Exceptional speakers, qualified presence and representation of the winners, great participation of the public and representatives of the local mass media were a mix of ingredients that made the tennis evening which took place in Molfetta in the Aula Magna of the Episcopal Seminary. And it was the Vice Rector of the Seminar Don Raffaele Bucci, at the invitation of the President of Panathlon, Avv. Pasquale de Palma, who opened the evening by bringing the greetings of the Rector Don Massimiliano Di Silvio and wishing him good work.
After the presentation of the speakers by the Master of Ceremonies of the Panathlon Club Ins. Anna Vichi, President de Palma briefly illustrated the all-round sportsman figure of Dr. Antonio Giancaspro, who strongly supported the foundation of the Molfetta Club and to whom the prize awarded to the Maralfa Brothers was named. Then de Palma called into question Dr. Isidoro Alvisi, National Vice President of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, who underlined the role of the Maralfa family in the development of tennis in Puglia, as well as the role of Apulian tennis for the growth of tennis in Italy.
Following the speech by Dr. Antonello Valentini who thanked him for the invitation that allowed him to return to Molfetta, a city that greatly influenced his youthful tennis past and which reminds him with regret of the times in which he met rackets with Antonio Maralfa, more sanguine on the court, and with Gianni Maralfa, less sanguine but equally determined. After thanking Dr. Alvisi for what has been done by the Federation and after encouraging him to present his candidacy for the Presidency of the Federtennis, he concluded by hoping for greater federal support for tennis clubs.
Brief reply from Dr. Alvisi and then President de Palma read out the CVs of the winners who deserve to be remembered and brought to the attention of young people.
Starting from ANTONIO MARALFA who, started at the age of thirteen to practice tennis by his father Giuseppe, dominated the local and regional tennis scene in the 1950s and 1970s, with significant successes also on the national field. In the years 1949 and 1950, as central-southern champion of the legendary Porro Lambertenghi Cup, reserved for junior players, Antonio Maralfa represented Molfetta and Puglia tennis at the National Finals in Milan, qualifying among the top eight Italian junior players. The “Gazzetta dello Sport” wrote that the “Molfettano” Maralfa, tall, blond, left an excellent and favorable impression with his particularly instinctive and brilliant game, made up of creativity and will, as well as intelligent.
From 1959 to 1978 Antonio Maralfa brought the Molfetta Tennis Club to the regional top. In fact, thanks to his notable contribution of victories in both singles and doubles (with his brother Gianni and with Mario Gambardella), the Molfetta team won the regional title in the 1965 Facchinetti National Cup. In individual activity, a memorable year for Antonio Maralfa was the 1957, when, paired with his brother Gianni, he won the Absolute Regional Doubles Championship: “the dominance of Bari was broken by the Maralfa brothers from Molfetta” was the title of the Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno then directed by Dr. Oronzo Valentini, father of the speaker. Success repeated the following year.
Antonio Maralfa, finalist in the Singles of the 1961 Regional Championships, won numerous regional singles competitions, as well as doubles with his brothers Gianni and Silvano, in Trani, Corato, Andria, Barletta and Molfetta. He ended his brilliant competitive career at 44 years of age with the colors of TC Molfetta, taking the Serie C Regional Champion team to the round of 16 in the National Final in Prato.
