Horace McGarity 

Induction Year: 2026

Category: Baseball

Location: Babylon

Babylon native Horace McGarrity is widely recognized as one of the founding figures of baseball in Italy and a pioneer of the sport’s international growth.

A Staff Sergeant in the United States Army during World War II, McGarrity remained in Italy following his military service, where he supervised the American Cemetery in Nettuno.

While there, he introduced and taught baseball to local Italian workers during the late 1940s and early 1950s, using the game as a bridge between American and Italian culture and helping strengthen postwar ties between the two nations. As manager of the Nettuno Baseball Club, he guided the organization to three Italian championships, establishing one of the country’s most storied baseball traditions.

He later served as manager of the Italian National Team during its first major international competition at the 1954 European Championship, leading Italy to the gold medal in a landmark moment for the sport.

In recognition of his extraordinary impact, McGarrity was posthumously inducted into the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2005, becoming the only American honored among its first inductees.

He passed away in 1989 and is buried at Calverton National Cemetery, leaving behind a legacy that forever changed the course of baseball in Italy.

His niece Linda Pabson accepted the honor on his behalf at the 2026 Suffolk Sports HOF induction.