About Us

By Bob Nestel

The James and Joanne Tabeek Memorial League can best be described as the small league with the very big heart.

The league was started in memory of James Tabeek, who died at age 3 of meningitis.

Its name changed when Joanne, James' mother, was lost on 9/11.

"We try to use the league as a way to help raise funds for various events and charities," said League president Al Tabeek, James's father, who runs the league with his wife Kim and daughter Krystal. "We're not the biggest league around, but we do our best. We figure every donation, no matter how big or small, can help."

The first donation the league made was to the Staten Island September 11th Fund, in memory of Joanne.

Since then, donations have gone to the Rotary Club of Staten Island, the Staten Island St. Patrick's Parade, the Tabeek Angels in Staten Island Little League, the Fab For Life Foundation (in memory of Frances Amalfi-Bennett), Hope and Heroes (a children's cancer fund), Juvenile Diabetes, the 1st Precinct Golf Outing in memory of Officer Edmund Lewis and Jam Bowl-A-Thon for Cystic Fibrosis in memory of James A. McMahon.

This will be the second year the league makes a donation to the Lt. Chuck Margiotta FDNY Memorial.

And the league also plans on making a donation to attend and donate to The Dr. Theodore A. Atlas Foundation and the Friends of Battalion Chief Tim O'Neill.

"We have some charities we try to help every year and we're always looking to help a new one," said Tabeek. "As long as the league keeps on going, we plan on trying to do some good for others from it."

By Bernie Augustine

The James and Joanne Tabeek Softball League, currently in their 23rd season, started out as a way to keep a memory alive has grown into so much more.

"It's become a second family for us," said Al Tabeek, who along with family and friends started the league in memory of his son James, who died at age 3 of meningitis. "Families like the Goulds, Federicos, Reminis, Croccos and Schiumos have been with me since the beginning. I wouldn't be able to do this without their help and support." The league's name changed from the James Tabeek Memorial to the James and Joanne Tabeek Memorial League, when Joanne, James' mother, was lost on 9/11.

"It's a way for us to keep both their memories alive," continued Al. "We try to also use the league as a fund-raiser. We've been able to donate money to different charitable organizations, including to other families who also lost loved ones on 9/11."

"We also sponsor a team in the Staten Island Little League (Tabeek's Angels)," he continued. "And this year we hope to host a blood drive along with other softball leagues from around the Island."

The league, which plays doubleheaders on Sunday's spring, summer and fall, is expanding in the future, adding a coed division.

"We're not the biggest league around," said Al, who runs the league along with his wife Kim and daughter Krystal. "But, we're large enough to raise some money every year and make a donation to some very worthy causes."

"We have no plans on stopping anytime soon," he continued. "We have teams and players who have been with us from the very start."

"We've become very good friends with so many of them," he added. "It's a second family for us."