You see, in 1974 Bruno Gerzeli organized and took the BYU baseball team to Italy to play in 4 cities. The teams they played against were of semi-pro quality. Bruno and the team, prior to each game would present each opposing player and coach and team president with a packet which included a Book of Mormon, the pamphlet, The Testimony of Joseph Smith, a press kit about BYU (at least this is what memory serves me.) In addition, did you know that prior to the BYU baseball team travelling to Itay, Bruno organized and took (with the assistance and initial support of Paul H. Dunn) the BYU soccer team. If you ever want to know more about this, just ask Lee Benson, writer at the Deseret News. He was a team member.

And during this time, from March 1974 until April 1996, I served a mission to the Italy Rome mission. First under President Ralph Larcher and then under the first native Italian mission president, President Leopold Larcher of Brescia. He has since retired from Church Property Acquisitions in Europe.

Thank you for mentioning, even so briefly, an episode in the life of my father, Bruno Gerzeli. He had so many hopes and dreams. So many doors and opportunities presented themselves as a result of both BYU's soccer and baseball teams travelling to Italy to compete against professional-level/calibre teams. It is a part of my father's legacy that will live on as part of Italy's Mormon history.