- Details
- Category: Past Issues
By Ron P. Coderre
A sporty RPC hello this week goes out to Putnam’s Dennis Donovan. As a former Putnam High School lineman for the Clippers in the early ‘60s, Donovan was a gritty performer. He was one of those guys who received very little recognition but did a solid job. We salute you today, Dennis.
For more than three years a group of 15 former athletes who played for the late coach Jim Greenhalgh have been working diligently to raise funds for a scholarship that will maintain his name in perpetuity. The group has been successful in getting the scholarship off the ground and will soon be turning its proceeds over to the Town of Putnam, where it will be placed in the Putnam school system scholarship fund.
As a way of recognizing the more than 250 former student/athletes who have supported the scholarship drive, The Coach Greenhalgh Scholarship Committee is planning its closing event. On Aug. 10 the committee will host the Coach Greenhalgh Memorial Golf Outing and Dinner at Connecticut National Golf Club. The day is intended as an opportunity for those who were positively influenced by Greenhalgh as young men and women to get together socialize and share memories of their beloved coach, teacher and counselor.
The day will begin with a “fun” golf outing at 1 p.m., which will be a four-person scramble, shot gun start event. Registration is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. The cost is $100 per golfer and includes 18 holes of golf with cart, hot dogs at the turn, hors d’oeuvres in the clubhouse following golf, a buffet dinner and a reunion program, which will include a display of Greenhalgh’s memorabilia from his days as an athlete, U.S. Marine and coach.
The committee is interested in attracting as many former players and students to return and have accommodated and are encouraging those who don’t play golf to enjoy the dinner at a cost of $30 per person. The early returns indicate that a number of former Clippers from across the country are planning to come back to visit old friends.
Already on board are Paul Planchon, coming from West Virginia; Lu Beausoleil returning from Mississippi; Kendall Dean from Georgia and Dick Winslow from Florida; Mickey Bousquet from New Hampshire; and Ray Byrnes from Rhode Island.
Locals who’ll be on hand include Ed Sheldon, Bill and Virginia Meehan, Moe Coderre, Bill Zamagni, John McCormac, Gerry Tetreault, Larry and Peter Pezanko and Mary Beaulac.
“We’re encouraging former athletes and friends of coach Greenhalgh to spread the word and urge their acquaintances to join us on this day. Whether you play golf or not we’d like to see you at the dinner. Everyone is welcome,” said committee member Nelson “Buzz” King.
Greenhalgh’s widow, Mildred Morse-Greenhalgh, along with her children Marjorie and Ellsworth are expected to be on hand. The committee is also inviting the four students who have been the beneficiary of the scholarship since its inception to join them if they’re in the area. The scholarship is awarded annually to a Putnam High School senior who demonstrates high moral standards, while excelling in the classroom and on the field. The winners have been Kelsey Rybacki, Brittany Bousquet, Austin Dodd and Gunnar Anderson.
Members of the committee, who’ll also be on hand, are Peter Aucoin, Russ Burgess, Roger Franklin, Bill Kelleher, King, Stu Neal, Paul Nelson, Steve Peluso, Ed Perron, Jim Phaiah, Stan Scraba, Kevin Shaw, Stan Sheldon and Gerry Vaillant.
Anyone looking for more information should call 860 928-6772 or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Checks for those planning to attend may be mailed to CGMSF, P.O. Box 304, Putnam, CT 06260-0304.
1944 Clipper Baseball Team
Remembered…
Putnam historian William Zamagni Sr. sends along some research he’s done on what he considers to be the best baseball team to ever represent Putnam High School on the diamond. The 1944 Clippers, who were on the diamond in the midst of WWII, posted a perfect 13-0 log.
The team, which was coached by one of Putnam’s best athletes in its history, Nazarice “Spud” Dupre, was led by its two pitchers Billy Nelson and Germain “Foxy” Fortin. The duo was the only two players to take the mound for Putnam that spring. On every assignment the two hurlers pitched complete nine inning games. The pair ended the season with the identical number of strikeouts, each sending 80 opposing batsmen back to the dugout.
Fortin was also the team’s leading hitter posting a .518 batting average, while Nelson checked in at .445. Sandwiched in between was Red Robbins at .468, Ayers (.390) and Nick Loomis (.307) also wielded hot sticks for Putnam. Other members of the undefeated team were Kaskela, Alarie, Blackmar, Jimmy Nelson, Basinet, Hattin, Chase and Wallen. (*Columnist’s note: in the early days of newspaper reporting of sports, stories and box scores often only referred to players by their last names. We suspect Alarie may have been Dick Alarie, Basinet, Joe Basinet, Hattin either Ronnie or Irving and Wallen, Frank Wallen.)
In posting the perfect record the team had victories over Killingly, Tourtellotte, St. Louis and Bartlett of Webster, Putnam Trade School, Pomfret and Griswold. They outscored their opponents 148 to 22. Nelson tossed a no-hitter, while the pair had three shutouts on the season. The most runs scored against the ’44 Clippers in one game was four, accomplished twice, once each, by St. Louis and Bartlett.
Tourtellotte Athletic Hall of Fame
Revisited…
The Tourtellotte Memorial High School Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its initial class in 2010. Among the first inductees was James P. Canty, the coaching standard bearer, not only at Tourtellotte but also in northeastern Connecticut and possibly the entire State of Connecticut.
Coach Canty’s coaching record is one that will most likely never be duplicated. The Tigers’ baseball and basketball coach from 1941 through 1971, he led his players to five State basketball titles in 1941, 1944, 1949, 1950 and 1951. He posted 508 basketball victories during his time on the bench, placing him fifth in all-time wins in Connecticut.
“Mr. Canty” as he was called in his coaching days and is still referred to by his former players today, was a quiet but strong game coach on the court and diamond. He was a Connie Mack or John Wooden type of coach, sitting silently and erectly in the gym or in the dugout. His players were well prepared entering any game, the reason for his demeanor during games.
The Canty record, however, precedes his coaching days. As a young man Canty established himself as a premier baseball and basketball player. He played both sports at Tourtellotte from 1926 through 1929, where he was captain of the Tigers in his senior year.
Upon graduation he entered Holy Cross College in Worcester, where he roamed center field at Fitton Field flawlessly and posted a 22-game hitting streak. In 1937 he was signed to a professional baseball contract by the then Washington Senators. He played professionally in the Piedmont League in 1937, 1938 and 1939.
Unfortunately, coach Canty received very little recognition for his playing and coaching exploits while he was still alive. He died in 2004 at the age of 92. In 2006 he was posthumously inducted into the New England Coaches’ Hall of Fame. The Connecticut High School Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame followed suit by inducting him in 2011.
RPC’s Closing Thought For The Day: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana