Middletown Sportsman to be Honored at 75th Gold Key Dinner

By the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance

The Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance has announced the six 2016 John Wentworth Good Sport Award winners, including a Middletown resident.

John Greco will be among those honored at the 75th Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, April 24 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

Greco has been the Chef de Cuisine at the Middletown High School concession stand for 35 years. The stand is operated by the MHS Booster Club -- of which Greco, 83, is a charter member -- and began in 1981.

From the beginning, Greco was the cook. His french fries, hamburgers and other assorted fare are wonderful, but his chief contribution was the Greco hot dog. It wasn’t enough that he grilled the tube steak, he would bring peppers and onions from his own garden, grill them, then smother the dog in the veggies.

Greco, a single parent who raised his two sons following a separation, got involved with high school sports when his youngest son, Paul, played baseball and soccer for Woodrow Wilson High School. At Wilson, he would grill outside, but when the city’s two public high schools merged in 1984, Greco was instrumental in working to convert a garage at the north end of Miller-Fillback Football Field and Track into a full-service concession stand. He never missed a game.

At halftime of a football game on Sept. 18, 1999, in a surprise ceremony, the concession stand was named “Greco’s Grill” in his honor and the city of Middletown proclaimed it “John Greco Day.” That name was carried over to the new concession stand at Rosek-Skubel Stadium on the campus of Middletown High School, only it’s now called “Greco’s Grill at the Dragons’ Den.”

Greco still works every football and soccer game at the outdoor stand and also works at the indoor stand for girls and boys basketball games.

In 2011 the MHS softball team named Greco its No. 1 Fan and in 2013, the Booster Club established a $1,000 scholarship in his name. The award is given to a deserving senior who will be attending college and who has done community service.

The city proclaimed a second “John Greco Day” on June 10, 2015, and he received a Service Award from the city for his work as one of the founders of the MHS Blue Dragon Booster Club.

Other Good Sport recipients will be Ray Aramini of Columbia, Tom DeFilippo of Bethany, Bill Nataro of Torrington, David Pelletier of Wolcott and Jennifer Schulten of Middlefield.

The award is given in memory of the late sports editor of the New Britain Herald and honors individuals who have dedicated their time to helping their communities through sports.

Former welterweight boxing champion Marlon Starling, New England/Hartford Whalers owner and founder Howard Baldwin, 1960 U.S. Hockey Olympic gold medalist Bob McVey, Trinity College squash coach Paul Assaiante and longtime Greeenwich High boys swimming coach Terry Lowe will receive Gold Keys at the dinner.

Tickets to the 2016 Gold Key Dinner, which begins at 4 p.m., are $75, and can be purchased by contacting CSWA Vice President and dinner chairman Tim Jensen of Patch Media at tim.jensen@patch.com. Tickets can also be obtained by mailing a check to the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance, P.O. Box 70, Unionville, CT, 06085.