The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Middletown to honor 14 sports greats
24th Annual dinner on Jan. 26 at Radisson in Cromwell
MIDDLETOWN >> Fourteen sports greats and two championship teams make up the Middletown Hall of Fame’s Class of 2017.
The 24th Annual Middletown Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner will take place on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m. at the Radisson Hotel in Cromwell.
The inductees include Jeff Bagwell, Tina Cienava Clemmey, Dave Daniels, John Geary, Joe Jaskot, Herb Kenny, Sharon Jackson Locke, Ted Lombardo, Bill Post, Anthony “Buddy” Sbona (posthumously), Michael Shapiro, Tyrone Speller, Lou Vargas, and Joel Wysocki (posthumously).
Also being honored are the 1982 Middletown American Legion Baseball championship team and the 1994 Mercy High School softball state championship team.
Tickets are $50.00 per person and $15.00 for children-under-12.
Ticket information can be obtained by contacting Johanna Bond at the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce by phone (860) 3476924, or email johanna@middlesexchamber.com, or mail Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, 393 Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457.
Here is the first part of a series featuring the Class of 2017.
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell
Jeffrey Robert Bagwell was a four-time National League All-Star for the Houston Astros. Bagwell batted .297 over the course of his 15-year career (1991-2005) with 449 home runs and 1,529 runs batted in.
Bagwell was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1994, the only Astro to be so honored. The right-handed first baseman batted a career best .368 with 39 home runs, 116 RBI’s, and earned the Rawlings Gold Glove Award that season. Jeff was also voted the Play-
ers Choice Award for the NL Most Outstanding Player in 1994 given by the Major League Baseball Players Association. The Associated Press named him the 1994 Player of the Year.
Bagwell was the Sporting News Major League Player of the Year (1994) and Rookie of the Year (1991). He was also voted the NL Rookie of the Year by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Bagwell was originally chosen as a third baseman from the University of Hartford in the fourth round of the 1989 MLB amateur draft and subsequently traded to the Astros late in the 1990 season for relief pitcher Larry Anderson.
Jeff excelled at soccer and baseball for Xavier High School. He set goal-scoring records (36 single season and 58 career) as a center forward under coach Martin Ryczek. Bagwell made the Class LL All-State team and was also named to the All-New England team.
Bagwell played shortstop and pitched for Xavier coach Terry Gartska. Jeff was named the All Connecticut Conference Player of the Year and to the Class LL All-State Team as a senior. He finished with a career batting average of .400 for the Falcons.
Bagwell was a three-year starter for the Middletown American Legion Post 75 team as a pitcher, infielder and outfielder for manager Ted Lombardo. Bagwell helped Post 75 win the Zone 3 Championship in 1984.
Jeff received a scholarship offer from University of Hartford coach Bill Denehy. Over three seasons (198789) he set school records for home runs (31), RBI’s (126) and batting average (.413). He was a two-time Eastern College Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Jeff was a two-time Third Team All-America named by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Bagwell was honored as the Bill Lee Connecticut Male Athlete of the Year by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance after being named the Eastern League’s MVP in 1990 as a member of the New Britain Red Sox (AA).
Tina Cienava Clemmey
Tina Cienava Clemmey participated in basketball and softball for Mercy High School (1979-82) but field hockey was her dominant sport. She exhibited versatility playing all positions on the forward line for the Tigers.
Clemmey led the team in scoring as junior and senior. She set a Tigers school record for most goals in a single game (7) as a senior. The team depended on her as the designated penalty shot maker. She was known as a clutch performer clinching several games by scoring on a sudden death penalty shot.
Clemmey was a threeyear starter for Tigers coach Evelyn Maher. She finished as the school’s all-time goals leader for a career and season.
She enhanced her skills by attending the University of Connecticut Field Hockey Camp for four years. Tina learned from some of the top coaches in the United States, England, Holland, and Germany along with being tutored by U.S. Olympic Field Hockey players while in Storrs.
Clemmey earned an athletic scholarship to play field hockey at the University of Rhode Island from 1982-86. Tina was invited and attended “C-Camp Trials” sponsored by the U.S. Olympic Field Hockey Team. Candidates for the Olympic travel team were selected from members participating in either A, B or C divisional camps.
Prior to high school, Clemmey was a member of the Polish Falcons Youth Sports Program for ten years excelling in gymnastics and field and track at district and national competitions. She was a cheerleader for three seasons at St. Mary’s School.
Clemmey has continued to be active in the world of sports as a parent. She has held various leadership and participant roles with Middletown Tigers Youth Football, Middletown Youth Soccer, St. Mary’s School Church CYO Basketball and the St. John Paul II Regional School three-onthree basketball tournament.
David Norman Daniels
David Norman Daniels was a fantastic all-around athlete for Woodrow Wilson High School (1953-57) competing in four sports. He lettered in football, basketball and track and field.
Daniels was an excellent end on the gridiron and captained the basketball and track and field teams as a senior. He played baseball for one year and was a member of Wilson’s 1955 undefeated state championship team.
Daniels set school track and field records in the shot put (12-pound) and javelin along with being tops in the discus. He filled in capably running the 100-yard dash, broad and high jumps as needed for his team. Dave usually captured first place in the shot put as a senior winning the Class B Indoor and Outdoor events along with the UConn Relays and Central Valley Conference Meet. He competed in the New England Interscholastic Track and Field Championships at Burlington, Vermont.
Daniels continued his athletic career at the Loomis School (1957-58) in Windsor. He lettered in football, basketball and track and field. He was the leading scorer on the basketball team averaging 16.5 points per game and was the top scorer for the track and field team while setting records for the shot put and javelin.
Daniels earned a scholarship to the University of Connecticut and played basketball for three years under Coach Hugh Greer. He also competed on the track and field team for four seasons for Coach Lloyd Duff.
Dave was hired to be the Director of Athletics, coach and instructor at the University of Connecticut-Hartford (1962-97). He coached basketball (1962-72) winning a Connecticut Small College Championship (1962-63), baseball (196290), tennis (1981-89) and golf (1980-97).
Daniels was President of the Connecticut Small College Conference for 27 years.
John Geary
John Geary is a dedicated coach and teacher that served the youth of Middletown for four decades. He has presided as the head basketball coach of Woodrow Wilson Middle School since 1976. He has a career record of 512 wins and 167 losses.
The Rams won the conference championship 15 times over that span and have finished undefeated four times. Geary’s teams were crowned the Ken Hampton Vinal Tournament Champions in 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1983. He also led the Rams to the Falcon Invitational Championship in 2008.
John earned the Woodrow Wilson Middle School “Coach of the Year” honors in 2016.
Geary branched out to coach youth basketball, winning the championship in the Prof Gallitto Tournament in 1988 and 1993.
Geary’s baseball managerial career began as the junior varsity coach at Wilson in 1976 until the two city schools merged in 1984. Geary was elevated to the varsity coach in 1986 and led the Blue Dragons until 2007. His 1991 team won the Class L State Championship.
John’s love of baseball and basketball always kept him involved in various capacities over the years. He coached in the Summer Shoreline Baseball League for seven seasons (197884) winning the championship in 1984. He was on the Board of Directors for the Ahern-Whalen League from 2000-05. John served as the Assistant Director of the Bob Fralick Baseball Summer Camp for three years. He assisted as a Director with Tom LaBella’s Basketball Camp for three years, too.
Geary was known as a fair and strict coach promoting sportsmanship, the fundamentals of the game and academic achievement.
Joseph A. Jaskot
Joseph A. Jaskot enjoyed baseball but his first love was basketball.
Jaskot played basketball for four years at Xavier High School, including two seasons for Coach Artie Kohs. A senior co-captain, he earned a reputation as a hustling ball-hawking defensive specialist; proficient shot maker and reliable assist man.
The 1967-68 Falcons had an 11-9 regular season finish and went 1-1 in the state tournament. They defeated Lyman Hall, 7453, before losing to No. 4 Stamford, 62-59, in overtime. Jaskot’s best offensive games occurred during the stretch drive to qualify for the state tournament when he dropped 17 points on Torrington, 23 on Wilcox Tech, 30 against Lyman Hall and 15 versus Notre Dame.
Joe also pitched for the Xavier varsity baseball team, posting a 4-1 record as a junior and 6-2 as a senior. His biggest victory for the Falcons in 1967 was a one hitter against Torrington.
Jaskot was the Falcons’ ace during his senior year for Coach Pete Sipples.
Jaskot was also a valuable member of the 1968 American Legion Middletown Post 75 team that won the Zone 3 and state championships under Manager William Pomfret. He was 2-0 plus a save in the Connecticut American Legion State Tournament, including a 1-0 shutout in the opening game against Stratford. Jaskot was the reliever in the eighth inning against Sharon in the 9-5 win that clinched the Connecticut American Legion State Championship. He was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Middletown then hosted the American Legion New England Regional Tournament at Palmer Field. Jaskot pitched the Post 75ers to a 12-7 victory over White River Junction (VT.). He took the loss as a reliever in the elimination game, a 6-4 defeat against Manchester (N.H.).
Jaskot pitched one year for Eastern Connecticut State College and compiled a 4-2 won-loss record. He also played basketball for one year (1969-70) at Middlesex Community College.
Herb Kenny, Jr.
Herbert F. Kenny, Jr. was the Wesleyan University head basketball coach for 27 years (1968-95) compiling an impressive 312280 won-loss record. He was known to schedule the toughest Division III teams in New England.
Kenny was a three-sport star (football, basketball, baseball) at Meriden High School, captaining the football team as a senior and lettering in all three sports for three years.
Kenny also lettered in three sports – football, basketball, baseball – at St. Bonaventure. After graduating in 1955, he was a Physical Education teacher and coached football, basketball and baseball at Platt High School.
He earned a Masters in Physical Education from UConn in 1964 before joining the Wesleyan University faculty as a Physical Education Professor and assistant basketball coach. Kenny was the Cardinals assistant football coach for 15 years and the head golf coach for 23 years.
Kenny served as an officer and company commander in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1955-65.
Kenny’s Wesleyan basketball teams earned a berth to the ECAC New England Division III playoffs six times, reached the semifinals three times, and the championship contest once (1977).
The Cardinals won or tied for the Little Three Title eight times his tenure. His best single season win total was 18-6 in 1991. Kenny was the NCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 1977. His teams won the Schoenfield Sportsmanship Award five times.