Podcast No. 269: Tom Lazzari 

They call him “Papa Big Guns.”

That does not only go for his grandchildren, either. American Legion Baseball players — and some of their parents — refer to Tom Lazzari by the nickname that he swears he did not give to himself. He just relishes in that moniker.

Tom jokes that the key to having such big arms, or guns as he calls them, is to lose the use of his legs. That happened to Tom when he was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that robbed him of his ability to walk when he was in his late 40s. He was also told that he would probably be in, as he puts it, the nursing home or bone yard within seven years of his diagnosis.

Now more than two decades later, Papa Big Guns has done more than avoid death or paralysis. He is the life of the party wherever he goes. He will put a smile on your face and offer you a Werther’s Original candy.

You can usually find Tom sitting in his wheelchair between the stands and the home dugout on the third base side of 3 Legends Stadium watching his grandsons play baseball. Or, you can catch him up by the fence watching his granddaughter play softball.

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