"Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is physical" Yogi Berra

Seb "Checkers" Santiglia was known far and wide as a "clutch" hitter, somebody who could get the hit when it counted.

Checkers hit for power and for average, leading the 1950 Owls in runs batted in. He played third base from 1948 to 1950, three seasons when the Hartford High team beat out Hillhouse and New Britain to win the Triangular League championship. During that time, HPHS won the city championship twice, in 1949 and 1950. In 1950, Checkers set the HPHS school record for runs batted in with 19.

After high school, Checkers played third base for the Fitzgerald (Georgia) Pioneers, a farm team of the Philadelphia Phillies, and he continued at third base while serving in the U. S. Navy. He was named captain of the varsity Fliers baseball team in 1954 and won the league batting title that same year, leading his team to the New England Interservice Baseball Championship. He was selected most valuable player in 1954 and 1955 and was part of the All New England Navy All Star Team both years.

Checkers was assigned to man third base again at the University of Hartford, beginning in 1957. He led the Hawks that year with a .366 batting average, also leading the team in runs batted in, total hits, and doubles. He lettered all four years and served as co-captain in 1958 and again in 1959, when he posted a sizzling .409 batting average, placing him among the state's top ten hitters.