{"id":8952,"date":"2018-06-27T15:38:11","date_gmt":"2018-06-27T19:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=8952"},"modified":"2018-06-28T09:20:17","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T13:20:17","slug":"remembering-al-vento-and-francos-italian-army","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2018\/06\/27\/remembering-al-vento-and-francos-italian-army\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Al Vento and Franco’s Italian Army"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not uncommon for Steelers players to become celebrities. It is uncommon, however, to get famous for being a fan. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Al Vento and Tony Stagno in 1972.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Al Vento, who died Tuesday, was the owner of the decades-old Vento\u2019s Pizza in East Liberty and a founding member of one of Pittsburgh\u2019s most iconic fan clubs: Franco\u2019s Italian Army.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1972, Vento and Tony Stagno, another East Liberty business owner, assembled an \u201carmy\u201d of Steelers fans to cheer for Franco Harris, a rookie running back of black and Italian descent. The group wore World War II helmet liners, drank Italian wine out of goblets, and feasted on homemade Italian cuisine in the stands. With banners and chants, they urged Harris: \u201cRun, paisano, run!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Franco Harris and his Italian Army.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mr. Vento and Mr. Stagno donned Army merchandise, attended charity events with Mr. Harris, and even hopped on a last-minute flight to Palm Springs to induct Frank Sinatra as a one-star general of Franco\u2019s Italian Army. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Army founders brought their own wine, prosciutto, and cheese for the ceremony. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Vento\u2019s career as a football fan and East Liberty restaurateur is a capsule of Pittsburgh history. He and Mr. Stagno founded the Army at a pivotal moment for the Steelers: the team had a new stadium and was starting to turn around a years-long losing streak. <\/span><\/p>\n

But the Army also synthesized simmering racial discord that played out in the neighborhood that Mr. Vento called home \u2014 his pizzeria survived the riots that followed the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. At the time, relations between black and Italian residents of East Liberty were adversarial. <\/span><\/p>\n

In 1974, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Clarke Thomas wrote that black and Italian fans alike joined the Italian Army, despite any existing racial tensions. But some remained skeptical of the Italian community\u2019s claim to the beloved running back.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By 1977, Roy McHugh of The Pittsburgh Press reported that Franco\u2019s Italian Army fizzled out: Mr. Stagno and Mr. Vento were \u201ctired of being generals.\u201d After four Super Bowl victories, the Army\u2019s \u201cgeneralissimo\u201d left the Steelers in 1984. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Al Vento in 1999, shortly before the reopening of Vento’s Pizza. (Tony Tye\/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But Vento\u2019s Pizza, a neighborhood favorite, remained, even as East Liberty has gentrified. The opening of Home Depot in 2000 forced the restaurant to move and rebuild about 200 feet south of its previous location. The restaurant\u2019s website reports that Franco\u2019s Italian Army \u201cstill stands tall.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A previous version of this post incorrectly identified the city where Frank Sinatra was inducted to Franco’s Italian Army.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s not uncommon for Steelers players to become celebrities. It is uncommon, however, to get…<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesRemembering Al Vento and Franco’s Italian Army<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":8950,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066,946],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Vento001.jpg?fit=2991%2C2422&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2066,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/02\/11\/steelers-fans-high-on-their-football-team\/","url_meta":{"origin":8952,"position":0},"title":"Steelers fans high on their football team","date":"February 11, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Steelers fans always have been a colorful bunch.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/tumblr_mi18pbiHaX1rr5swxo3_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1233,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/11\/08\/how-did-you-celebrate-thanksgiving\/","url_meta":{"origin":8952,"position":1},"title":"How did you celebrate Thanksgiving?","date":"November 8, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"At \u2018The Digs\u2019 we\u2019re looking for photographs of Pittsburghers celebrating Thanksgiving prior to 1985.","rel":"","context":"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tumblr_mvx1iwsRJN1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C889&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9521,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2019\/07\/24\/chuck-nolls-summer-of-69\/","url_meta":{"origin":8952,"position":2},"title":"Chuck Noll’s summer of ’69","date":"July 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"First in a series looking back at Chuck Noll's first season with the Steelers Believe it or not, it's already been 50 years since legendary Steelers coach Chuck Noll's first training camp in Pittsburgh. 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