The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Longtime sports writer Chip Malafronte dies at 48
Chip Malafronte, a longtime sports writer and columnist for Hearst Connecticut Media Group’s New Haven Register, died Wednesday after a long and courageous battle with cancer, his family said.
Malafronte, 48, worked in several capacities at the Register, where he started in 1996.
Chip covered many beats during his time with the Register, including high school sports, the
New Haven Ravens, minor league baseball, UConn football, Yale football and college hockey.
“Our newsrooms are devastated by this heartbreaking loss. Chip was not only a tremendous colleague, he was incredibly valued by readers and the sports community as a whole,” said Wendy Metcalfe, Hearst Connecticut
Media Group vice president of content & editor-in-chief. “Our thoughts are with his family, friends and the many who both admired him as a person, but also as the talented journalist he was.”
From 2011-18, Malafronte served as the Register’s sports columnist, writing a popular weekly column called “Sunday Gravy.” The column featured observations about sports and anecdotes about life with his son, John Paul.
“He was an exceptional writer,”
Hearst Connecticut Media Group Sports Editor Sean Barker said. “The stories he filed were always clean, a copy editor’s dream. Never did a copy editor worry about getting Chip’s work late on deadline because they knew they were getting a well-written, concise story.”
A graduate of Amity (1989) and Central Connecticut State (1993), Malafronte was also a fine athlete, playing baseball in high school and as a center fielder for the
West Haven Twilight League. He was presented with a Gold Bat by the West Haven Twilight League in 2007, representing induction into their Hall of Fame.
“He owned me,” said SCC Commissioner Al Carbone, who pitched at Trinity and against Malafronte in the WHTL. “I don’t think I ever got him out. Seriously. And I always told him that.”
“Each year when Vin DiLauro and Bob Greenwood would stop by to present a check to the Register Fresh Air Fund on behalf of the league, they would always rave how good a player Chip was,” Barker said. “If Chip was in the office when they arrived he would just shake his head and smile. He never bragged about the type of player he was.”
Malafronte, who started writing for the Milford Citizen out of college in 1993, played a major role in the Register’s 200 At 200 series in 2012, a celebration of sports history in Greater New Haven to commemorate the
Register’s 200th anniversary.
“Chip took on a huge portion of that project, becoming immersed in Register and Journal-Courier microfilm, as well as a frequent visitor to libraries at Yale and in New Haven,” Barker said. “Chip’s dedication made the project a success. He discovered fascinating facts about sports history in the area, from visits from Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Jim Thorpe to Fred Goldsmith’s claim he threw the first curveball in baseball history as a teenager in New Haven in the 1870s. He was proud of his work and would dig deep to explore historical sports facts in the area.”
Malafronte covered college hockey for much of his career at the Register and extensively chronicled the growth of the programs at Quinnipiac and Yale to national prominence.
“Chip fought hard to increase coverage of college hockey,” Barker said. “He understood the direction the programs were going.”
Malafronte started a weekly college package, often featuring players from not only state colleges, but players who went on to have success at other nationally respected programs. In 2013, after Yale defeated Quinnipiac for the NCAA Division I championship, Malafronte authored the book “Hockey Haven” with Jim Shelton.
News of Malafronte’s death brought scores of tributes on social media from fellow media members, coaches and athletic administrators, the majority remembering him for his kindness. A Facebook post on his sister’s page generated nearly 600 comments by Thursday afternoon.
Former Register colleague Bill Cloutier tweeted “You always hear them say, ‘The nicest guy in the world.’ They meant Chip Malafronte when they coined the phrase. I’ll miss him dearly.”
Chip is survived by his son, John Paul, 12; sisters Mia Malafronte, Gina Malafronte and Nancy Malafronte; and his mother, Shirley Malafronte Fontana. Mia Malafronte previously worked at the New Haven Register as a photographer.
Calling hours will be held Sunday from 3-6 p.m. at Iovanne Funeral Home in New Haven. Masks are mandatory, with social distancing in place. Due to COVID restrictions, Monday’s funeral and burial are private.