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Growing up in Pleasanton during the 1970s and 1980s, you knew the big families in the town.
The families, usually with a lot of kids, figured prominently around Pleasanton. Initially for me — we came to town in 1967 — it was the Hart family and the Sweeney family. The Harts, whose patriarch Thomas is the namesake for Hart Middle School, lived right up against Valley View Elementary where we all attended school.
The Sweeneys were not too far away, located on the corner of Angela and Mirador, near St. Augustine Catholic Church.
In March 1973, a large new family came to town when the Costellos moved to Birdland from the East Coast. Tony and Joan Costello came west with their eight children, with a job promotion for Tony and the lure of raising their kids in Pleasanton helping prompt the move.
Blessed with two girls and six boys, the Costellos planted their roots and set about establishing a legacy that will be long remembered.
All of Pleasanton suffered a huge loss when Tony passed away on April 26 of this year at the age of 93.
The loss was felt by many but after I got over the initial sadness, I replaced it with the respect of the man, the wife and the family.
Tony was a tremendous athlete at Fordham University and his athletic genes were shared with the kids, and now the grandkids.
But it’s not just that the kids were all good to great athletes, but they are equally good people — and therein lies the real success of Tony and Joan.
Raising eight quality kids is not an easy task, but they accomplished it.
As is always the case over the course of a lifetime, there are ups and downs.
The family suffered tragedy in August 2013 when Tony Jr., passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. He was a legendary basketball coach at Chabot College, then Las Positas. He had the chance to coach his youngest brother Tom at Chabot.
I remember watching Tony Jr. and his brother Ed play basketball at Amador growing up. Neither was overly tall, but I remember Ed jumping center for the Dons.
They played the game with joy, and it was easy to see.
Mike was the closest in age to me and was a multi-sport star at Amador, eventually becoming a doctor. If you, your children or parents have been treated at ValleyCare in the emergency room, there’s a good chance Mike was your attending physician.
John and Phil made their mark in athletics and are currently both in the medical sales business.
The girls — Mary and Colleen — have built nice lives for themselves. Mary works for Kaiser while Colleen, a journalist herself, is married to writer/media personality Mark Kreidler. Colleen, formerly a communications and marketing person, is now a professional organizer.
The youngest son Tom has followed in Tony Jr.’s footsteps, building an impressive coaching career at Dublin High. Tom and I have become good friends over the years, whether it was covering games where he has coached, or covering games his kids have played.
We talk often about life, about raising kids in today’s world to being the coach of your kids, something we have both experienced. This summer we are splitting time sharing announcing duties for the Dublin Leprechauns, a professional baseball team in the Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs.
I would run into Tony Sr. around town or out on the golf course when he was marshaling at Castlewood. He was always quick to put a smile on your face and bring laughter into the conversation.
Tom carries many of the same characteristics.
RIP Tony — your legacy lives on through your children, and in turn, they are establishing legacies of their own.
Editor’s note: Dennis Miller is a contributing sports writer for Embarcadero Media Foundation’s East Bay Division. To contact him about his Pleasanton Preps column, email acesmag@aol.com.
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