Anthony Carl Chiricosta (Tony) passed away peacefully in his home in Coral Springs, Florida on March 26, 2026 after a relatively brief but courageous battle against pancreatic cancer. Tony will always be remembered as one of the greatest tennis players ever to come out of the storied public parks tennis program led by Dr. Howard Dredge in Springfield. He was a four-year qualifier in the state high school tennis tournament including a runner-up finish his sophomore year. His highly competitive nature and prowess on the tennis court led to him receiving a full tennis scholarship to the University of Illinois, where he was a starter for the team all four years, including playing #1 for the Illini his senior year. During his freshman year, he became the first Illini tennis player ever to go undefeated in the Big Ten. His 9-0 record against conference foes also earned him the distinction of being the first Illini athlete to be named Big Ten Athlete of the Week. He maintained a strong relationship with the Illinois tennis team over the years and coaches, current and past players, and his teammates were a tremendous source of support during his illness.

Tony was born on March 4, 1957 in Springfield, Ohio to Raymond and Janice Chiricosta, who were great parents who made their three children their priority and raised a very close-knit family. Tony attended St. Mary’s School through eighth grade and then graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1975 before studying accounting at Illinois. He then passed all four parts of the CPA exam before graduation and began his accounting career at Arthur Andersen in Dallas, Texas. That led to a stint as the Controller/Business Manager for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), whose headquarters were also located in Dallas. That position provided a perfect opportunity for Tony to maintain and enhance his tennis connections as he developed his business acumen.

After several years with the ATP, Tony took on a financial leadership role with a group of companies headquartered in Dallas and owned by the Murchison family, at the time owners of the Dallas Cowboys. That led to a relationship with Davimos Sports Management, a family owned business in Florida who handled personal and financial business affairs for professional athletes. Tony relocated to Florida to work for them until former Cincinnati Red Dave Parker convinced him to go out on his own and became his first client. Tony founded his firm, Pro Management Resources, initially working out of his home more than 40 years ago. For many years, his primary client base was professional baseball players but he also worked very closely with several world champion boxers and prominent athletes in other sports. In recent years, he expanded his client base to include professional basketball players. Tony truly loved his players and treated them as family and many of them felt the same about him. It was a business that oftentimes required him to be on call seven days a week but Tony truly enjoyed making sure his athletes were well taken care of. In fact, a recent check of his mobile phone indicated that he had over 4,000 contacts at the time of his death, which is a strong indication of his incredible commitment to his clients. His work even led to him getting the opportunity to become friends with his long-time favorite musician, Todd Rundgren. He met him after he took on Todd’s son

Rex, who played baseball professionally, as a client. That led to many fun concerts and dinners with his musical idol over the years.

Tony was predeceased by his parents and is survived by two sons of whom he was incredibly proud- Nick Chiricosta (Justine) of Parkland, Florida and Alex Chiricosta, who currently resides in Singapore but returned home for more than two months to help care for his dad during his illness. Tony is also survived by two adorable grandkids-Christian and Milana. Tony also remained extremely close with his brother and sister, frequently sharing concerts and sporting events with them. He is survived by sister Lisa Bennett (Doug) of Maineville, Ohio and brother Rick Chiricosta (Sheila) of Avon Lake, Ohio. He is also survived by 6 nieces and nephews who loved Uncle Tony- Matt Chiricosta (Erica), Christine Dieken (Spencer), Nikki McFall (Pat), Mike Bennett (Austin), Steve Bennett (Alex) and Eric Bennett (Marisa). In addition, Tony is survived by several special aunts and uncles-Carmella Chiricosta, Bob Trenner (Eileen), Jim Trenner (Kathi) and Linda Lewicki (Richard) and twelve great nieces and nephews.

Tony will always be remembered for his quick wit and sense of humor, his competitive nature and his extreme confidence and optimism in his abilities to succeed on the tennis court, in the classroom, and in his business that he loved so much.

Visitation will be held at Coral Springs Funeral Home on Thursday, April 9, 2026 from 4:00PM - 8:00PM. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the University of Illinois men’s tennis program at: 

● https://payment.giving.illinois.edu/campaigns/51515/donations/new

● Under “Gift Designation” - please enter the number 11339283 and you will see ‘Men's Tennis Unrestricted Fund’ entered to confirm.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of the late Anthony Chiricosta. It is an honor for Coral Springs Funeral Home to be entrusted with the arrangements for his final services. We invite you to offer your messages of sympathy and support by sharing a condolence in his online guestbook.