Baseball – Basketball – Soccer
Lino Raspanti was born in Astoria where he lived with his parents, older sister and younger brother Sebastian(Class of ’89). While in Astoria, Lino starred for St. Joseph’s parish where he played both basketball and baseball.
After graduating from St. Joseph’s, Lino moved onto McClancy where he added a third sport – soccer- to his list of talents. Lino excelled in all three sports for a time, but eventually decided to concentrate his efforts on just basketball and baseball. On the diamond, he starred defensively at first base and displayed a great combination of speed and power with the bat. He received several awards for his efforts with the Crusaders, and was selected team most valuable player.
As point guard for the basketball team, Lino, along with fellow inductee Joe Franco, helped lead the Crusaders to the Final Four of the CHSAA’S City Playoffs. Included in this great playoff run was a stunning quarterfinal victory over Tolentine, the defending City Champs. This is still considered to be one of the biggest upsets in CHSAA history.
Lino presently lives in Massapequa, Long Island, with his wife and daughter.