Impressive inductees this year into Norwich Sports Hall of Fame

Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while hoping the Red Sox get their act together quick before Alex Cora bolts for the University of Miami head coaching job ...

*The Norwich Sports Hall of Fame welcomes its 2023 inductees at the organization’s annual banquet Sunday at the Holiday Inn in Norwich. This year’s outstanding class includes Raymond Bernier, Kafi Davis, Tony Gizio, Jennifer Guernsey, Robert Larkham, Danny Murphy (deceased), Nate Murphy (deceased), and John Padgett.

Bernier lettered in wrestling, baseball and football at NFA from 1989-1993. He captained both the baseball and wrestling teams, winning a Class LL state wrestling title in 1993.

Bernier practiced Judo, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Boxing, and Mixed Martial Arts and performed for many years in sanctioned competitions throughout New England. He won the gold medal for Judo in the 1992 Nutmeg State Olympic Games. He was the Connecticut State Champion in Judo in 1992 and the Massachusetts State Champion in Judo in 1995.

Davis was a letter-winner in cross country, indoor track, basketball and outdoor track at NFA. She was a member of the Wildcats' 1995 and 1997 Class LL cross country state championship teams and earned All-State and All-ECC honors as a senior in 1998. She set a state record in indoor track as a sophomore for the long jump and was named All-State and All-ECC. She was also part of NFA’s 1999 state championship girls basketball team.

Davis was a member of the Wildcats' outdoor track team that won four straight Class LL and ECC championships. In 1998, she won the 100-meter event in the Class LL, State Open and New England championship meets, setting a school record at the New Englands. She also won the long jump in Class LL, setting a meet record, and at New Englands. She earned a full athletic scholarship to UConn.

Gizio wrestled at NFA where he won two New England titles (1992 and 1994), two State Open titles (1993 and 1994), and was selected a National High School Coaches Association All-American.

Gizio holds four wrestling records at NFA including most dual meet pins (21) in a single season, fastest pin (0:05 seconds), and most points (42) scored in a single match.

Guernsey won 10 varsity letters at NFA in soccer, basketball and softball. She was the shortstop for the Wildcats' 1997 ECC championship softball team and earned All-Area honors. She was the Wildcats basketball captain in 1997 and a member of the 1996 and 1997 state championship basketball teams that were part of a 54-game winning streak.

Guernsey was a softball infielder and four-starter at Central Connecticut State University.

Larkham was a four-year member of the NFA wrestling team, helping the Wildcats win three consecutive state titles from 1983-1985. He was the school’s first State Open champion during his senior year in 1985. He won Class LL titles in 1984 and 1985.

Larkham was also a member of the Junior National Greco Roman Team in 1985, and a member of the Junior National FreeStyle Team in 1985.

Danny Murphy lived in Norwich from 1900-1920 when he played Major League baseball for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Athletics. After two seasons with the Giants, Murphy joined Connie Mack’s Athletics and became a big part of their 1910, 1911 and 1913 World Series championship teams. Playing outfield for the A’s in the 1910 World Series, Murphy batted .350 (7-for-20) with three doubles, one home run and eight RBIs as Philadelphia defeated the Chicago Cubs, 4-1.

Murphy played in 1,518 big league games. He batted .288 with 101 triples, 193 stolen bases, 44 home runs and 708 RBIs. He was a coach with the A’s from 1920-1924.

Nate Murphy played basketball at NFA from 1967-1971. He averaged 23.4 points per game during his senior year and finished with 1,013 career points, only the sixth NFA player at the time to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Padgett played football and basketball at NFA for three years. The Wildcats’ 1963 football team was one of the best in school history, going 7-2 against some of the top teams in the state. He helped the Wildcats basketball team to a 21-3 record and the CDC championship in 1964. He went on to play football and lacrosse at Navy and was selected a first team All-American in lacrosse during his senior year.

Padgett served in the U.S. Navy as a commander of the USS Omaha, Submarine Squadron Eleven, and the Pacific Submarine Force.

The Norwich Sports Hall of Fame will also be honoring Leonard Miller (Joseph Kapteina Service Award), Sarah Ericson, Cedric Smilien, and Tyson Wheeler (Sportspersons of the Year), Norwich Tech’s Caitlyn Flynn and NFA’s Anna Ricketts (Thamesville AC Scholarship Award), NFA’s DeAndre Ducael and Norwich Tech’s Joshua Hanks (Jack Lonardelli Memorial Award), and the Legends Teams recognition to NFA Wrestling '80s-'90s.

*UConn to the Big 12? A chance to join a Power 5 conference? What are the Huskies waiting for? You can forget about those joyous train rides back and forth from Manhattan for the Big East Conference tournament. Welcome to plane rides from Bradley Airport to Manhattan, Kansas. College sports is about following the money (i.e. UCLA and USC to the Big Ten), just like everything else it seems these days (i.e. the PGA Tour). It’s a shame.

*I always love it when someone takes a crack at Ted Williams. The Miami Marlins’ Luis Arraez is batting .403 (as of Friday morning). Since 1941, the player with the highest batting average through his team’s first 63 games was Chipper Jones, who was batting .420 for the Atlanta Braves in 2008. Jones finished with a .364 average.

Does Arraez have a chance to become the first player to hit .400 since 1941 when Teddy Ballgame went 6-for-8 in a season ending double-header and finished with a remarkable .406 mark. Well, Tony Gwynn (.394 in 1994) and George Brett (.390 in 1980) are the only players to hit .390 since Williams became the last player to hit .400.

No player has hit .350 in a 162-game season since Josh Hamilton hit .359 in 2010 and no player has hit .375 since Larry Walker hit .379 in 1998.

*The best hitter I ever saw was Everett's Mike Pelosi. When we were all swinging those shiny new Easton aluminum bats in Little League, Pelosi was spraying line drives all over the field with a wood bat.

*STUCK IN THE ‘70s: On June 9, 1978, the Boston Celtics selected Larry Joe Bird with the sixth pick in the NBA Draft. Bird opted to stay in college for his senior year and turned me and all the rest of the basketball playing gym rats in my neighborhood into Indiana State Sycamore fans.

The top five songs on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart on the day the Celtics drafted Bird were: 1. “You’re the One That I Want,” John Travolta/Olivia Newton John; 2. “Shadow Dancing,” Andy Gibb; 3. “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late,” Johnny Mathis/Deniece Williams;  4. “Feels So Good,” Chuck Mangione; 5. “Baker Street,” Gerry Rafferty.

Jimmy Zanor can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Sports Hall of Fame inductees shined for NFA, UConn, Athletics