If Mickey Lione could attend Monday's Hall of Fame SportsNight at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich, he would probably wonder so many people were fussing over him. "He would have said we should be scoping out Darien hockey or something like that,'' said his cousin, Jerry Lione. "He wasn't the type of guy that liked to go to dinners to receive awards."
Mickey Lione had a 30-year coaching career at Trinity Catholic, previously known as Stamford Catholic, and won a combined 731 games in baseball and ice hockey. His teams won four state baseball titles and two state hockey titles. Lione was also an assistant football coach at Stamford Catholic and New Canaan and was part of three teams that won state titles.
He will be honored with five other area legends in the Fairfield County Sports Commission's sixth annual Hall of Fame dinner Monday. Lione died in 1999 at the age of 59. Jerry Lione, who runs the Mickey Lione Fund, will accept the honor on behalf of his cousin, who will be inducted into the J. Walter Kennedy Community Service Wing.
Jerry Lione said his cousin had opportunities to pursue coaching positions elsewhere but remained in Stamford to give back to the community in which he was raised.
"The early coaches in his career really had an impact on him, Lione said. He valued he community and the lessons that were learned on and off the field. He thought they could be passed on and would help kids later in life."
Jerry Lione said his cousin lived up to standards set by his father, Mickey Lione Sr., a legendary coach and player. The father helped start the towns Little League program and during the 1950s managed Stamford teams to win the 1951 Little League World Series, the 1952 Little Bigger League World Series and the 1953 Babe Ruth World Series.
Mickey, in many ways, lived up to what his father did, Jerry said. His dad was everything that Mickey turned out to be. There are sons of movie stars and baseball players that are overwhelmed by having to live up to their parents success. That Mickey did that is as amazing as anything."
Jerry is happy to stand in for his cousin Monday night. He would love it if Mickey could accept himself. "I'd much rather that he was up there being annoyed,'' Jerry laughed. "I just want to keep it as short and simple as possible. I'm only a stand in. I should be wearing mask."
The other inductees Monday night are Garry Cobb and Amanda Pape of Stamford; John Hirschbeck of Stratford; Alvin Clinkscales of Bridgeport; and Vito Montelli of Trumbull. Tickets for the dinner are available on the Fairfield County Sports Commission website.
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