For Tom Chiappetta, the past 20 years of his life has evolved into a chapter dedicated to all things sports and community advocacy. That coincides with the 70-year-old Stamford native and longtime Norwalk resident’s time building the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame and Youth Foundation.
What started out as a short-lived sports commission under the Gov. Jodi Rell administration turned into a rebranded Fairfield County Sports Commission in 2005.
“We pretty much made a good name for ourselves,” said Chiappetta, the executive director of the organization who now lives in Summerville, South Carolina. “We had some success with some events, like sailing and a lacrosse all-star game at Sacred Heart. And then really where it started to roll when Fairfield U. was able to get the women’s NCAA basketball games to the arena in Bridgeport. They also got hockey by partnering with Yale.”
Then the state had to change its focus away from tourism and sports.
“Everything was pulled out from under us when Jodi Rell was the governor,” he added. “For whatever reason, cost-cutting came. The convention bureaus got pretty much wiped out. There were six or seven (throughout the state) at the time.”
Within a year the sports commission added the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame element to its mission.
“We wanted to continue it and relaunch ourselves to be a community advocate,” he said. “A lot of people left that group (the sports commission) because they were attached to the convention aspect of the former commission.
“We became a 501 (c)(3) in 2005, but we were still the same name – the Fairfield County Sports Commission. The only thing we couldn’t do was solicit events to come in to the area. If events needed volunteers, we could help with that.”
By adding the Hall of Fame aspect and name to the organization, the group changed its focus to help people get healthier while also honoring regional athletes and coaches.
Through a rigorous process, the Hall of Fame created multiple committees to determine its annual class of six inductees that represented the Fairfield County municipalities.
“We had one committee just for the professional wing: media people, sports people from the different areas. We had a committee of 15 people for amateurs and community service people. And as people are named to the Hall of Fame, they have been included on the committees. We also tapped into the sports historians for the different towns.”
First class of inductees
The first class of inductees in 2005 represented all that the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame stood for. It included nine members in total coming from the professional, amateur and community service ranks.
They included Julius Boros of Fairfield, Kristine Lilly of Wilton, Calvin Murphy of Norwalk, Steve Young of Greenwich, Dorothy Hamill of Riverside, Bruce Jenner (now Caitlin Marie) of Newtown, Bill Toomey of New Canaan, Dave Bike of Bridgeport and Jerry McDougall of Trumbull and Bridgeport.
That group represented has now grown to more than 130 as of 2025, when the latest class was chosen for induction.
The new class, which will be inducted April 20 at Chelsea Piers, includes the following:
- Jackie Robinson Professional Wing: Zach Allen (Denver Broncos defensive end), Gary Vitti (LA Lakers trainer)
- James O’Rourke Amateur Wing: Joe McGuigan (Sacred Heart University soccer player), Ann Odoy (Boston College basketball player from Masuk High School)
- J. Walter Kennedy Community Service Wing: Christy Hayes (St. Joseph’s High School in Trumbull football coach), Barry McLeod (Bridgeport Central High School basketball coach) and the late Mary Jane Hagan (first president of Women’s Fairfield County Athletic Conference).
The primary duty of the organization, Chiappetta says, is to “make a difference in the lives of citizens, especially young people, and helping them lead active, healthy lives through sports programs and recreation.”
“We’re helping lead people to personal development through sports,” Chiappetta told health and wellness blogger Connor Tate. “We put together a great team, and we started helping people access health, wellness, physical activity, and education.”
As the Hall of Fame took off, Chiappetta’s team created a Sports Night, where they celebrated sports in Fairfield County. “Every town have Oldtimers Dinners,” he said. “We had 15 different communities that were part of the original Sports Convention Bureau. So, we honored 15 different Sports Persons of the Year. We had a gala. It was a success right from the bat.”
And then three years ago the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame added “Youth Foundation” to its moniker to reflect another part of its mission.
By doing so, the foundation is in a position to donate a total of $200,000 to youth organizations and charities in our county towns over the past three years. Over the years, some of the more prominent charities include the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich ($5,000), The Carver in Norwalk ($5,000), Cardinal Shehan Center of Bridgeport ($5,000), the Boys & Girls Club of Stamford ($5,000), Kids Helping Kids of Stamford ($5,000), Stamford Youth Mental Health Alliance ($5,000), Brakettes Softball of Stratford ($5,000) and EJ’s HEART of Norwalk ($5,000).
“We have already given out significant donations at the end of the year and will complete the 2025 funding when we receive a large grant sometime in next month or so,” Chiappetta said.
Location of Sports Hall of Fame
Until recently, the HOF wall of plaques hung at UConn at Stamford. But after the university recently expanded, Chiappetta had to move the plaques. They are now on the second floor of the Chelsea Piers in Stamford between the two hockey rinks.
“It is full of our bronze plaques,” he said. “We’re going to have a celebration on April 20 for our new class. We’re trying to continue to have the Hall of Fame there as well.”
