State sports writers announce annual Gold Key winners
HARTFORD, Conn. --Weaver High School's legendary Walter "Doc" Hurley is among the winners of the 2007 Gold Key awards, presented yearly by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance.
Other recipients to be honored at the Alliance's 66th Gold Key dinner on April 22 are Jim O'Neill, New London American Legion baseball coach, Charlie Bentley, boys basketball coach at Warren Harding-Bridgeport and Deborah Chin, athletic director at the University of New Haven.
The award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to athletics in Connecticut. Past award recipients include baseball great Connie Mack, boxing legend Willie Pep and former President George H. W. Bush.
Hurley, a 1941 graduate of Weaver High, was a four-sport star before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He played professional football in the 1940s for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American football conference. He also was graduated from Virginia State University and was track and football coach in Virginia before returning to Hartford to teach in 1959. He served in the Hartford school system for 25 years, the last 20 as vice principal of Weaver High School before retiring in 1984.
An accomplished basketball official, Hurley organized the annual Doc Hurley Scholarship Basketball Classic in to help provide book money for area students. Over the past 32 years, the Doc Hurley Scholarship has awarded nearly $500,000 to students in the Greater Hartford area.
Deborah Chin has been the athletic director at New Haven since 1993. A 1968 graduate of SUNY-Corland, came to New Haven as coordinator of women's athletics, responsible for building athletic programs for women, including four that she coached: volleyball, basketball, tennis and softball. Chin is also enshrined in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
O'Neill, an educator, administrator and coach for 37 years in the New London and Waterford school systems, has been one of the top summer baseball coaches in state history. He led New London American Legion to 14 Zone championships, three state titles and two trips to the American Legion World. O'Neill's teams also won multiple sportsmanship awards at state and regional tournaments.
Bentley has been one of the most successful basketball coaches in Connecticut history in his 29 years at Warren Harding-Bridgeport. He is one of seven Connecticut boys basketball coaches with 500 or more career wins and has won nine state title in his career including five straight from 1983-1987. He is closing in on 600 wins in his career and has one of the top teams in the state again this season and has won five FCIAC titles.
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Banquet information: The dinner will begin a 5 p.m. at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington. Tickets are available for $75. For tickets mail a check or money order to: Gold Key Dinner Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance, P.O. Box 70 Unionville, CT 06085. Tickets also can be obtained by contacting Alliance secretary Bob Ehalt at (203) 929-6584 or by email at: ehalt.b(at)sbcglobal.net or Alliance President John Silver at 1-800-237-3606 x 317 or via email at: jsilver(at)journalinquirer.com
