Allan Antinetti was a life-long Bear!

After attending Summerville Elementary School, he entered Summerville High School when it was located in what later became the Motherlode Christian School.  There he spent the next 4 years competing in sports and participating in student government, where he was student body president his senior year. He also spent a great deal of time, by his recollection, enjoying being a teen in Tuolumne in the 1950s. His favorite sport in high school was baseball, and in reviewing several articles from the Union Democrat it seems he was an extraordinary baseball player!  Among the articles, the following lines can be found, “Antinetti Leads Tuolumne Victory,” and “Tuolumne collected 5 triples, 2 of them by Al Antinetti, on the way to a 4-3 win over Bret Harte.” also “The Bears were trailing 6-4 when Allan Antinetti doubled with the bases loaded to drive in 2 runs to tie it at 6-6. John James singled home 2 more to ice the game.” and finally, “Antinetti had a perfect day at the plate with 3 for 3.”

After he graduated from high school in 1956, he attended Stockton Junior College and later Sacramento State where he again played baseball.  His outstanding athletics continued there. As one of his souvenirs from those days, he retained a grass-stained uniform that he had worn at Sac State the day he made a diving catch from centerfield to save a game. Al’s love for baseball was nearly as great as his love for the town of Tuolumne, so it was no surprise when he became a teacher and coach at Summerville in 1964. He would go on to teach at Summerville for 34 years, and coach several sports, but once again his favorite was baseball. Al coached the varsity baseball team at Summerville for about 18  years, and had many accomplishments, including league and tournament championships. Allan passed away in May of this year at the age of 84. He often said that he grew up in the best of times and the best of places. Summerville High was a cornerstone of that sentiment, and it provided a wonderful beginning to a happy and successful life.