SAN LEANDRO — Ricky Ricardo, the man who turned his dad’s bar into a legendary watering hole for East Bay sports fans, allowing customers to shout to the rafters when their team won and get an offer of a free drink from the fellow on the nearby barstool when their heroes faced defeat has died, according to family.
Ricardo died at age 75, his wife, Tina, said Saturday to the San Francisco Chronicle. The bar confirmed the news Sunday with a Facebook post.
Rick’s Sports Theatre and Grill began back in 1946, when Ricardo’s father launched it.
The bar on Hesperian Boulevard, with its packed displays of posters and signed jerseys and other sports memorabilia, has served up beers and cocktails for fans of the Oakland A’s, the Oakland Raiders and Golden State Warriors since 1960.
Current times, however, have been tough.
In August, the business announced it might have to close due to COVID 19, a prospect that bars and others in the restaurant industry are facing over the past few months due to the financial hit the pandemic has caused so many.
On Saturday, the bar announced the death of the 75-year-old Ricardo on Facebook, a devastating loss for the business and those in San Leandro who knew and loved him.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Ricky,” it said. “The family is mourning this great loss, but do appreciate all of the love, messages and condolences being sent their way. As you can imagine our hearts are very heavy and we are responding to messages as best as we can. Thank you all for the many years of mementos, support and undying devotion. Please say a prayer and light a candle.”
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The news brought an outpouring of grief and support from longtime customers. Within an hour about 123 people posted comments online.
“I just found out about Ricky’s passing,” Shellie Olson said. “I worked at Ricky’s from 1986 until 2013. He was family to me. He was a brother to me. I will miss him forever.”
Troy Dawson also grieved.
“I met Ricky years ago, and connected with him within the last five to seven years, and he was always giving, thoughtful and serving,” Dawson posted. “It is extremely devastating to hear of his passing.”
Husband-and-wife Tina and Ricky Ricardo’s sports bar, which Sports Illustrated once named the No. 2 sports bar in the nation, prompted a longtime patron and friend of the owners to launch an online fundraising page in July in an attempt to save the gathering place. As of Saturday, the fundraising effort stood at about $19,000 well short of the $100,000 goal.
“During the Oakland Raiders’ 13 years of exile in Los Angeles, from 1982 to ’95, Ricky’s was the Penelope of sports bars,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Ballard wrote about the spot in 2005. “When Oakland beat Minnesota in Super Bowl XI in 1977, the bar recorded the game on three-quarter-inch tape and replayed it three times a day for several weeks; one afternoon a bunch of Raiders players even came in to watch,” the article said.
Things first became challenging for the Ricardos about four years ago, when Ricky, who managed the business side of the bar, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Until recently he was hospitalized due to complications of the disease.
“We got hit hard,” Tina Ricardo said in August. “It was a slow time for us before the pandemic, but when COVID-19 hit it was literally game over. I’m just buried in bills.”
Details about a possible memorial were not immediately available.
Staff writer Jessica Yadegaran contributed to this report.