Ricky Bottalico spent the last week away from his usual Philadelphia sports duties after the death of his brother, Jeffrey Bottalico, and the support he received from Phillies fans clearly meant a lot.
Jeffrey, known to family and friends as Jeff, died after a brief illness on the morning of September 14. He was born December 22, 1966, in New Britain, CT, and is survived by his wife Jessica, his parents John and Cynthia, his brothers Gary and Ricky, his nieces Olivia and Sophia, and his nephews Kal and Logan.
Ricky stepped away from his work covering Philadelphia sports at NBC Sports Philadelphia and 97.5 The Fanatic to be with his family in Connecticut. On September 15, before the Phillies played the Washington Nationals, Amy Fadool and former Phillies teammate Ruben Amaro Jr. paid tribute to Jeff on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The response from the Philly sports community came fast. Thousands of fans and followers shared messages of sympathy for Ricky and the Bottalico family, and the support kept building in the days that followed.
On Sunday evening, after Jeff’s funeral service in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, Ricky posted his first public message since the loss, thanking everyone who had reached out.
“On behalf of my whole family, I would like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, all the well wishes and support that I received in the last week is overwhelming, it’s impossible to thank everyone individually but I am so appreciative to all of u! Talk to u tomorrow!”
Ricky’s ties to the Phillies run deep. He played seven seasons for the club, appeared in 330 games, and was the team’s lone representative at the 1996 All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium.
Jeff’s obituary said, “He will leave behind a huge hole in the hearts of those who knew him best, but we will cherish the amazing memories and the beautiful soul he was.”
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