By PETE FONTAINE

The late Richard D. “Ricky” Salzillo, a one-time basketball standout, musician and singer, will be remembered on Sunday, Feb. 4 during one of Rhode Island’s oldest and most important fundraising events inside the Santa Maria DiPrata Club at 21 Walnut Grove in Cranston.
Because the late Salzillo, who people still say Ricky’s most enduring quality was his huge heart and kindness to others and that he was enormously popular, the annual Memorial Game Dinner figures to again be sold out.
Chairman Steven Placella, a prominent Johnston attorney who along with Vin LaFazia and the brothers Fede – Nick and Frank – today announced that only 20 tables of 10 seats each will be sold. The event will start at 12 noon and tickets are $40 per person and available on a first come, first-served basis. To reserve a table please call Placella at (401) 255-3478 or La Fazia at (401) 233-2564.
The proceeds will again benefit eight Ricky Salzillo Memorial Scholarships as well as Hasbro Children’s Hospital, FARA, ALS and Needy Veterans and others.
For people not familiar with the event, the late Salzillo passed away on Feb. 10, 1976 in an automobile accident on his way home to Johnston and soon thereafter his many friends formed the Ricky Salzillo Memorial Fund during a meeting at the once famed Ruffstone Tavern in North Providence.
Since then, the Ricky Salzillo Memorial Game Dinner has grown in popularity and become an annual event that many people will attest is a tradition unlike any other.
For starters, the entire game dinner is prepared by the incomparable Ralph DeFusco, who owns and operates Ralph’s Catering, which is now based at the Prata Club and the dinner courses will be served by his super staff.
“IF you’ve never had Ralph’s food, plan on buying a ticket; his food is second to none,” a long-time dinner attendee offered. “Then there’s the incredible raffle …”
Enter the brothers Fede – Frank and Nick – Johnston natives who own and operate Kingstown Liquors on Post Road in North Kingstown who through the years have coordinated a raffle with valuable prizes ranging from camping stoves and refrigerators to fully stocked wine and liquor racks.
“There’s no other raffle like this,” Placella and LaFazia noted. “It’s a raffle that everyone who comes to the dinner looks forward to each year and has always brought in additional revenue.”
So, the stage is set for the annual Ricky Salzillo Memorial Game Dinner that’s named for a late Johnstonian, La Salle Academy basketball standout and mighty musician who loved to belt out the famous songs of Ray Charles and Joe Cocker, just to name a few.
Moreover, proceeds from the dinner – which people say is like a huge family or class reunion – have helped fund the Fitness Court in his name and Veterans Pavilion in Johnston War Memorial Park as well as many other important non- profits.
As Placella and LaFazia related: “His friends and relatives have chosen to honor the memory and person of Rick Salzillo because we know that had he been with us today, he would have continued to make a difference in all our lives.”