Community members have placed flowers today at the ‘Tribute to Pierotti’s Clowns’ mosaic art installation in front of Mesa Public Library in downtown Los Alamos to honor Lou Pierotti. Photo by Leland Lehman/ladailypost.com

STAFF REPORT

Softball legend Lou Pierotti of Los Alamos has died at the age of 94.

His daughter Marilee Pierotti Lau of San Francisco told the Los Alamos Daily Post that her father died suddenly Saturday at Los Alamos Medical Center. She said the family is finalizing service details, which will be scheduled for later in the week at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 3700 Canyon Road in Los Alamos.

Lou Pierotti swings an imaginary bat as he tells a story about one of the Clowns’ games during a talk to students Sept. 11, 2012 at Pinon Elementary School. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com

Pierotti became well known after forming Pierotti’s Clowns in 1953, the only five-man fast-pitch softball team in the nation. This team was sponsored by the Los Alamos Kiwanis Club for the enjoyment of Los Alamos families and later became a good-will ambassador for Los Alamos and New Mexico. The Clown Team was featured in six national magazines, including the first issue of Sports Illustrated in 1954.

Competing with nine-man teams for 25 years, the Clowns won 177 games and lost only 23, and raised more than $200,000 for charity.

The Clowns never lost a game against any of the five professional teams they played, such as the Albuquerque Dukes, a Triple-A Farm Team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The success of the five-man team was due in part to the world class athletic skills of the five players, the exceptional pitching of Bun Ryan, and the Clown antics created and performed by Lou Pierotti, during the regulation softball game.

Softball legend Lou Pierotti tells Pinon students about Pierotti’s Clowns while his friend and neighbor Los Alamos Middle School Librarian Lisa Whitacre looks on during a talk in 2012. Photo by Bonnie J. Gordon/ladailypost.com