“I was 16 years old when I attended my brother’s funeral.” LSU sophomore second baseman Nicholas Pontiff spoke these words Monday while sitting in the LSU dugout at Alex Box Stadium preparing for today’s fourth annual Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic. The Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation was established in memory of former LSU third baseman Wally Pontiff Jr, who died in 2002 from heart abnormalities. The foundation has donated money to LSU athletics, other charities and has helped Southern University, Loyola University and a handful of other university baseball teams. Nicholas Pontiff said he remembers the July 24 morning vividly and said he was eating breakfast when he heard his brother’s alarm go off. “My mom just though he was sleeping through his alarm, and I remember telling her, ‘Mom, Wally never sleeps through his alarm,’ so I went upstairs and knocked on his door,” Pontiff said. “It was locked, and I kept knocking and when I finally got into his room, he just looked like he was sleeping. I went up to him and pushed him and he didn’t wake up. I kept pushing him more and more, and that’s when I ran downstairs and told my mom to call the cops.” Pontiff said he immediately ran across the street to get a neighbor and told his sister not to let their mother go upstairs. “I took my neighbor upstairs with me and we turned Wally over on his back,” Pontiff said. “We were going to try and do resuscitation but you could see when you rolled him over that he had been dead for quite a few hours. That’s when your life completely hits the ground and honestly I still haven’t had a break down about it, of course I had my crying days, but I still haven’t really accepted the fact that he’s gone. It just feels like he’s still out of town.” Wally Pontiff Jr. was 21 years old when he died. Nicholas Pontiff said finding his role model dead at such a young age was devastating and said although he has not broken down, death is a life changing experience for those left behind. “Just about everything you thought was going great in your life … immediately ends in a split second ,and you just hit an all-time low,” Pontiff said. “I think that’s the truest test – not that death should be a test – but it is the truest test of a person’s character if they can pick themselves up from a close one or a loved one dying.” Wally Pontiff Sr., Nicholas and Wally’s father, said he found out the news that one of his sons died when he was at work. He said the family’s neighbor was not very specific when she informed him. “She told me that something happened,” Pontiff Sr. said. “So I called her back, and she said I lost one of my son’s, and I didn’t know which one. That was unbelievable and when I was coming to my house, I didn’t know which one had died.” Nicholas Pontiff said he credits his father for keeping their family in one piece. Pontiff said his dad handled the situation better than expected. “There was a time when my dad wasn’t working. There was no income, my mom doesn’t work and me and my sister were in school, and he pulled us together and said, ‘This isn’t going to ruin this family,'” he said. Pontiff said thousands of people attended his brother’s funeral. He said the funeral actually helped ease the pain of his loss and said he was humbled by how many people showed for the event. “The morning of the funeral there were hundreds to thousands of people that you have no idea who they are but just came to show their respects,” Pontiff said. “That was the most touching time in my life. You have all these people who say Wally impacted their lives, and it really grounds you.” Pontiff said he knew he wanted to attend LSU from an early age. He said seeing how much his brother enjoyed being a Tiger cemented his decision to become a Tiger. Wally Pontiff Sr., said he and Terry Pontiff, Nick’s mother, are excited to see their son play at LSU. He also said it is difficult to enter Alex Box Stadium knowing they will see their son’s picture on the stadium. “We have a bittersweet situation,” Pontiff Sr. said. “My wife has a hard time coming because she sees Wally on the fence, and she wants Nick to do well so it’s an emotional thing for us. When we come to the park we focus on Nicholas, and happy to see him do well this past weekend.” Nicholas Pontiff batted .462 (6-13) with three RBI’s and scored three runs during the Tigers weekend series against the University of Mississippi. His three-game performance has earned Pontiff a spot in today’s game at Zephyr Field. LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri said he was happy to see Pontiff hit well against No. 23 Ole Miss and looks for an impact from Pontiff against the University of New Orleans. “Nick has been one of the guys that hasn’t had the opportunity this year,” Mainieri said. “And we got to a point where we felt we should give him a chance and to his credit, he put the bat on the ball and swung well.” Mainieri said although he only met Wally Pontiff Jr., once during his life, the entire LSU team knows the significance of what he did for the Tigers and what tonight means. “It’s going to be a special night for anyone associated with LSU baseball,” Mainieri said. “If you wear an LSU uniform you know the history of not only Wally Pontiff and the tragedy of his death, but the fact he was a great player while he was here. Anyone who wears an LSU uniform while I’m here will know about Wally Pontiff Jr.” Wally Pontiff Sr., said the game has tremendous importance for his family and added he believes it will be a special event. “This game means that we can keep Wally’s dreams alive,” Pontiff Sr. said. “It means that we’re able to help others, and that’s what Wally wanted to do after he graduated. He was going to come back, and give back and we’re just carrying on his dreams.” After Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech University, Pontiff Sr. said he hopes fans at the game keep those with children at the University in the back of their minds. “My heart was broken when I heard about the 32 kids that got shot and killed at Virginia Tech,” Pontiff Sr. said. “I lost my child I know how they feel, and I just hope that everyone understands that every day is a special day. We cried, and my wife cried today looking at the news because those parents thought their children going to college would be OK. We thought when our son was going to sleep he would be fine but the Lord works in mysterious ways.”
—–Contact Jay St. Pierre at [email protected]