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For 45 years, Junie DeLeo's name has been attached to the Clairol team in the Springdale Little League. The maker of hair care products left the Stamford corporate scene last year. DeLeo, however, wouldn't think of managing a team with a different name.
"For the last five years, the Clairol parents have helped pay for the registration to keep the Clairol name,'' said DeLeo, who started with the team in 1967. "They all feel the same way. They want their sons to play for Clairol. As long as I'm around, Clairol's going to be the sponsor."
It would not seem right to see DeLeo in any other uniform. The 69-year-old grandfather joined Clairol in 1966 and started coaching with the team in 1967. "Norm Filmer hired me to work at Clairol, and then a few months later he called me into his office,'' DeLeo said. "I thought I was going to get fired. He said, 'I see you see played college baseball. Would you like to coach with me?' I would've cut his lawn if he asked me."
DeLeo, whose given name is Joe, and Filmer coached together for 35 years. Under their guidance, Clairol won league titles in every decade from the 1960s through the 2000s. This year's Clairol team is making another terrific run. It is 9-0 and has clinched the first half championship.
DeLeo's staff includes Ed Condon, Ed Mailhot and Mark Serricchio. They emphasize the same values DeLeo learned from his coaches growing up in Stamford in the 1940s and '50s. "I had the benefit of so many good coaches,'' DeLeo said, recalling Red Ballo and Latchey Conetta. "Not only teaching the skills, but what they did to help me settle my life down. When you're that age, your life can go in a lot of different directions. They had a lot to do with me going in the right direction."
He had his own standout baseball career before turning to coaching. He played on several outstanding teams at Stamford High School and helped the American Legion team win the state championship in 1957 when he was 15. He pitched in college at the University of Dayton and spent a year in professional baseball with the Mets organization. When he returned to Stamford, Filmer hired him at Clairol.
He has coached some talented teams, including the 1974 squad that went 20-0. "We never got to the top step in the dugout,'' DeLeo said. "We had an awesome combination of pitching defense and hitting. We had back-to-back 18-2 teams. This team here is pretty good. We are 9-0 and who knows what the topside is. If I don't screw it up, they'll be OK." Clairol has won 12 league championships, five city crowns and owns a 567-395 record since it began in 1961.
Perhaps DeLeo's favorite responsibility is coaching sons of former players. He now coaches John Hickey and also had coached his father. "The sons are just like the fathers,'' he said. "They all try to get stuff by me. But they don't."
DeLeo coached his sons, Michael and J.D., when they came through the program. J.D went on to become the captain of the Stamford High team. Junie, and his father, Jake, were also Stamford High baseball captains. J.D. and his wife, Sara, now live in Ohio with children Zakary and Arianna.
DeLeo also has a daughter, Kelley, who played softball at Stamford High. Sandra, his wife, has been there through all 45 years with the Clairol team as well. The whole family has been intertwined with the Clairol team since Junie became a part of it. Another season has started, and DeLeo's back where he belongs on the Clairol team bench, teaching baseball and life lessons while basking in the joy that boys ages 10-12 can bring.
"This is my life for my wife and I,'' DeLeo said. "We have a beautiful marriage; we've had a lot of happiness. Sometimes it was tough when the kids were growing up; it was so time consuming. My wife has been wonderfully considerate. Without her, I wouldn't have been able to do this."
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