CHESHIRE, CT – A Waterbury native and current Cheshire resident who reached the pinnacle of his career in baseball has been selected to receive one of the state’s oldest and most prestigious sports honors.
Terry Tata, a Major League Baseball umpire for 27 years, will receive a Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) at the 81st Annual Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, Oct. 22 in Aqua. Turf Club in Southington.
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Tata became the youngest umpire in professional baseball when he debuted in the minor leagues at age 19. He got the call to the big leagues in 1973 and stayed until 1999, making four World Series, seven National League Championship Series, four Division Series and three All-Star games.
He was involved in five no-hitters, including Hall of Famers Phil Niekro in 1973 and Tom Seaver in 1978. He received the Major League Umpire of the Year Award in 1991 and is a Hank O’Donnell Fellow. Hall of Fame in Waterbury
Other Gold Key honorees include longtime Darien High School volleyball coach Laurie LaRusso, Norwich Free Academy coach/athletic director Gary Mackowicki, former Olympic and distance running record holder Jan Merrill-Morin and North Branford High School field hockey coach Bobby Nuhn. they are.
With two exceptions, the Gold Key Dinner was held in 2015. It has been an annual event since its inception in 1940. Notable Connecticut sports legends over the years include Gordie Howe, Willie Pepe, Floyd Little, Geno Auriemma, Calvin Murphy, Christine Lilly, Julius Boros, Connie Mack, Gene Sarazen, Ron Francis, Dwight Freeney, Terry Lowe, Bill Rogers, Brian Leach, Rebecca Lobo, Bobby Valentine and Joan Joyce.
Award winners in other categories will be announced later this spring. They are the President’s Award, the Doc McInerney High School Coaches of the Year, the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year, the Hank O’Donnell Female Athlete of the Year, the Bo Kolinsky Special Recognition Award, the Bob Casey Courage Award, the Hal Levy High School Achievement Award and the John Wentworth Award. Sports Awards.
Gold Key Dinner tickets are $75 and are available by contacting CSMA President Tim Jensen of Patch Media Corporation at 860-394-5091 or tim.jensen@patch.com. Proceeds support the Bo Kolinski Memorial Sports Media Scholarship, 2016. A $3,000 annual award named in memory of the Hartford Courant’s high school sports editor and former CSMA president, who died in 2003 at age 49.
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