Branford Welcomes Newest Inductees into Sports Hall of Fame

BRANFORD, CT — The Branford Sports Hall of Fame inducted 10 new members and two state championship teams at its 29th annual dinner Nov. 18 at Woodwinds in Branford.

This year's inductees were Brittney Carfora, Bob Dikranian, Gary Dunn, Jeff Klarman, Michele Leddy, Fran Lee, Bob Mason, Michael Riccitelli, Artie Roy and Paul Santacroce. In addition, the 1991 and 1992 state championship swim teams were honored.

BRITTNEY CARFORA

Brittney Carfora graduated from Branford in 2004. She was the New Haven Register Female Athlete of the Year excelling in basketball and volleyball. She scored 1980 career points and 929 rebounds in basketball while earning all state honors for three straight years and was selected an Honorable Mention McDonalds All American. She was also all state in Volleyball. She attended Columbia where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She also excelled for the Lady Lions basketball team and in 2007 led all NCAA divisions in three point shooting percentage with a 51.9% average.

ARMAND DIKRANIAN

Bob Dikranian is a native of Long Island and long time Branford resident who was an All American soccer player at the U of Bridgeport. He founded the soccer program at SCSU in 1966 and was named head coach in 1968 beginning a 21 year career which catapulted Southern onto the national soccer map. He led the Owls to a career record of 227-94-21 record and 14 NCAA II tournaments winning the National Championship in 1987. He was inducted into the Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame in 1999 and National Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

GARY A. DUNN

Gary Dunn graduated in 1971 where he excelled in football, baseball and basketball playing for Hall of Fame coaches Joe Farina, Gerry Crotty and Tom Murray. In his senior year he had 58 receptions for 1050 yards and 16 touchdowns for the football team earning All Housatonic and All State honors. He was captain of both the baseball and basketball teams. After Branford he attended Milford Prep and was a member of the New England Prep School Championship team. He later attended Brown University where he played football for two years as a starting receiver and team punter.

JEFFREY S. KLARMAN

Jeff Klarman graduated in 1979. He played football and baseball for all 4 years. He was a member of the 8-2 football team his senior year scoring the only touchdown in the 7-0 win over East Haven. Later in life he became interested in Olympic Weight Lifting winning several events. The family business W.S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home is well known for their community support including coaching many youth sports teams while his children were growing up and continues to be a loyal and strong supporter of Branford sports at all levels sponsoring many teams. His activities include the K of C, Branford Chamber and St Mary's Parish Council.

MICHELE LEDDY

Michele Leddy graduated in 1992 was a member of four state championship field hockey teams for coach Cathy McGuirk. The Hornets record during Michele's 4 years was a remarkable 67-3-5. During her varsity years she scored 36 goals and had 50 assists earning both All Housatonic and All State honors in her junior and senior years. She was selected the New Haven Register Field Hockey Player of the Year her senior year. She also played softball for the Hornets and was selected All Housatonic. She attended Dartmouth where she played field hockey before moving to France for her studies.

FRANCIS M. LEE

Fran Lee grew up in New Haven moving to Branford in 1955. He excelled in football, basketball and track at Hillhouse where he graduated in 1936. He was selected All District in football his senior year where he played for legendary coach Emmons "Chick' Bowen playing halfback. defensive back and punter. After a year at Choate he attended Harvard University where he excelled at football. He holds the record for a 78 yard record punt return in Yale Bowl in 1940. He was elected captain in 1941. He was contacted by the Philadelphia Eagles but the war intervened. He enlisted serving as a Military Intelligence Officer. Fran passed away in 2012.

BOB MASON

Bob Mason graduated in 1952 and played football and baseball being captain of both. A highly regarded member of coach Warren Sampson's baseball teams he was known as a speedster and hitter. He joined the legendary Branford Townies in 1951. In football he scored all 4 touchdowns in the Hornets 25-0 win over Derby including a 64 yard touchdown run and threw a touchdown to Joe Paul to defeat East Haven a team that was undefeated, untied and unscored upon 7-6. After serving in the Air Force he worked for MIF and Easter Seals.

MICHAEL RICCITELLI

Michael Riccitelli graduated in 1994. A former Sting Ray he was an all state swimmer all four years setting records in the 100 freestyle and several relays and winning individual state championships in the 200 and 500 freestyle relays. He was a member of both the 1991 and 1992 state championship teams. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware with a degree in Civil Engineering and where he was a top swimmer in the 200, 500 free and the one mile swim. After college he competed in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge 4.4 Open Water swim. He now lives in Oregon where he still competes. He now participates in underwater hockey.

ARTIE ROY

Artie Roy has been the head athletic trainer at Branford since 1995 and has been guiding hundreds of Branford athletes in injury prevention since he arrived. He was a champion wrestler and outstanding baseball player at Berlin High School. His senior year he led the Redcoats to the Northwest Conference championship in the 126lb division and was state runner up in Class S. He also led the baseball team to the league championship. He attended SCSU and played baseball for 4 years. He became the career leader in triples and home runs in 1990. He has been employed by Star Physical Therapy/Ct Orthopedics since 1996.

PAUL SANTACROCE

Paul Santacroce has been a dedicated mentor, teacher and coach in Branford for 28 years. A 1962 graduate of Amity High School he was a three year starter on the baseball team earning All District honors on the Spartans District League Championship team. He later played for legendary coach Porky Vieira at the U of New Haven. He has been involved in Little League and American Legion baseball as a coach for nearly three decades. After Little League he went to American Legion Post 83 where he coached for 14 years building a team that qualified for the State Legion tournament on a regular basis.

1991 AND 1992 STATE CHAMPION SWIM TEAMS

Every year since 2005 the Branford Sports Hall of Fame honors state championship teams from the past. This year the 1991 and 1992 boys swim teams was honored for winning back-to-back state titles. The 1991 team upset top ranked Naugatuck and Ridgefield by a score of 246 to 238 to win the Class L title. The team finished with an 11-3 record and had 5 All State swimmers. The 1992 team defeated defending state champion Darien 278 to 256 to win the class M state title. The team also finished with an 11-3 record and had 8 All State swimmers. Both teams were led by Hall of Fame coach John O'Connor.

Written by Bill O'Brien

Photos courtesy of Branford Sports Hall of Fame