Tony Reali has joined the Good Morning America team. Read on for the facts on his wife, his new baby, his career, and a fire incident from his past ….
1. Reali Has Become a Good Morning America Contributor
In April 2014, it was announced that Tony Reali would be a contributor for Good Morning America and today is his first day. As a social media correspondent for the show, Reali told ESPN Front Row:
I’m thrilled to be part of the GMA family. I hope to be additive to that extraordinary group that continues to be smart, fast and in-touch with their viewership – more so than just about any other program. They do it all so exceptionally well.
2. Reali Has Been a Stat boy on Pardon the Interruption Since it First Began
(Getty)
Reali had several jobs after college, but, when Pardon the Interruption started, he became it’s stat boy. Unapix reports:
Reali’s first official job was as a researcher and writer for ESPN’s quiz show 2 Minute Drill. In 2001, he joined Pardon the Interruption as Stat Boy where his job was to correct and fact-check hosts Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon at the end of every episode. Later, he became the host of the program around the horn in February 2004, replacing Max Kellerman.
On September 5, 2014 Reali did his last show of Pardon the Interruption since he moved to New York City to be a correspondent on Good Morning America.
So many memories. So many life lessons. Tony, Mike and @PTI made me a pro and they made me a man. Can't possibly ever repay them all.
— Tony Reali (@TonyReali) September 5, 2014
3. When He Proposed to His Wife, He Lost the Ring
When Reali proposed to his wife, he apparently lost the ring in June 2012. He reportedly explained the big story via Twitter over two years ago and Wikipedia describes Reali’s engagement as this:
After a baggage mix-up at The Chambers Hotel in New York City, Reali is discreetly notified by the hotel staff that his bag containing his uninsured engagement ring is missing, but has been located at LaGuardia Airport. The hotel manager drives Reali and a suspicious, but unknowing Stat Girl to LaGuardia’s Marine Terminal. Upon arrival, Reali locates the missing bag containing the ring in a shoe, inside a shoe box. Once in his hands and wasting no time, Reali rips through the bag, the box, and to the shoe, retrieving the ring. Dragging Stat Girl in-between the Men’s and Women’s bathrooms, Reali drops to his knee and proposes as a confused custodian buffing the floor watches over.
Tony Reali and his wife Sami just had their first child, so he’s excited about his move back home to where his family is all located. Have a look at the photo of his baby Francesca in the below Twit pic:
.@niaforg Grazie per il meraviglioso onore!!! – Francesca Reali pic.twitter.com/pYknvZ0m68
— Tony Reali (@TonyReali) August 22, 2014
4. His Home Burned Down in a Fire
On October 1, 2004, Reali’s apartment building caught fire and his home was destroyed. DCist reported the details of the fire writing:
Firefighters took almost eight hours to put out a four-alarm blaze overnight in Adams Morgan on the 2600 block of Adams Mill Rd., across from Pierce Park. The fire started at about 1:15 a.m., gutting a four-story apartment building and displacing residents of more than 30 units. The length of time it took to battle the blaze is being blamed on low water pressure in Adams Morgan … Turns out ESPN’s Tony Reali, host of Around the Horn, was a resident of the building that burned down.
5. Religion Is Very Important to Him
Reali once said:
My faith is very important to me. So is my spirituality. It has made me who I am, and it has got me to where I am. And it’s where I am going.
Tony Reali graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey and is a dedicated Catholic. Many recognize him as the guy who wears ashes on his forehead on-air on ESPN every Ash Wednesday.