Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) Department of Modern Languages and Literatures Program in Italian and Department of Physical Education and Athletics, in collaboration with the CWRU Film Society and CWRU Spartan Baseball are proud to present a “Celebration of Italian American Baseball” on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at Strosacker Auditorium beginning at 7:30 pm. The Russo Brothers Italian American Film Forum award-winning documentary, Italian American Baseball Family, will be shown. Immediately following the screening of the movie, a Q & A discussion featuring filmmaker Roberto Angotti along with a panel of renowned Cleveland Indians historians and authors will interact with the audience in an engaging discussion on the Italian American Cleveland Indians. Recipient of a $7,500 grant from the National Italian American Foundation, the Italian Sons and Daughters of America, and the Russo Brothers, Angotti documented the Italian American experience on how Italians assimilated into popular culture through America’s favorite pastime, baseball. He is excited to bring the movie to Cleveland, hometown to Italian Sons and Daughters of America President Basil Russo and the Russo Brothers. Angotti said, “Cleveland has a rich Italian cultural heritage, and as a proud Italian American, I am delighted to share the film with lovers of baseball and history. Whether you are a fan of Lew Fonseca, Johnny Berardino, Rocky Colavito, Tony Cuccinello, Mickey Rocco, Johnny Romano, Don Mossi, Tom Candiotti, Mike Napoli, or Tito and Terry Francona, there will be something for everybody during our celebration of Italian American baseball at CWRU.” Angotti will be joined by panelists Scott Longert, Joseph Wancho, and John McMurray. Filmmaker Roberto Angotti is the English language editor for Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) www.FIBS.it/en and a Top 10 MLB.com Fan website www.MLBforLife.com . Author Scott Longert has written The Best They Could Be: How the Cleveland Indians became the Kings of Baseball, 1916-1920 and No Money, No Beer, No Pennant—a book about the Cleveland Indians and their ups and downs during the Great Depression. Joseph Wancho was the editor of Pitching to the Pennant: The 1954 Cleveland Indians and has recently authored You Think You’re a Cleveland Indians Fan? Stars, Stats, Records, and Memories for True Diehards. John McMurray has been published in the New York Times, Baseball Digest, the Baseball Research Journal, and other publications and is Chair of Society for Baseball Research (SABR)’s Deadball Era Committee as well as its Oral History Committee. He recently won the SABR Analytics Conference Research Award for Historical Baseball Analysis/Commentary. Strosacker Auditorium is located at 2180 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106 on the campus of Case Western Reserve University. Parking is available in the Veale Athletic Center Parking Tower, located at 2138 Adelbert Rd. Tickets are FREE and can be found at http://athletics.case.edu - phone (216) 368-6062. For more information about the event, please contact denise.caterinacci@case.edu in the CWRU Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.