If there was a mayor of South Omaha, John Stella was it. The friendly guy with the bushy mustache who seemingly knew everyone died Friday of complications from leukemia. He was 88. Stella’s long life revolved around the sport of baseball, a love affair that lasted almost nine decades. He was most devoted to the sport through the American Legion, a cause that he would tirelessly promote.

When the Legion baseball team from Omaha South needed a coach, it was Stella who stepped up to the plate. What he thought might be a one-year assignment turned into a multi-year assignment that shaped his life.