In the late 1980s, it was common to see Tom Principato’s name on the Old Town Alexandria musician list, particularly at venues like The Wharf and 219 on King Street where he hammered out a blues sound that fit in perfectly.

“We used to play there a lot, we had a regular show every Wednesday night,” said Tom Principato of his shows at The Wharf.

Fast forward 40 years and Principato is focusing on promoting past performances, writing books, and refurbishing used softball equipment. Wait, used softball gear? Like bats and gloves? Old guitars too? These are all on his “to-do” list.

“There really is a market for refurbished baseball gloves, they’re soft and broken in,” he said.

In the yard of his Falls Church home, a shed has been transformed into a shop called "GOOD AS NEW" run by Tom and Virginie Principato. 

“We have the area's largest selection of good condition used baseball and softball gear at very affordable and reasonable prices,” their social media page says. “Why pay so much more at a Sporting Goods store for new gear when we offer all the name brands like DeMarini, Mizuno, Rawlings, Easton, Wilson and Nike as well as classic brands.”

There are used bats, gloves, batting helmets, ball buckets, a Washington Senators pennant, Babe Ruth’s picture and the air is full of baseball vibes. You can almost hear the roar of the crowd too.

It all started when Tom’s wife Virginie Principato spent a short time in a job that she hated so the complaining got the best of her. They both evaluated the situation, and went right to refurbishing bats and baseball gloves. She became an expert in reigniting the magic in these old items. “So that became her job,” Tom said.

There’s not much overhead either. Social media is their advertising medium and since every office on K Street and King Street has a softball team of some sort, the demand is out there. “Word of mouth is a big part of our business,” he said.

Tom Principato as a musician is entering the retired status, but he still plays around the house some, and maintains his music on the website. The old days were worth remembering though. At The Wharf on King Street, he jammed night after night, and one time a person from the Turkish Embassy came in and liked the sound so much, “she arranged a trip to Turkey for the group,” Tom said. Another time, Shirley Povich came in for a show. Frank Zappa came in once when they played at the Speakeasy in Massachusetts.

In 2021, Principato gathered all his thoughts from the past 40 years of music and put them in a book called “They Tell Me I Had a Good Time,” which he wrote during the pandemic. In the book he mentions shows with BB King at the Cellar Door in DC, the Danny Gatton band, and his brush with Frank Zappa. 

“The book is full of road stories and anecdotes,” he said.

And the softball gloves, hats and bats? They cover the walls of his shop and not in the landfills. Virginie has a large Bobble head collection too.

Used softball and baseball gear is now getting a new life at the Principato's store.