By Gladstone Harris
Bloomfield College Sports Information Director
BLOOMFIELD – On Saturday, April 16, Bloomfield College’s late pioneer of the athletic department, Alfred R. Restaino Sr., will be inducted into the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Hall of Fame.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Bears home baseball game against USciences and will be hosted at the beautiful Yogi Berra Stadium facility located on the campus of Montclair State University. The ceremony, with administrators from the CACC in attendance, will begin at 12 p.m. with the first pitch immediately following.
Mr. Restaino Sr., who helped form the CACC, passed away on Dec. 30, 2015 and was laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in North Arlington on Jan. 4, 2016.
He was an administrator and coach for 34 years at Bloomfield College, serving as baseball and basketball coach and as athletic director, winning multiple “Coach of the Year” honors and over 500 games combined.
Mr. Restaino’s dedication and vision helped to forge the CACC as it is today. He served numerous terms as President of the CACC and was instrumental in the conference’s move to NCAA Division II from the NAIA. His leadership carried the conference through difficult times and his forward thinking laid the groundwork for the CACC to grow and prosper as a conference.
In November of 2007, the CACC renamed its Commissioner’s Cup to the Alfred R. Restaino, Sr. Cup, which is awarded annually to the top performing men’s and women’s athletic programs.
Mr. Restaino’s family has been invited to the ceremony on Saturday. He is survived by his beloved wife, Patricia V. (Brough) Restaino; four children, Al Jr. and his wife, Denise; Carole Restaino; Rich and his wife, Michele, and David and his wife, Leslie; eight grandchildren, Al III, Danielle, Marissa, Bryan, Ben, Paige, Sophia and Olivia; and his brother, Jerry Restaino and his wife, Francine.
In honor of Mr. Restaino, the Bloomfield College baseball players wear a patch with the initials AR on it for the 2016 season. Both the baseball and softball teams wear a sticker on the back of their batting helmets in memory of Al Restaino Sr. as well.
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