Showing Their Pride at Stamford High

Stamford High School (SHS) will be welcoming student-athletes who went on to successful sports careers as they return to be part of Stamford High Pride Day on Friday, Feb. 20.

at SHS’s . The one-hour event for the Stamford High students, faculty and staff, that’s also open to any Stamford High alumni is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Kuczo Gymnasium.

Scheduled to attend are many of SHS’s greatest athletes including Craig Bingham, Chordale Booker, Khairi Fortt and Alex Joseph. Also slated to be part of the festivities is Rick Robustelli, the son of the late Andy Robustelli, who was a Stamford High graduate and a member of the National Football Hall of Fame. The field at SHS’s Boyle Stadium is named for Robustelli.

Stamford High alum and the longtime voice of Stamford sports Len Gambino will emcee the program.

A themed panel discussion with the participants titled “Empowering Through Education and Athletics” will be followed by a question and answer session.

While he only played one year of football at Stamford High, Bingham went on to play five seasons as a linebacker in the NFL primarily with the Pittsburgh Steelers and then the San Diego Chargers. After graduating from SHS in 1979 he became a four-year letterman at Syracuse University, where he was inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2013. He was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 1982 NFL draft and played a total of 40 games in the NFL before retiring in 1987.

A 2009 Stamford High graduate, Booker recently won the gold medal at the USA Boxing Elite Men’s National Championships, which earned him an automatic berth into the U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials. After winning the bronze and silver medals the two prior years, Booker won four bouts in four days to capture the coveted gold in the 165-pound division. He has won numerous other titles including the New England Golden Gloves at 152 pounds and the Connecticut Gold Gloves crown as well. Booker began training with the Revolution Fitness Youth Boxing Program in Oct. 2009. He overcame a broken ankle injury in 2012 to reach the top level of competition and earn a spot with USA Boxing that gives him access to the U.S. Olympic Training Center and boxing program. While at Stamford High he played four years of basketball and was a member of the team that beat Trinity Catholic in double overtime for the 2009 FCIAC boys basketball title.

After graduating early in December 2010 of his senior year with a 3.3 GPA at Stamford High, Fortt entered Penn State to start his collegiate football career. Fortt had exploded onto the national scene and was ranked by ESPN in 2009, as the second best high school inside linebacker in the nation. He was heavily recruited by every top Division I university and subsequently, received 52 full scholarships from top football programs across the country. He was selected to play in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl and then played two seasons at Penn State before transferring to the University of California. He was drafted by the New Orlean Saints in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. After being put on the injured list by the Saints, he joined the Jacksonville Jaguars for the latter part of the season. He enjoys math, science, music and community service work. Teachers described him as the “Gentle Giant”.

A 2006 Stamford High graduate, Joseph was a three-sport athlete at SHS in football, track and basketball. He was the captain of the 2006 football team. He attended Temple University where he was a three-year letterman, two-year starter and a team captain in 2010 as a linebacker. Joseph graduated with a degree in criminal justice. He was an undrafted free agent signing by the Green Bay Packers in 2010 and then spent time with the Carolina Panthers practice squad before joining the San Francisco 49ers in 2011. He played in four pre-season games and one regular season game before being released. In 2012, Joseph played one season in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Hamilton Tiger Cats and is now a member of the Trenton Freedom of the Professional Indoor Football League.

The son of NFL Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli, as a high school senior at Stamford Catholic Robustelli earned All-State and All-American honors in leading the Crusaders to an undefeated season in 1966 as they won the FCIAC and state championships. Robustelli was a quarterback for the UConn football team from 1968-70 and is still in the top 10 in school history in completions, yards passing and touchdowns (31). He was named to the All-Yankee Conference team in 1970. Robustelli was named Stamford Citizen of the Year in 2005.

Contributed photos:

#1: Rick Robustelli and his Football Hall of Fame father Andy Robustelli.

#2: Khairi Fortt.

#3: Chordale Booker after he won one of his boxing titles.

#4: Alex Joseph.

#5: Craig Bingham.

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