APPRECIATION: We lost a great one, Ernie Ardolino Sr., ‘Mr. A’: 1938-2023

Longtime Malden resident influenced and touched thousands of lives in over 50 dedicated years as an educator and coach

By Steve Freker

We all know and have done this. Maybe even today. Sometimes we are out and about, see someone we know and like – at a distance – and make a gametime decision not to go over to say hello, chat for a minute or two and move on.

We might be running on a tight schedule where even a couple of minutes makes a difference. Maybe we just saw that same person not too long ago and do not want to rehash the recent conversation. Or we might be running on an empty tank when it comes to a penchant for live interaction. We older people are 100% becoming more and more screen and cellphone locked-in, just like our younger counterparts. We don’t seek out the face-to-face meetups much, anymore. So, we go ahead with our presumably busy day, silently promising to “definitely stop the next time, absolutely.”

It is easy to say nice things about good people. That is why I hope my good friend Ernie A. Ardolino Sr. and also my good friend, his son and namesake, Ernie A. Ardolino Jr., can accept this as one of the highest compliments I can give. Not once – not one time – in the 50 years that I knew him, did I see Ernie Sr. anywhere in this Greater Boston triad of Malden, Medford and Everett and not stop and bend his ear, or have him bend mine.

It was a pleasure – every time – to hear some good words from one of the true legends of these cities. Words of wisdom? Treasure chests-full from this gentleman.

Ernie A. Ardolino Sr. “told it like it is” and that’s that. We all loved him for that and much more.

We have thrown Arlington in there, too, because that is where he sent decades of his professional life as an educator at Arlington Catholic High, before his retirement. That is a whole other branch of the “Ernie Ardolino Tree” in itself, where “Mr. A,” as he was affectionately called by his students, was a memorable an invaluable mentor for hundreds and hundreds of AC kids through the years.

This longtime Malden resident influenced and touched thousands of lives in over 50 dedicated years as an educator and coach. We certainly lost a great one when Ernie Sr. passed away just nine days before Christmas.

Coach is another term that is never one to be used lightly. But he truly was a great one. Most people do not even know what he accomplished before he even made his mark as coach in multiple sports and in both genders, boy and girls, in an illustrious career.

In high school he was a key member of the 1955 Medford High Mustangs, playing alongside future MLB All-Star pitcher Bill “Monbo” Monbouquette of the Boston Red Sox and shortstop Charlie Pagliarulo Sr., the father of future MLB All-Star Mike “Pags” Pagliarulo. The 1955 Medford HS Baseball team was inducted into the Mustang Sports Hall of Fame. Ernie Sr. would later be inducted as an individual for his coaching success with the MHS Girls Basketball Team, which set school records for wins in consecutive seasons.

Ernie Sr. would go on to play his college baseball for the renowned UMiami Hurricanes and got some good looks from professional scouts before coming back to his roots and beginning a career as a teacher-coach.

What a whirlwind that was! From the 1960s to the early 2000s, you would literally need a GPS to track Ernie Sr. and his coaching stops, like NORAD tracks Santa. Football, basketball – boys and girls – baseball and probably some sports that we just are not informed enough to recall, Ernie Sr. coached them all, everywhere. Name a school in this area and Ernie probably coached there. He could coach anything, definitely. With his natural, firm grasp of sports and athletics there is no doubt that if Ernie went through the wrong door and came upon a spirited badminton match, he could take right over– and leave with a win. Cue in the trademark ear-to-ear grin and quick, staccato chuckle Ernie was known for in these parts!

The most improbable place I recall Ernie coaching? Everett High baseball in the mid-1980s. I was coaching on the Malden High staff and we had a pretty good team – there was a lot of turmoil over the Everett baseball position. They did not decide on hiring a coach until one week before the season. So we show up at Everett Stadium, where they used to play the games, and who’s coaching Everett? Ernie Ardolino! We were pleasantly surprised, kind of shocked, actually.

So what did he do there? Only win the Greater Boston League title in his second year. This is in the midst of a 12-team very good GBL baseball league.

That all came back to me just a couple short weeks ago. I’m walking in Malden Square and who taps me on the shoulder but Ernie A. Ardolino Jr., the legend’s namesake son. “I’ve been meaning to show you this!” he said, getting out his cellphone. On the phone was a screenshot of a nearly 40-year-old feature story in the Malden Evening News.

It showed Coach Ernie in the proud papa role, wearing his Everett baseball uniform and holding the infant Ernie Jr.in his arms. “You wrote this! My dad always loved this story and I will always keep it, too,” Ernie Jr said. He also told me that dad was not doing so well health-wise.

Like father, like son – it is easy to say Ernie Jr. has already taken up dad’s torch and reps the family name impeccably. Like his dad, he is well respected and well liked and is a quick study on a lot of topics, sports included, around the city of Malden.

So, whenever you recall Ernie A. Ardolino Sr. – Mr. A, Coach Ardolino, just plain old Ernie – think good thoughts, think happy thoughts and remember that beaming, genuine smile he always wore. That is exactly how he would want it.

Also, be glad that the last time you saw Ernie Sr., you did stop and say hello and catch up with this wonderful man.

Rest in peace, Ernie, you are already missed.