Vincent J. Leone

Vincent J. Leone, a former Baltimore cafe owner who with his two brothers sponsored notable amateur baseball teams, died on July 13, 2013. he was 91.
Leone trained as a boilermaker, and worked at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad’s Mount Clare Shops repairing steam locomotives before enlisting in the Marine Corps during World War II. Leone served as a cook with the 5th Marine Division in the South Pacific, attaining the rank of corporal. His decorations included the Purple Heart from Iwo Jima.
In 1950, Leone joined his brother Dominic Leone when they established Leone’s Cafe on Fort Avenue. “Leone’s Cafe had its own Mama Leone, where she was in the kitchen day and night and greeting customers who became her extended family,” said his son, John V. Leone of Stevensville.
In 1952, Vincent and his two brothers, Dominic and Tony, began sponsoring Leone’s Baseball, the amateur teams that had hundreds of its players over the years getting to the Major League level. The two most noted were Al Kaline and Reggie Jackson, now in Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. They were inducted into the All American Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in Johnstown, Pa., in 2006 and the Old Timers Baseball Association of Maryland in 2009.
Leone is survived by his wife of 66 years, the former Antoinette Brocato; son, John; and three grandsons.