Talk with Andrew Mele for only a moment or two and you knew what he was all about.

He loved the game of baseball, especially his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers.

The Annadale resident adored the game so much he even penned several books about the sport, including A Brooklyn Dodgers Reader, The Boys of Brooklyn and Tearin Up the Pea Patch.

And when the pandemic-shortened Major League Baseball season started two weeks ago, no one was more happier than Mele.

CLICK HERE FOR MR. MELES COMPLETE OBITUARY

But Mele, heartbroken over his wife Mildreds death in 2017, had been ailing of late and finally succumbed to his sickness at the age of 81 on Saturday.

He was known to Staten Island Advance readers as the Staten Island Memories columnist; those columns a compilation of carefully researched vintage stories. Of course, he used that platform to write a lot about the Islands top baseball players, who went professional or were the kings of the Staten Island sandlots.

Im going to miss those columns, said Tom Melnik of West Brighton. I looked forward to reading them. They were well researched and well written and brought back loads of Island memories for all his readers.

His daughter, Christine Mele-Love said he had the family send what would be his last Memories column to the Advance a couple of days before he passed.

Its surreal to me that I will never speak to him again or read another one of his awesome stories, she wrote on Facebook. He had us send his latest article to the Advance right before the ambulance came because he didnt want to miss the deadline. I have no words.

Mele himself was a fundamentally sound baseball player and was scouted by the Washington Senators and played for their farm team in the late 1950s.

Author Andy Mele, left, greets Almondo and Angela Conte at a book-signing and reception in 2010 at the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum. (Staten Island Advance)

But when his minor-league playing days were over, Mele played on the sandlots and was a member of many leagues through the years on both the baseball and softball diamonds.

He was a proud member of the Old Boys of Summer team, which often met at Willowbrook Park to throw the ball around and have some fun even after their competitive playing days were over.

He was also a great stickball player and was inducted into the Stickball Hall of Fame in 2019, a proud moment for Mele.

Always a baseball historian, Mele turned his research into the many books he authored over the last 12 years. But he just didnt author sports books. His The Italian Squad: How the NYPD Took Down the Black Hand Extortion Racket was a top seller on Amazon at one point.

The only thing Mele loved more than his baseball and books were his family.

He married the love of his life, Mildred, in 1960. After moving to Staten Island from Brooklyn, they had two children, Andrew and Christine. Mildred passed away in 2017.

Alexandra was his lone grandchild, who Mele cherished.

What a nice guy Andy was, said Mike Bonamo, another reader of the Memories column. He always took the time to talk to you and wanted to know how everyone was doing. He loved listening to people, but those conversations always led back to baseball in some way.

Read more:

Staten Island Advance Memories columnist and author Andrew Mele dies at age 81 - SILive.com