Ballfield to Be Dedicated to Late Enfield Sports Icon

ENFIELD, CT — The baseball field at the former Enrico Fermi High School on North Maple Street will be dedicated Sunday in memory of one of the town's biggest boosters of youth sports.

At a ceremony scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., the field will be named after Fran Slattery, who coached baseball and basketball in Enfield for more than five decades.

Slattery, who passed away in Oct. 2016 at age 82, coached the American Legion Post 80 baseball teams from 1980 until shortly before his passing. The Legion teams play their home games at the field that will be named in his honor.

"Our family is extremely grateful and proud of this great honor," said Slattery's son, Jim. "My dad dedicated his life to coaching the youth of Enfield, and the town is all the better for it."

Prior to taking over the Legion program, Slattery had a 20-year stint coaching in the Hazardville Little League, piloting six league championship teams between 1967 and 1980. He coached the Senior League all-star team to the Connecticut state championship in 1979, and to a runnerup finish the following year.

Slattery also devoted his time to youngsters on the basketball court, guiding the highly successful St. Martha's CYO program for more than three decades.

Among the many accolades he received over the years include being named the Enfield Jaycees Outstanding Citizen in 1991, election to the Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998 and receiving the John Wentworth Good Sport Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance at the annual Gold Key Dinner in 2014.

The public is invited to the ceremony, which will be followed by a Legion game between Enfield and Windsor at 11 a.m.

File photo credit: Tim Jensen

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