Jay Wright’s Tailor Dies
Our basketball family lost a good man - our community , a faithful servant - a life lived for others - well done Gabe . RIP ! pic.twitter.com/GJ29rjnCix
— Jay Wright (@VUCoachJWright) January 26, 2021
The Inquirer reported today that “The man who stitched it all together, Gabriele “Gabe” D’Annunzio, died Sunday from COVID-19, age 76. Born in Abruzzo, Italy. Grew up in West Philadelphia. Held many distinctions, but this was a big one: Gabe D’Annunzio was Jay Wright’s tailor.”
The Villanova Hoops website noted that The Villanova Wildcats are mourning the loss of Gabriele D’Annunzio, better known as “Gabe” to his friends and everyone in the Villanova basketball program. He was the man who helped create GQ Jay, as Jay Wright’s tailor, and helped the Wildcats look spiffy for NBA Draft night or formal events.
According to a 2016 article in Delconewsnetwork.com, D’Annunzio also made suits “for big name stars, like Frank Sinatra, Frankie Avalon, Pat Croce, Sammy Davis, Jr., Mike Schmidt, George Burns and Harry Kalas, as well as the warm up jackets for Villanova University’s champion basketball team.”