Owen Canfield: Gerry Alaimo could do it all on field, in arena

Gerry Alaimo was best known as a basketball person because of his extraordinary skill as a player and his ongoing connection with the sport. But, athletically, he could do just about anything, and better than you or Icould, on any field or in any gym.

This is written as I remember the Torrington Twilight Baseball League, that played its games at Fuessenich Park in the early 1960s. Gerry, who died on May 10 at 82, played in it. I was working for John Milewski, parttime, at the Rec Department. One of my duties was keeping score and turning the lights on and off in the Twilight League. There was a Labor of Love attached – I was the selfappointed batting practice pitcher. Did I love that? Ha I would have paid the city to allow me to do it. (Another day, I’ll tell all about that league; well worth the telling. But this is about Gerry).

This particular evening, I was pitching and showing off my best stuff. All the batters, without fail, were lining my offerings all over the lot, except for my knuckler which was working beautifully . . .

until Gerry stepped in to take his 10 cuts.

I fed him the K-ball right off. He lined it like a laser back into my glove; darn near knocked my arm off. I tried again, got it over and Alaimo hit it so hard that, before I could move to defend myself, the ball zoomed by my ear like a rifle shot. I was frozen. I was also trembling with fear. After that it was all fast balls to G. Alaimo, which he whistled into the far reaches of the outfield.

All Torrington loved Alaimo when he played sports for THS. Local attorney Tom Wall, whose star was polished in the competitive swimming pool, said Tuesday,

“Gerry, and John McLeod and I also competed in track and field. We did the high jump. Gerry was, by far, the best. And he also ran the 200 and the 400 and nobody was close to him.’’

Wall, later a competitive swimmer at Ohio State, graduated from THS in ’56, two years after Alaimo and McLeod. After all of them had finished their professional careers in later life, these former THS athletes and a number of others – athletes all – got together every few months to renew friendships and memories.

“There was nobody better than Gerry,’’ McLeod said Tuesday. “He was committed to sports all his life. In later life he took up Racket Ball.’’ Alaimo took a couple of spills, according to reports I’ve heard, which laid him up for good.

If you have read Gerry’s obituary – available on line – you know about his glowing career at Brown University, and his coaching career first at Middlebury, for five years, and then at Brown, for 10 years.

He’s a member of the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame.

From there he moved on to Providence College in 1974 where he held various athletic administrative positions.

So, one of the good guys has left us, but he’s left us with great athletic memories as most good guys do.