January 31, 2014
John Labombarda is the director of research at Elias Sports Bureau. This past year, he was the recipient of an Emmy Award for his work on MLB Tonight, which airs on the MLB Network. He has coached Leonia girls softball and AYSO soccer. He and his wife Robyn have lived in Leonia for 21 years and have two college-age daughters, Samantha and Sydney, both graduates of Leonia High School.
Q: What is Elias Sports Bureau and what do you do there?
A: Elias provides information and statistics to the media and sports teams. We have contracts with the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, WNBA, MLS, ESPN, the YES Network and the SNY Network. We maintain a database of everything sports, not only in real time but also we provide historical perspectives. Our offices are staffed 24/7 with people constantly gathering information on games played across the country and throughout the world. An example of what we do is research and write the banter that goes on between the announcers during live games. I also write articles for ESPN.com.
Q: Where does your Emmy statue reside?
A: On the mantel at home. I, along with other people from Elias, provide much of the statistical information used in the broadcast. It was a great honor to win the Emmy and many people contributed to the success of the show. One thing that surprised me is that you have to pay for the statue.
Q: How did you begin your career with Elias?
A: The biggest career break I got was when I was a senior in high school, in 1980. One of my teachers used to work at Elias before he changed careers. The owner, Seymour Siwoff, who is 93 and still works seven days a week, called him and said, “I need two high school kids for the summer. They have to be good at math and understand sports.” Fortunately I was an ‘A’ math student and captain of the varsity baseball and bowling teams, so my teacher recommended me. I liked the job and they liked me. I continued working part time through college. After I graduated with a degree in marketing from St. John’s University, Seymour handed me my benefit plan and I began working full time. I’ve been there ever since – 33 years.
Q: Have you ever worked anywhere besides Elias?
A: The only other job I’ve had was when I was a gofer for my dad, Joseph Labombarda, who is a diamond setter in the Bowery. He came to NYC from Italy when he was 9, and lived above Ferrara’s Bakery. My mom, Grace, grew up on Mott Street so we spent a lot of time, as kids, in Little Italy. Coincidentally, my dad learned his trade from a man named R.D. Cascioli, whose daughter, Lee Pacicco, lived in Leonia.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. I was the oldest of three boys. My brothers, Santo and Frank, both work with me at Elias. I attended Catholic schools my entire life, except for kindergarten.
Q: When did you get interested in sports?
A: Growing up there were a dozen or so boys my age on the block, so from a young age I was always outside playing something – hockey, baseball or stickball. Every Sunday was a touch football game. My dad was a big Yankees fan, so we often went to Yankee Stadium. I also played organized baseball from age 6 to 18.
Q: How did you meet your wife?
A: We met in June 1990 at the Jack LaLanne Gym in Sheepshead Bay. We were working out on adjacent Stairmasters. We married two years later.
Q: Why did you move to Leonia?
A: The location. We were each living with our parents in Brooklyn and commuting to the city. We bought a fixer-upper on Grand Avenue, the “Stamboulian House,” which had only one bathroom. After our daughters were born, the prospect of sharing one bathroom with three females for the next 15 years didn’t appeal to me. My wife agreed to move, but only within Leonia. In 2002, we moved into our current home on Pine Hill Road. As an aside, my father approved our moving to Leonia because he knew of the town. He also had a friend who was a Bergen County detective who assured him Leonia was a safe town and a nice place to live.
Q: What’s the worst thing about your job?
A: Sports work does not shut down during weekends and holidays, so I have to sacrifice family life for my work. On the positive side, I get to vote for the Baseball Hall of Fame, as does former Leonian Bob Klapisch. I’m also paid to attend the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Tournament and the Big East Tournament. And I always get the best seat in the house, courtside in the press box.
Q: Have any athletes or announcers really made an impression on you?
A: I’ve worked with some of the best sports announcers in the business including Al Michaels, Marv Albert and his son Kenny, Dick Enberg, Brent Musburger, Mike Breen, Dick Vitale, Dan Shulman and Ian Eagle. Some of the more memorable athletes were Don Drysdale (Hall of Famer Baseball), Tim McCarver (Mets in the 80s), and hockey players Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky. Drysdale once offered to pour me a cup of coffee and although I don’t drink coffee I said “YES”…How cool is that!
Q: Does your job ever take you overseas?
A: This past March, MLB asked me to be the official scorer at the World Baseball Classic in Japan. It’s considered the Olympics of Baseball and takes place every three years. Robyn and I went to Fukuoka Japan and it was a great experience. I’d love to cover a sporting event in Australia.
Q: Where do you enjoy travelling?
A: I prefer an adventure, seeing something new, to sitting on a beach. One of my favorite vacations was a Mediterranean cruise. We spent three days in Bari, Italy, my father’s hometown. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip especially as my father also joined us. My Italian cousins, whom I haven’t seen in 40-plus years, were at the station to greet us. My family worried that we wouldn’t recognize each other, but the second the train pulled into the station I just knew it was them. It’s great to be with family.
Q: Do you have a favorite holiday?
A: My wife is Jewish and I grew up Catholic, so we celebrate all the holidays. My favorite, however, is Christmas Eve, when we get together with my two brothers and their families at my parents house in Brooklyn. Mom cooks ziti, meatballs and bracciole.
Q: What’s your favorite place in Leonia?
A: Wood Park. I spent many years coaching my daughters’ softball games there, and I loved spending time there with them when they were young. On my days off, I go there and read the newspaper.
Q: Do you have a personal sports tradition?
A: Until five years ago, I played softball every Sunday with all my friends from the old neighborhood in Brooklyn. Now we just get together once a year, at a field in Leonia. A couple of years ago, Leonia resident Michael Raskin inquired online, on Leonia Talks, if anyone in town was interested in playing softball. I showed up in Wood Park and played with a few guys in town, including Councilman Darryl Whitter. Darryl also invited me to play in his over-50 league. I had to wait two years to join. The oldest guy on our team is in his 70s. This year I had to work at the All-Star Game instead of playing in my team’s championship game. I would rather have played. The saddest day of the year for me is the day I put away my softball equipment for the winter.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: What I do for a living is my hobby. It’s the ultimate “guy job.” It’s easy to work when you like what you do. When I was asked to speak at Mentoring Mondays at Leonia High School a few years ago, I told the students, “If there’s something you like, try to find a way to make a living at it.”
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