Played baseball with Ernie Banks and pitched against the greats

Published April 1, 2020

LYNNFIELD — Thomas Michael Mandile Jr. passed away on his 76th birthday, March 23, 2020, after a long, brave battle with blood cancer.

He was a loving son, brother, cousin, husband, father, uncle, father-in-law, friend and the best grampy ever. Tom is survived by those whom he considered his greatest gifts: His wife of 51 years Robin (Adair); his sister Maryanne and her husband Robert Mazaka of Wilmington; his son Tom and his wife Brenda of Winchester; and his son Robert (Bob) and his wife Jennifer of Lynnfield. He is also survived by his pride and joy — his five grandchildren: Christine, Ann Marie, Irene, William and Ryan.

Tom was born on March 23, 1944, and was the son of Thomas Mandile Sr. and Irene (Quinn). He was born and raised in South Medford. He graduated from Medford High School and was drafted as a pitcher by the Chicago Cubs. Tom pitched in the minors from 1964-68. He made the spring training roster with the big club in 1967 and 1968, where he played with Ernie Banks and pitched against Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

After retiring from baseball, Tom worked for the phone company for over 20 years. He also worked at the Riverside school for kids in the DSS/DYS system from 1994-2005, where he was a friend and mentor to many.

Sports were always a love for Tom. He loved to play, watch, coach, umpire and referee. He was the assistant baseball coach at Pingree High School from 2000-2018. He was inducted to the Intercity League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012. He earned the prestigious President’s Award in 2015 from the Eastern Massachusetts Umpires Association. But his most favorite pastime was cheering on all his grandchildren at every field, court, rink and dance floor that he could get to. He was loved by so many and will be greatly missed, especially at the Lynnfield Dunkin’ Donuts.

There will be a “Celebration of Life” party to be held at a later date.