"A Different and Exciting Era" in Local High School Basketball in the 1970s

This essay, written by AWHS Class of 1976 30-year committee president Tony Procaccini, is a follow-up to the entry about the annual Fairfield Prep Holiday Basketball Tournament involving Fairfield's four high schools.

In my opinion, the two Fairfield MBIAC teams Paul mentions, Notre Dame and Fairfield Prep, were very strong because they played in a more competitive league, the MBIAC, with "city schools," like Central, Harding and Bassick. MBIAC teams sent many players to college and to the pros: names from our era like Wes Matthews, John Bagley and John Garriss come to mind quickly.

Dave Liptak was an all-MBIAC star who played for Prep back then (class of 1976), and his brother Paul attended Warde. Paul was Warde class of 1975, and played baseball alongside many of us. Dave later went on to play at Harvard, and also became a success story in the world of finance. He donated a significant sum to the Shehan Center (Bridgeport) some years later, in appreciation of his formative years there.

Dave was and still is close friends with Warde 1976 classmates Paul Rossitto, Dante Gallucci, Mike Jann and others. Before I forget, here are a few other names I remember from those holiday tournament games, and from that era in general: (Ludlowe) Brian Lee and Henry "Skip" Skibba; (Notre Dame) Kelly Lombard.

OK, getting back to the MBIAC...Warde 1976 classmates Bob Henry, Joe O'Brien, Joe Murtha and I started attending MBIAC games in our junior year, and we were hooked. As a result, we started following state tournament games, often going to the afternoon semi-final doubleheaders in Hartford or New Haven. We saw the likes of South Catholic of Hartford and their stellar shooting guard John Basile play against Bassick (two years in a row they met), followed by another great match-up on the same afternoon. The New Haven and Hartford public schools fielded excellent teams then, too. Schools like Wilbur Cross, Lee and Hillhouse, with players like Bruce "Soup" Campbell and John "Jiggy" Williamson. Again, these were "city schools."

For the state tournament games, schools were grouped by four sizes then, LL being the largest, and going from that designation to L, M and S (smallest). "S" school Saint Joseph's of Trumbull (also MBIAC) frequently defeated the other S schools from all over the state, and would win S class crowns handily, again (I believe) because they played against city schools during the regular season. Does the name Dick Shea ring a bell? He was their star in the mid-1970s.

A brief story might explain the seriousness to which MBIAC teams took their basketball. As an employee of the Suburban Parochial League (scorekeeper a few years, then director one year,) I saw Vito Montelli, then the St. Joseph's coach, scouting grammar school players. Yes, from the city's Catholic grammar schools. I saw these well-trained kids with names like Noccioli, Creatura and Crespo while in grammar school. The same kids who went on to play at the high school level.

Yes, it was a different and very exciting era in local basketball. One I'll never forget.

Tony Procaccini

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