Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo grew up in Chicago hearing stories from his father, the legendary scout Phil Rizzo, about Italian sports icons like Joe DiMaggio and Rocky Marciano. Now the younger Rizzo will take his place alongside DiMaggio, Marciano and other greats from his ethnic heritage when he is inducted Friday night into the Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame in his Chicago hometown. 

“This would be just his kind of event,” Mike Rizzo said, speaking of his father, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 90. “He would be so proud of me making it with the big boys of his generation. “It’s a real honor,” Rizzo said. “My family and my friends will be there. That’s pretty cool.” The Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1978 by George Randazzo as a nonprofit educational institution.