North Jersey Baseball Guru Gets Heart Transplant, Returns To Coaching (VIDEO)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Lou DiChiaro has been an athlete for what seems like forever. And now – after receiving a lifesaving heart transplant – the 64-year-old former pro baseball player is back to doing what he loves: imparting lessons about America’s pastime to a new generation of players.

DiChiaro is no stranger to the game of baseball. He attended Seton Hall University on a scholarship, later taking his ambition pro during a stint in the Baltimore Orioles’ minor league system.

DiChiaro later took up coaching high school baseball, and now owns Lou DiChiaro Baseball and Softball Academy in Fair Lawn – one of the leading baseball academies in the area.

With such a busy, active lifestyle, few people would have guessed that his heart was failing – including DiChiaro, who was officially diagnosed with heart failure in 2016.

DiChiaro spent years living with worsening symptoms, multiple medications, a pacemaker and a defibrillator. By early 2025, his heart function had declined severely. In April, his ejection fraction dropped below 10 percent, and he was transferred to Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, where he was stabilized and placed on the heart transplant list.

Luckily, the wait was short – he received a new heart just three days later.

Now, less than a year after his surgery, DiChiaro is back to living an active life, teaching athletes at the academy how to play the game he loves.

Last week, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center organized a surprise reunion – and birthday party – bringing together DiChiaro, his doctors and young athletes from the Lou DiChiaro Baseball and Softball Academy.

Watch video footage here, or view it below.

The surprise reunion took place during American Heart Month, which continues through February.

• See Related: Father Of 3 From NJ Needs Heart Transplant, Remains Hospitalized But Hopeful

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