honor of New York Mets center fielder Lee Mazzilli, a player whose style Reilsono admired.

Besides CMU, Reilsono has also coached for Quaker Valley High School, Penn State-Beaver, and Duquesne University. He is the lead scout for Global Scouting Bureau and has signed more than 60 players to professional baseball teams throughout Europe. In 2015, Reilsono established the Olindo & Ida Reilsono Baseball Classic, which is named after his Italian immigrant parents. After attending his first Pirates game in 1973, Reilsono announced to his father that he wanted to be a professional baseball player; his father, Olindo, vowed that the family would support him in his pursuit. Please click here to learn more about donating your objects to the Italian American Collection.

Source: Senator John Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222