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By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
Bill O'Boyle on Facebook   |   @TLBillOboyle on Twitter

HAZLETON – Everyone was wearing name badges, but there weren’t any names on them. Instead, they read: “Joe Maddon’s Mother” and “Joe Maddon’s Sister” and “Joe Maddon’s Cousin.”

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Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon shows his holiday spirit on Tuesday in his native Hazleton.

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Joe Maddon signs Judy Martini’s Tampa Bay Rays shirt Tuesday.

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“I guess my badge should read ‘Joe Maddon’s Mayor,’” said Lou Barletta, Hazleton’s mayor and a former teammate of Maddon’s at Hazleton High School. “This has electrified the city. A hometown boy comes back. Joe never left Hazleton; he took Hazleton with him.”

Maddon, the manager of the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, returned to the town and school of his youth Tuesday to help raise funds to renovate the auditorium of the former Hazleton High School – now an elementary/middle school. The Castle Auditorium Community Arts Center project is a community-driven effort to return the facility to its former state of grandeur.

“The Castle,” as it is known, underwent a near $24 million renovation, but the school district didn’t have enough funding left to finish the auditorium. Maddon stood at a podium in the seatless cavernous room and he faced the stage where in the late 1960s and early 1970s Maddon – who graduated from the school in 1972 – watched school plays and participated in pep rallies.

“This place really does bring back memories,” Maddon said. “I remember ‘Finian’s Rainbow’ and ‘Guys and Dolls’ on that stage. I can tell you some stories about what went on up in the catwalk, but I think I’ll save those for another occasion.”

The manager, who took his team from worst to first in the American League before losing the World Series to the Philadelphia Phillies, said his coaches and teachers and family and friends in Hazleton helped him become successful.

“This is a unique city,” Maddon said. “I was raised by my parents, my aunts, uncles, teachers, coaches and friends. This is where I’m from and what I believe in.”

Maddon lettered in three sports at Hazleton – football, basketball and baseball. He has been described as a “Renaissance man from down-to-earth roots” in Sports Illustrated.

“I’d like to see a Renaissance of Broad Street,” Maddon said of his hometown’s main street. “Sometimes it’s difficult to come back and see the condition of some of the old haunts and the streets. I’m proud to be from here; that’s why projects like this are so important.”

Maddon said a new auditorium would return arts to the school and perhaps bring more culture to the town, which he said would attract more people.

Maddon said he is a product of his youth. He rattled off names of his former coaches and teachers and others who left an indelible impression on his mind and character.

“They taught me loyalty and trust and accountability,” Maddon said. “I often recall my days here and recapture the lessons I learned growing up.”

The proudest person in the room was Maddon’s mother – Albina “Beanie” Maddon.

“This is wonderful; we are all extremely proud,” Mrs. Maddon said. “This is a great day for our city. I hope it brings the whole community together.”

Maddon’s sister – Carmine Parlatore – and brother – Mark – attended as did Maddon’s daughter, Sarah, and his two grandchildren, Tyler and Coral. Several cousins and aunts and uncles also wore blue-and-white Tampa Bay hats and shirts.

Maddon’s wife, Jaye, accompanied him to Hazleton and the newlyweds were feted at a special reception at Lobitz Catering earlier this week.

“Everyone has been so gracious,” she said. “We are so appreciative.”

U.S. Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski, D-Nanticoke, was on hand to say he will resume searching for federal funds for the auditorium project as soon as “the appropriations’ season” begins in the 111th Congress.

Maddon, 54, and Jaye, a budding lawyer, were married in November in her native California. A winding honeymoon in Europe followed, with tours of Italy, the Czech Republic and Germany.

Rocco and Diane Mussoline stood at the back of a long line with their children waiting to get an autograph and a picture with Maddon in the school’s gymnasium.

“It’s nice to see someone from this town go on and become so successful and not forget their roots,” Rocco said of Maddon. “He’s a part of a wonderful family.”

Maddon said he is enjoying renewing friendships and visiting old haunts.

“Many of those old haunts are gone,” Maddon said. “But many are still around. Like I said, a lot of memories. I’m very proud to be from here.”

Maddon said he is a product of his youth. He rattled off names of his former coaches and teachers and others who left an indelible impression on his mind and character.