Nobody can tell a story the way my Uncle Angelo can. Recently, he related the following story. I hope I have done it justice.
In 1953, a strapping high school graduate named Angelo Pellegata, left his hometown of Detroit, Michigan to attend Adams State College in Colorado.
Angelo had offers to play football from some Big 10 schools, including Michigan and Michigan State. But it was Adams State College that courted him best. It was clear they wanted him. He wore # 48 for the Grizzlies.
Angelo was the Freshman Class Representative at Adams. This is a position of some prestige. In the fall of his freshman year, Margaret Mundy invited him to be her guest at the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Angelo thought it would be a white tie affair and was impeccably dressed in his finest suit. Off to the dance they went.
Upon their arrival, Angelo was surprised to see that dungarees was the dress code. He was the only student dressed formally. This did not dissuade him from entertaining his date and the other students. Uncle Angelo has a good time wherever he goes.
Partway through the evening, the emcee called 4 young men to the front of the hall. Angelo was among Gino, Donny and Tom, three upperclassmen. They were seated behind a table, facing the crowd. The emcee announced that a pie-eating contest was about to commence. The students gathered around to watch and cheer on the participants.
You have to understand that Angelo is a competitor. Today, at 70, he says: "I'm a better football player than Carl or Kenneth or Dean." These are his children. Adults now, they are tremendous athletes. Each of the Pellegata boys has played football at elite levels: from City Championships through State Finals and a few NCAA National Championship games.
Back to the story:
As the only freshman at the pie-eating table, Angelo felt he owed it to his class to eat more pies than the others in this contest. He knew he could do it.
Several pies were laid out before him. A blindfold was carefully placed over his eyes. "Go," the emcee roared to start the competition. Angelo dug in. Using his hands, he shovelled through the first pie. Then another. Then another. Even now, he describes the pies as "very tasty". He managed to eat some of the pies, wore some, and dropped some more. It wasn't important. What mattered was getting through more pies than Gino and Tom and Donny.
Angelo could hear the students cheering. "C'mon, Gino," someone yelled. "You've almost got him, Tom," hollered another student. Angelo, determined to win, dug into his fourth pie. The emcee called out, "Stop!".
The crowd was roaring its approval. Sure of his victory, Angelo slid the blindfold off his head...
..and discovered that he was alone at the table. The only one wolfing down the pies!
The whole thing was a set up. Gino, Donny and Tom had conspired against him. Margaret Mundy had been in on it the entire time. He could have lost his cool over the prank, but he didn't. Angelo could take it. And he could give it, too.
Uncle Ange always gets even.
I have a strong suspicion Donny, Gino and Tom got their just desserts. Well, maybe not Tom.
Photo top right: Angelo Pellegata, 1953, from
The Conquistador (ASC Yearbook)
Photo at left: Angelo Pellegata, March 2007.
Photo credit: Michelle Henderson
Tags: [Adams State College] [Pie Eating Contest] [Pranks]
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