It’s a special thing when sports and charity come together to form a memorable experience. We saw the latest instance of that in Fountain Hill over the weekend.

The 8th Annual Fountain Hill Stickball Classic was held on Saturday and Sunday, and a group of former Falcons (and one Bethlehem Catholic graduate) won the tournament.

It marked the third straight season Salisbury won the charity event. But more importantly, the event continued a tradition that benefits one of the area’s families. The tournament helps raise funds for the Glagola children after their parents, Joan and Mike, passed away in the 2000s.

“When I first played six or seven years ago, I didn’t know anyone,” said Brad Vangeli, one of two captains for the Salisbury team. “I just basically knew Nic [Ampietro] and his cousins. The kids who this is for, I’ve met them and they are so nice. Everyone who sets it up is nice.

“The whole community gets together for this. Everyone wants to win the tournament…Once you’re game is over, you’re all high fiving, hugging and having a good time because it’s for such a good cause.”

Over 20 sponsors were involved with this year’s event, donating a wide range of amounts. Throw in the fact that each team’s $200 entry fee and various other expenses contributed to the Glagola family, and the 2016 Fountain Hill Stickball Classic was another success on the macadam.

“Even before Fountain Hill had the tournament, they all played stickball and that was their big thing they did,” Vangeli said. “Two of the kids’ parents passed away, and they thought this idea up to run the tournament. Once we played in it, we just kept doing it because the whole thing kept getting better.”

In terms of the actual games, Salisbury had to wait an extra day to be crowned champions after downpour on Saturday force the event to be completed Sunday. When it did, the Falcons won in convincing fashion.

Salisbury’s 6-1 win over Labuda sent the Falcons to its third title in as many years. The former Falcons and one Becahi Hawk won all four games over the weekend.

“They kind of come gunning for us because most of the people are from Fountain Hill, and then we have Salisbury coming in,” Vangeli said. “It was their time to try to knock us off because we’ve been winning the past three years. It’s kind of fun that everyone wants to get us, but it’s all in good fun in the end.”

It’s the third straight year many of these players have been on the same team. But the team’s introduction to the sport came when Vangeli and Ampietro were still in high school. It’s grown into a historic run for the Falcons, but more importantly a lasting charity event for one special family.

“The first year, me and Nic Ampietro played on his cousin’s team,” Vangeli said. “After that, we liked it and had a good time, so we got our own team. Ever since then we’ve basically had the same team.

“All of us are really close, and we’re really good friends. We see each other outside of this, too. A lot of us have played baseball together, so it was really cool to bring back the old team with some different guys mixed in.”

Participants ranged in age from high school aged players to adults in their 40s and 50s.

Along with Vangeli and Ampietro, Anthony Dee, Alex Clarke, Justin Nothstein, CJ Tocci, Tyler Tocci, Mike Miller, Steven Wagner, Nick Vangeli and Justin Santinasto played on the Falcons team.