Fairfield American's Success Brings Back Memories For Players On Trumbull's1989 Championship Team

On page 33 of the  September 4, 1989 edition of Sports Illustrated, there is a picture of a pudgy, grinning 12-year-old kid named Chris Drury being hoisted on the shoulders of his teammates.

A week earlier, Drury pitched a five-hitter and drove in two runs to lead Trumbull National to one of the biggest upsets in Little League World Series history, a 5-2 victory over defending three-time champion Taiwan in the title game.

Three weeks hence, could that be Nick Nardone and his Fairfield American teammates?

Ken Martin, one of four members of the immortalized 1989 Trumbull team who own the Colony Grill Restaurant in Fairfield Center , would love it see it happen. The other co-owners are Drury, Cody Lee and Paul Coniglio.

Now just one step away from Williamsport, Fairfield American takes on Cumberland National, the Rhode Island state champion, in the New England Regional title game on Saturday at 7 p.m.in Bristol. The game will be televised on ESPN. 

"We don't know them as well as probably a lot of people in Fairfield know them, but they seem like very nice kids," Martin said Friday. "They've been in once or twice for pizza.

"They're gentlemen, which is probably a testament to the parents and coaches. They're obviously very athletic and they wouldn't get to this point unless they were competitive and wanted to win."

Drury, currently the captain of the New York Rangers,  and Lee pitched batting practice and shagged flies during one of Fairfield American's practices last week before it left for Bristol.

"It's very exciting what Fairfield American is doing," Coniglio said. "It brings back great memories I'm sure for the other guys and definitely for me."

That Trumbull squad was known for its power, which also is a trademark of this Fairfield American team. The squad is led offensively by the tandem of Nardone (nine home runs) and Jack Quinn (10 homers) in the middle of the lineup.

"It's very familiar to the Trumbull days," Coniglio added. "It seems they've got good defense, some strong arms in terms of the pitchers and they've been clocking the home runs."

"This experience is a little different because now we're the older people watching on television," Martin added. "I say this all the time. It's just being together as a group of 12- or 13-year-old kids and now they're living together away from home and being able to just go practice and play every day with pretty high stakes."

The Colony Grill hosted a viewing party for Fairfield American's 10-8 semifinal win over New Hampshire on Thursday and  is planning another one for the championship game on Saturday. Martin senses that the town is starting to get caught up in the team's success.

"I have a feeling, that (being) one step away, it's going to be really busy here tomorrow and I think people will be tuned in around town in their homes because every game the stakes get progressively higher," he said. "Then people get excited about kids representing their town, their state and maybe even the country."

According to Coniglio,  a switch flipped in the town after Fairfield American reached the regional semifinals.

"When it gets on television it becomes real," he said. "Fairfield is a family town. Sports and youth athletics are so important. I think people feed of it."

Martin recalls a few differences back in 1989. Unlike today, there was no pool play, so everything was single elimination.  There also were less strict pitch limits, so Trumbull American basically used just two pitchers the entire postseason - Drury and Andy Paul.

Fairfield American goes four - or even five - deep on the mound with Nardone, Quinn, Eddie Magi, Nate Klein and Patrick O'Leary.

"We basically used two pitchers for 16, 17 games straight," Martin said. "If we played 120 innings, I think those guys pitched 115."

The businessman laughed about another difference.

"Honestly, I think a lot of these kids look older than we were and probably are in better shape than we were," he said. "They seem mature for their age. Nick is one of those kids that seems like he's probably a year or two ahead of the other guys, just (in terms of) strength and maturity."

Martin anticipates that Friday will be the worst day for the players because of the waiting and anticipation leading up to the biggest game of their lives, but that the butterflies will be gone once the contest starts.

"I think sports is about trying to win and trying to keep going," he said. "It seems like they have that attitude. Hopefully, they can keep hitting the ball and getting a few breaks. It would be a wonderful experience for them to get to go to Pennsylvania to play in the World Series."