{"id":25386,"date":"2026-09-11T14:25:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/?p=25386"},"modified":"2026-09-11T14:25:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:25:13","slug":"remembering-larry-baldassaro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Larry Baldassaro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Larry Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian, passed away peacefully on September 8<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The grandson of Italian immigrants, Larry joined the faculty at UWM in 1972 after earning his Ph.D. in Italian at Indiana University that same year. He played a vital role across several programs in the next 37 years, most notably Italian and the Honors College, before retiring in 2009. As Director of the Honors Program (and later Honors College), he was an important advocate for expanding Honors offerings, bringing the Honors College into contact with a much wider array of departments across campus. The fact that programs within the Department of World Languages and Cultures will be offering four separate Honors seminars in Spring 2027 speaks to the impact of this legacy, as does his receipt of the Ernest Spaights Plaza Award<\/a> in 2019 in recognition of his significant contributions to UWM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He became a contributing writer to the Milwaukee Brewers Game Day magazine in 1990, and was well-known to many in the Brewers’ organization. One could often see him at County Stadium, and later at Miller Park, exchanging stories with other baseball writers in the press room. In addition to his scholarship on Dante, he was author of several baseball-related books, including Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball<\/em>; Baseball Italian Style: Great Stories Told by Italian American Major Leaguers from Crosetti to Piazza<\/em>; and Tony Lazzeri: Yankees Legend and Baseball Pioneer<\/em>. He also co-edited The American Game: Baseball and Ethnicity<\/em>, and edited Ted Williams: Reflections on a Splendid Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Larry also sustained close relationships with many Milwaukee-area Italian institutions, businesses, and events, bringing people together across the region to celebrate Italian and Italian-American culture and community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Details on a Celebration of Life have yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Larry Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian, passed away peacefully on September 8. The grandson of Italian immigrants, Larry joined the faculty at UWM in 1972 after earning his Ph.D. in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40205,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[11,43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-italian"],"uwm_unpublish_requested":false,"yoast_head":"\nWorld Languages & Cultures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Remembering Larry Baldassaro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Larry Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian, passed away peacefully on September 8. The grandson of Italian immigrants, Larry joined the faculty at UWM in 1972 after earning his Ph.D. in …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"World Languages & Cultures\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Max Weyenberg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max Weyenberg\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Weyenberg\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a\"},\"headline\":\"Remembering Larry Baldassaro\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":306,\"articleSection\":[\"All News\",\"Italian\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/\",\"name\":\"Remembering Larry Baldassaro - World Languages & Cultures\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"All News\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/category\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Remembering Larry Baldassaro\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/\",\"name\":\"World Languages & Cultures\",\"description\":\"College of Letters and Science\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uwm.edu\\\/world-languages-cultures\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a\",\"name\":\"Max Weyenberg\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max Weyenberg\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"World Languages & Cultures","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Remembering Larry Baldassaro","og_description":"It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that Larry Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian, passed away peacefully on September 8. The grandson of Italian immigrants, Larry joined the faculty at UWM in 1972 after earning his Ph.D. in …","og_url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/","og_site_name":"World Languages & Cultures","article_published_time":"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00","author":"Max Weyenberg","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Max Weyenberg","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Weyenberg","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/#\/schema\/person\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a"},"headline":"Remembering Larry Baldassaro","datePublished":"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/"},"wordCount":306,"articleSection":["All News","Italian"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/","name":"Remembering Larry Baldassaro - World Languages & Cultures","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-11T19:25:10+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-11T19:25:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/#\/schema\/person\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/remembering-larry-baldassaro\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"All News","item":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/category\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Remembering Larry Baldassaro"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/","name":"World Languages & Cultures","description":"College of Letters and Science","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/#\/schema\/person\/a947b50343d1de59faff9a3f7f17b80a","name":"Max Weyenberg","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6cd847a45d7350cbe808ff0fc7719281cdd940440955736afbac0e6266065883?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max Weyenberg"}}]}},"acf":[],"meta_fields":{"_edit_lock":["1789154790:40205"],"_edit_last":["40205"],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1789154714"],"feat_img_video":[""],"feat_img_gallery":[""],"feat_img_caption":["feat-img-caption-on"],"breadcrumbs_display":["breadcrumbs-on"],"otp_nav_display":["otp-on-mobile"],"post_layout":["post-layout-theme"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":["11"],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["60"],"_yoast_wpseo_seo_title_score":["61"],"_yoast_wpseo_meta_description_score":["22"],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["2"]},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-21 11:11:49","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40205"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25387,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25386\/revisions\/25387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/world-languages-cultures\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}