MLB pitching legend Frank Viola returned to his alma mater East Meadow High School on March 9, when the school commemorated its great student-athletes of both the past and present who earned honors at the annual Winter Awards Night.
Viola, a 1978 graduate who played for the high school’s baseball team, is one of the most esteemed alumni to come out of East Meadow.
Pitching for the 1987 champion Minnesota Twins, he was named the World Series MVP, and a year later, he earned the prestigious American League Cy Young Award, given to the most outstanding pitcher.
After three All-Star appearances and a legendary playing career, Viola returned to the place he called home throughout his childhood.
“I had a lot of great things happen, all because of baseball,” Viola, nicknamed “Sweet Music” throughout his career, told a packed auditorium during awards night. “But baseball would’ve never happened, if it weren’t for East Meadow High School.”
On a night when student-athletes competing in winter sports were recognized for earning All-Conference, All-County, and other honors, they did so alongside an East Meadow legend.
“I feel like we do a great job here, recognizing our athletes and also honoring our past,” William Brennan, the high school’s principal, said. “That’s why we brought (Viola) back — when you have an award-winning baseball player speaking to our kids, it’s truly incredible.”
After the students received their awards, Billy O’Connor, the high school’s head baseball coach and a teacher there, who is a few years younger than Viola, described how he idolized the first player to be drafted professionally out of East Meadow.
“As kids, going up to the local high school games, (Viola) was our guy,” O’Connor said. “He was the guy that my entire grade looked up to. (The baseball team) got to meet him today in our practice, and I don’t think (Viola) understands the impact of that on all of us.”
After graduating from high school in 1978, Viola, now 65, elected to forego being selected in the MLB draft by the Kansas City Royals, instead accepting a scholarship to St. John’s University. After a 26-2 record pitching for the Red Storm, the Twins selected Viola in the 1981 MLB draft, and he enjoyed an illustrious career over 15 MLB seasons with five different teams, including the New York Mets.
Despite all the professional accolades for “Sweet Music,” O’Connor recalled fond memories from their childhood, which made a huge impact.
“I never really thought that I was a trendsetter of any variety,” Viola said. “Looking back, I guess I was that first kid picked (in the draft from East Meadow), and it really does open up the eyes of the people after you.”
Before speaking to the crowd, Viola was presented with a plaque commemorating his 2019 induction into the Nassau County High School Athletics Hall of Fame. Viola joined the likes of NFL legend Jim Brown, of Manhasset, and NBA legend Julius “Dr. J” Erving, of Roosevelt, as Nassau County Athletics Hall of Famers. For Viola, the accomplishment brings back great memories.
“It’s pretty cool, looking back, it shows what you can do if you believe in yourself, and if other people believe in you,” Viola said of receiving the award. “You have to have somebody in your corner. I was always blessed to have somebody who believed in me, even when I didn’t believe myself. I think that’s why I’ve been able to do what I’ve been able to do.”
One message that Viola would like to pass along to the young student-athletes in East Meadow would be simply, “Work hard, that hard work will get you places.”
