Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Salvatore Recalls First NBA Game [Video]

Come October, six new members will be inducted into the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame. The 2011 class includes John Bagley of Bridgeport, Bennett Salvatore of Stamford, Joe DeSantis of Fairfield, Ceci Hopp St. Geme of Greenwich, Charlie Bentley of Bridgeport, and the late Albie Loeffler of Westport.

“As you can see, we had a basketball theme this year,” Tom Chiapetta laughed as he took the podium to announce the inductees.

Four out of the six inductees are connected to basketball — a higher number from a single sport of any class of Fairfield County Hall of Fame Inductees. Including the new class, the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame has inducted 45 members since its 2005, with inductees falling into three categories — Jackie Robinson Professional, James O’Rourke Amateur, and J. Walter Kennedy Community Service.

Stamford’s own Bennett Salvatore will also be inducted into the Jackie Robinson Professional branch of the Hall of Fame. Entering his 30th season as an NBA referee, Salvatore has worked 25 NBA Finals games, 228 playoff games and over 1,650 regular season games.

“Every single one of those years has been special,” Salvatore told Patch. “I can remember my first game as if it were yesterday — I had a lot of hair then and it was black.”

As he took to the podium, Salvatore joked about his first NBA game, having Julius Erving, “Dr. J,” put his warm up jacket around his shoulders as he welcomed him to the NBA. All jokes aside, Salvatore’s Stamford roots run deep and he is quick to recognize the people who helped him along the way and gave him a strong start in his career.

“I was born here, it’s a special place in my heart,” Salvatore said. “As a young referee, I was taught the right way by so many people who were part of Fairfield County Board 9 — I’ve carried those teachings with me. I've been blessed to work with some of the world's greatest athletes, and any success I've had can be attributed to people right here in Fairfield County."

Also in the Jackie Robinson Professional branch of the Hall of Fame, Bagley will be honored for his career in professional basketball. Bagley played 11 seasons in the NBA, five with the Cleveland Cavaliers, two with the New Jersey Nets, and three years with the Boston Celtics.

This year's J. Walter Kennedy Community Service inductees are two legendary Fairfield County coaches. For 33 years, Charlie Bentley has been the head coach of one of the country’s top high school basketball programs at Harding High, where he coached 2011 FCSC Hall of Famer John Bagley.

Dan Woog, the current soccer coach at Staples High School and only the third in the team’s history, spoke about Loeffler’s legacy.

“He had a saying — family came first, school came second, soccer came third, and really meant that, family did come first and we’ve tried to continue that,” Woog said. “The players understand they would not be where they are without Albie….in that sense, Albie is definitely still living.”

The James O’Rourke Amateur branch of the Hall of Fame will induct DeSantis and legendary distance runner Hopp St. Geme.

“He’s one of our own, although he grew up in New York, our criteria is that his accomplishments occurred in Fairfield County,” Chiappetta said. “Joe is a Fairfield County guy now.”

DeSantis was one of Fairfield University’s all-time great basketball players who went on to a 26 year Division 1 coaching career.

Bill Mongovan, track coach at Greenwich High School made remarks on behalf of Ceci Hopp St. Geme. — the rising star that he coached beginning her sophomore year at Greenwich High.

“The girls I coached this year, they look at what Ceci did,” Mongovan said.

Hopp St. Geme is considered one of the best female distance runners in U.S. history, at the top of her sport for thirty years, she has appeared seven times on Runners’ World magazine.

Scanning the wall of the Sports Hall of Fame at , it's difficult for each of the new inductees not to take a moment to be humbled by the names they will join.

“It’s an honor to be associated with the people who came before me — we’re on the same wall as Jackie Robinson,” Salvatore said.

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