Backed by a tailored clothing business and driven by a dying brother’s wish, the Comello Baseball Club of Cincinnati secured back-to-back amateur baseball championships in 1926 and 1927, capturing the attention of local newspapers and cementing a legacy that spanned decades.
Brothers Build a Clothing Pioneer and a Baseball Dynasty
The Comello Brothers Clothing Co. opened for business in 1910, launched by Augustino “Gus” W. Comello Sr. and Charles W. Comello as a mail-order tailored clothing pioneer. While the enterprise operated for more than 50 years, the family name became linked to local diamond success. By 1915, the brothers began funding a local amateur baseball squad, purchasing uniforms and equipment while sharing management duties until Charley fell ill. Following Charley’s death in 1923, his death-bed wish was that Gus would lead the name of Comello into a city championship, according to reporting by the Cincinnati Post. That wish materialized in 1926 when the squad claimed the Class A Cincinnati title and advanced to the national tournament in Philadelphia during the country’s Sesquicentennial celebration, a trip that included a detour to sightsee at Valley Forge.
Family Roster Claims the 1926 National Title
Operating as a true family affair, the 1926 championship roster featured Gus Comello as president and backer, his brother Tony Comello as coach, Gus’s son Joseph “Little Joe” Comello at shortstop, and nephew J.J. “Big Joe” Comello in the outfield. The lineup included pitchers Jim Beckman, Mike Cassini, and Tony “Blackhawk” Tedesco, alongside catcher Harry Davey, first baseman George Reynolds, second baseman Dick Bray, third baseman Eddie Hunter, outfielders Al “Abby” Brofft, Jimmy O’Keefe, Al Borgman, Ed Helmecamp, and George Keilholz, with Paul Pusateri serving as manager. Daily coverage across Cincinnati newspapers followed the team’s postseason run, though early dispatches featured occasional errors, such as misidentifying their first opponent from Berkey, Ohio, as Berkley. On the field, the Comellos pushed past Berkey, Waterbury, and Detroit, while a Johnstown, Pennsylvania, team forfeited after organizers discovered rostered professionals. The final round pitted Cincinnati against the Detroit Checker Cab team in a best-of-three series. After dropping the opener 10-7 in 10 innings, the Comellos bounced back with a 6-3 victory in Game 2. The Oct. 4 finale required a dramatic rally. When a sore arm forced star pitcher Beckman off the mound, third-string pitcher Brofft stepped in. Borgman launched a home run to tie the game in the seventh inning, and Brofft delivered a triple in the 10th before scoring on a single by Bray to secure a 6-5 victory and the amateur baseball world championship.
Defending the Crown and Lasting Community Impact
The Comellos successfully defended their title in 1927 by defeating Kennedy Clothes of Detroit. By then, Joe Comello had turned pro, signing with a minor league squad in Indianapolis. Other team members transitioned into prominent local roles: Dick Bray became a sports broadcaster who created WSAI radio’s “Fans in the Stands” segment, and Tony Comello worked as a scout for the Reds and an athletic trainer at Xavier University. Gus Comello Sr., who fulfilled his brother’s dream, also owned an amateur basketball team in the 1930s. When Gus died in 1956, the Post quoted a member of his 1926 baseball team reflecting on his philanthropy. “Mr. Comello never paid us a cent in cash,” the player recalled. “But he took care of us in other ways. When I needed a suit of clothes, he gave me one. If I had a large hospital bill, he paid it. If it weren’t for Mr. Comello, I wouldn’t have gone to college.”
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