Hall of Fame Inductees Praise Their Experience at BHS

Coach Al Pelligrinelli came from Florida, Forrest Conoly traveled from Georgia while others came from much shorter distances to celebrate the second class to be inducted into the Berlin High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Conoly, who played football at Florida State and won a national championship with the Seminoles, said his fondest memories came in Berlin.

“I came here as a freshman,” said the huge presence called “The Berlin Wall” when he was number 79 at 6-foot-7 and 325 pounds for the Redcoats. “When I came here I was a little bigger than everyone else in the halls, I was a little bit darker than everyone else but I never felt different or uncomfortable or out of place. This town and this high school took me in with open arms and gave me a big hug.”

Conoly was emotional as he remembered Berlin teammate Kevin Lavender’s father Vic Lavender as a special person.

“He just took me in like I was his own,” Conoly said. “When I heard he passed away a while ago, I was very hurt. He was a special person.

“I haven’t seen Coach P. in 18 years. When I found out we were both going to be inducted, we got back in contact and it has been great. When I went to college, it was an easy adjustment. I was so far ahead of all the other players. I remember I was late for a class in high school and thought it was no big deal because I was a big football star. Coach P. found me and read me the riot act. He showed me the discipline that allowed me to succeed.

Conoly’s biggest regret was never winning a state title for Pelligrinelli.

“I was so happy they won it last year,” he said. “I was in class and I was getting texts about the game and I got in trouble with my teacher because I was moving all over the place. And I’m kind of hard to miss if you haven’t noticed.”

The inductees included athletes Robert McCann, Mauro Gozzo, Rocky Urso, Ken Pera, Monica Earley, Conoly, David Swanson and Lindsey Pulito and coaches Al Pelligrinelli and Jim Day and the 1958 baseball team. 

For Pelligrinelli, this is his third Hall of Fame induction. He has also entered the Central Connecticut State University Hall and the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) Hall of Fame.

“This is literally where I grew up,” said Pelligrinelli sporting his best Florida tan. “I spent 28 years here at Berlin High School. “I was lucky enough to work with some of the people who are already in the Hall of Fame like Roy Fabian, Don Bates and Bill Gibney.

“I miss the people. We used to go to the Baccaros on Lower Lane on Monday night and then to the booster meetings. I would talk to Vic Baccaro and hear all about Berlin sports in the 1940s. I don’t miss the paperwork or the weight room or the passing leagues but I miss the people and the interaction in the locker room with the players. You never replace that.”

The Hall of Fame was something Athletic Director Jim Day wanted to put in place and in its second year with 250 people on hand, he had an ear-to-ear grin on his face all day.

Ken Pera was one of Day’s best wrestlers. Now an English teacher and wrestling coach at Simsbury High School, Pera shook his head when asked for his feelings.

“It is so humbling,” he said. “To go in with Rocky Urso and Mauro Gozzo and Coach P. and Coach Day, people I looked up to and admired, I never would have thought I would be in the same breath with those people.”

Pera joked that his son Saul, 8, thought the Hall of Fame was no big deal.

“I have gone to Coach Day’s induction for wrestling and Leo Veleas’ into the Coaches Hall of Fame so he thinks these things happen all the time,” Pera said with a big smile. “I was blessed to have grown up in Berlin and played for a great high school with a great tradition. I was a product of a great system.”

The two female athletes inducted shined on two different fields but were two of the best to ever play their sports.

Lindsey Pulito thanked her parents and the town of Berlin for her success on the soccer field.

“My dad started our team when we were 10-years-old,” said Pulito, who is married to former BHS All-State football player Justin Moore. “The team that won the state championship all had played together since we were little.

“I have so many memories and to be honored by your peers, this is a great honor. I’m thankful and grateful. Every day in my professional life I use the lessons I was taught as a student and athlete to do my job to the best of my abilities.”

Monica Earley was the most dominant pitcher in Berlin softball history, helping her team to three state championships in her four years.

“I’m totally excited and totally honored to be recognized after so many years,” said Earley, now Earley-Thompson and mother of two, Katelyn, 10 and Michael, 8. “My dad (Roy) was my number one coach. He started me pitching at a young age in his shop (Rae Battery) and was my number one fan as well. He was always there for me growing up and I try to use what he taught me with my kids.”

She said her daughter is already pitching at 10.

In a unique twist, Dave Swanson went in as an athlete and his father, Ted, was inducted s part of the 1958 baseball team, who won the first state title in school history.

Mauro Gozzo was the lone inductee who was not in attendance. He was coaching his twin sons in a baseball tournament in Georgia. His entire family, including his sisters, parents and wife Lisa were there to represent him.

Bob McCann represented another generation at BHS as he starred at Berlin High School in football and graduated in 1956.

Rocky Urso excelled in both football and wrestling and became the first wrestler from Connecticut to win a New England title. He went on to wrestle at CCSU and qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championship.