José Del Vecchio Di Pasquali en: del-vec'-keo / pascoal'-ee">English_language.html" ;"title="small>English language">en: del-vec'-keo / pascoal'-ee(May 3, 1917 – May 27, 1990) was a Venezuelan doctor, journalist, and baseball promoter. Throughout his life, Del Vecchio shared his practice of medicine with the sport, giving impetus to college sports activities, especially baseball, being an advocate for young people so they could also enjoy the sport that he grew up with and loved. Born in

Charallave Charallave is a city in the state of Miranda, Venezuela, and part of Miranda's Valles del Tuy region. It is the capital of Cristóbal Rojas Municipality. The name derives from the local ''Charavares'' indigenous people found at the time the city ...

, Miranda, Del Vecchio was the son of Clemente Del Vecchio, Italian merchant, and Enriqueta Pasquali, of Italian-Venezuelan origin. After attending

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

in his hometown, he moved with his parents to

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, where he attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and entered the

Central University of Venezuela The Central University of Venezuela (Spanish: ''Universidad Central de Venezuela''; UCV) is a public university of Venezuela located in Caracas. It is widely held to be the highest ranking institution in the country, and it also ranks 18th in L ...

. After graduating as a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

in 1943, he specialized in

cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

and hospital administration, serving as a physician in the

Venezuelan oil industry Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves at an estimated 304 billion barrels (18% of global reserves) as of 2020. The country was one of the world's largest exporters of oil, but the oil industry saw a significant decline since it ...

from 1945 through 1988. (Spanish) In 1962 Del Vecchio created, along with former ballplayer

Luis Zuloaga Luis Zuloaga (December 31, 1922 – May 23, 2013) was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Born in Valencia, Carabobo, Zuloaga was a left-handed curveball specialist. He started to be known as El Mono when he entered the Venezuelan Profess ...

, the corporation '' Criollitos de Venezuela''; a baseball development program committed to preparing of all social classes and backgrounds with the skills necessary to succeed in life and become responsible, productive citizens in their community. (Spanish) For over half a century, this corporation has been a renowned source not only of professional players who have shown their skills in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

, among others

Bobby Abreu Bob Kelly Abreu (; ; born March 11, 1974), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Leche", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies ...

, Bo Díaz, Andrés Galarraga, Freddy García, Pablo Sandoval,

Luis Sojo Luis Beltrán Sojo Sojo ( ; ; born January 3, 1965) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. Listed during his playing days at and , he batted and threw right-handed. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Sojo filled a r ...

and

Omar Vizquel Omar Enrique Vizquel González (; born April 24, 1967), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop. During his 24-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Vizquel played for the Seattle Mariners, Cleveland Indi ...

, but also of prominent citizens in different fields of national development. During his tenure with the ''Criollitos'', Del Vecchio covered roles of

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, scorekeeper and

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

. He also offered free medical services to all members of the corporation and was its president from its founding until 1977. In the same year, he was appointed by the International Amateur Baseball Association as a chairman commissioner for the development of youth baseball worldwide. In addition, Del Vecchio served as advisor and consultant to the Venezuelan organizing committee of the IX Pan American Games held in Caracas in 1983, and was included in the Venezuelan National Sports Council in 1989. He also collaborated with the newspaper '' El Universal'', where he published the results of his researches related to sports medicine, a specialty in which he became a pioneer in organizing programs and courses. Del Vecchio died in 1990 in Caracas, at the age of 73, due to natural causes. In 2005, he was enshrined in the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum as part of their second class.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Del Vecchio, Jose 1917 births 1990 deaths People from Caracas People from Miranda (state) Venezuelan sports physicians Venezuelan sportspeople Venezuelan cardiologists Venezuelan people of Italian descent