David Anthony Manno

NOW ANNOUNCING: THE FINAL INNING FOR
DAVID ANTHONY MANNO!


Clearwater, Florida – On the early morning of Sunday, November 2, 2025, the crowd went silent as David Anthony Manno, former longtime resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, peacefully rounded life’s last base and slid home—safe and sound—surrounded by his loving team:
Life Partner: Sheila Ecung,
Son: Ramon Ecung and
Daughter: Shamon Ecung-Simpson,
Pet: His faithful four-legged Granddog, LuLu.

Early Life
On March 5, 1957, David Anthony Manno was born in MaGee Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Margaret (Peg) Josephine Manno and Anthony (Tony) Joseph Manno. Peg and Tony took their 4 pound baby boy to their Shadyside home where they loved and encouraged his soft heart and love of sports.

Born in Shadyside and raised in East Liberty on Howe Street, he attended Sacred Heart School as a boy. He was the “rookie of the family,” known for his soft heart, creativity, humor, and his love of both family and sports. He enjoyed valued and life long friends and relatives like Tommy Doyle and Terry Russell. Terry teasingly gave David a different nickname every summer. While David excelled at sports, he couldn’t master riding a skateboard.

David loved the family vacations to Geneva on the Lake each year; he knew that he’d come back to the responsibilities of his paper route, school and chores, so he lived it up on the trip. Back at home, he relished his friendships with the neighborhood youngsters. From playing sports with kids on the block to creating a replica ball field from scrap material in the basement, David’s passion for the game was evident early on. He would entertain himself creatively for hours—even once carving his mother’s plastic fruit from the dining room table into little ball players. Peg was not happy, but even she had to admit that she was a little amused.

David built many long time friendships including Tim DeBacco, Don Lazzari and Mark Deane. David even served as chef for Tim’s annual Elvis Pressley’s birthday party. He loved every minute of planning and preparing for that event—partly because it showed his culinary skills and mostly because it help Tim have such a successful event. Tim and David always greeted by calling each other obscure names of bally players. It was a tradition they continued even by texting—to the last conversation.

A True Sportsman
Sadly, David’s father passed when he was just 14, but the values of sportsmanship and perseverance stayed with him. So many relatives and family friends commented about how much David was like his dad—attentive, patient, loving, kind and generous. Of all the medals that David had won, his father’s favorite was his Sportsmanship Trophy. David played varsity basketball at Peabody High School. He later earned a scholarship to West Virginia University as the starting catcher and even tried out for the Pittsburgh Pirates—a dream that would later come full circle. While David was not quite ready for the Pirates as a player—he continued his lifelong relationship as a fan.

Career Scoreboard
As an entrepreneur with his brother Russell Manno at Corporate Image Video, David was the producer, scriptwriter, cameraman, and editor in his first video production business. David then continued his career in the big leagues of video production. At ArrowStarr Productions, he consistently produced award worthy television and corporate video production home runs for companies and clients such as ESPN, CBS Affiliate WPXI, Mitsubishi and Honeywell.

He served as Owner and Executive Producer of the only independent Pittsburgh Steelers pregame prognostication show at that time—The Mark Bruener Show. David was a true MVP behind the camera and at the edit desk. Later, his TV show Building Dreams—an HGTV style construction show hosted by Keith Scheidemantle and Shamon Ecung-Simpson, won an international Telly Award for the production work that he achieved.

But David didn’t stop there. He joined as an employee of the Pittsburgh Pirates—a highlight of his career. He worked for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a member of the Scoreboard staff, where he picked up many responsibilities including Instant Replay, Balls & Strikes, Camera, Audio Mixing and updating the Out of Town Scores. His most common role was as the Camera Shader, and he was affectionately known as “Shader Dave” within the scoreboard control room. He was fortunate to have worked with Jon Cofer, Matt Zidik, Paul Denillo, Marty Corbett, and so many others who appreciated his hard work and his quick wit.

Play Ball
For over a decade David Manno, Dan Haber, John (Johnny) Fucilli, Paul Connolly, and Mark Deane would meet every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 AM—rain or shine, snow or heat—to play a most challenging game of racquetball. All played with gusto and dedication rarely seen. They also became close friends. David always asserted that the challenge of the game set the tone for his day.

Beyond the Ballpark
After retiring from the majors, David stepped up to the writer’s plate. He swung for the fences by writing more than 8 romance novels, each having emotional depth, memorable characters, and vivid settings. His stories often explored the transformative power of love, offering readers not just entertainment, but a sense of comfort and connection.

He also edited and ghost wrote for other authors and was a contributing member of three writers groups. His creativity and dedication made him an MVP. Colleagues in the White Sands Writers Group remember David as a compassionate soul, quick with encouragement and genuine in his desire to see others succeed. Said Cherisa Jerez, published author of the WSW group, “David brought a tsunami of humor, compassion, and empathy to everything he wrote; his words permeated the culture of any writing group he joined. I am honored to have experienced his keen editorial eye, his instinct for good storytelling, but mostly his huge heart for his colleagues and friends.”
Linda Masserelli remembers, “When David first began reading his work, I detected an undercurrent of joy. I also noticed an unmistakable pattern in his female characters: he truly loved them. Once I met Sheila, I realized she was his inner joy and the blueprint for all he spilled onto his pages. I'm honored to have witnessed this love story and am convinced it will continue on in their next chapters.”

Beyond the written word, David was a mentor and collaborator to aspiring writers, generously mentoring newcomers to the world of fiction writing. His eidetic memory and genius recall helped so many individuals in so many different ways; his collaborations fostered the success of others.
Aunt Mary Russell and cousins Charley Russell.

David Manno’s Roster of Survivors Include:
Life partner: Sheila Ecung
Daughter: Shamon Ecung-Simpson (Mike-Stevie)
Son: Ramon Ecung
Granddaughters: Lorraine and Brielle
Siblings: Christine McCormick (Dan), Russell Manno, Margaret “Margie” Manno, Cousin: Terry Russell, Long Time Best Friends: Tim and Susie DeBacco, along with a whole host of relatives, friends, work associates and neighbors.

Game Plan
David requested no immediate or traditional funeral. So, we will honor David with a Celebration of Life in Pittsburgh, PA on March 5, 2026—his birthday. Please mark your calendars and bring your funniest stories and biggest cheers as we celebrate a life that played every inning with heart.

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