The Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame honors people with connections to the state of Connecticut for their achievements and contributions in the sport of golf. The Hall of Fame was created in the mid-1950s by noted local golf journalist Skip Henderson. The event was originally organized by Greater Hartford Jaycees and the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance. During the first phase of the ceremony, the award was bestowed equally to obscure amateurs and famous professional golfers. By the 1980s, however, the Hall was disestablished. However, in 1991, under the auspices of the Connection State Golf Association, the Hall of Fame induction ceremony was renewed.
History In November 1954, The Hartford Times sportswriter Charles Stuart "Skip" Henderson, Jr. brought up the idea of creating a state golf Hall of Fame to the Greater Hartford Jaycees. The organization was instituted the following February. The organization was created through a collaboration between the Jaycees and the Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance. The purpose of the Hall of Fame, it was later described, was to "[recognize] an individual who has state connections, participated in a golf-related activity in Connecticut and has brought honor through golf endeavors at the state, regional, or national levels."
The first induction ceremony was held at the Golf Club of Avon in April 1955. It was held during the third annual Connecticut PGA Spring Golf Show. The selection was completed by the sportswriters of Connecticut. Robert M. Grant was the unanimous choice for the award. Grant was a leading amateur golfer and president of the Connection State Golf Association (CSGA), the New England Golf Association, and Wethersfield Country Club. In 1956, the ceremony began to be held at Wethersfield Country Club after the conclusion of the Insurance City Open, a local PGA Tour event held at the club. The selections continued to be determined by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance.
In the early years, the awards' distribution alternated between star professional golfers and obscure local golfers. After Grant's selection, local amateur golfers Charles C. Clare, W.W. "Mike" Sherman, and Frank D. Ross won the award. In 1959, the award went to pathbreaking female golfer Georgianna Bishop. In 1960, electrician and former Connecticut Amateur champion, H.H. Mandly won the award. Following that, legendary golfers Julius Boros and Gene Sarazen won the award consecutively. Immediately thereafter, former U.S. Open champions Billy Burke and Tony Manero earned Hall of Fame honors in respective years.
By the late 1960s, the ceremony moved to Glastonbury Hills Country Club in Glastonbury, Connecticut and then Elmhurst Country Club in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. During this era, the award was bestowed upon Dr. Ted Lenczyk, a dentist and former Connecticut Open champion, and his sister, Grace Lenczyk Cronin, a star amateur golfer in the 1940s. In the early 1970s, the ceremony returned to the Golf Club of Avon. Despite the changes in location, the awards ceremony was consistently conducted at the annual Connecticut PGA Spring Golf Show. During this era, the event was still sponsored by the Jaycees and the election process was consistently decided by the local sportswriters. In late 1983, however, the ceremony ceased to exist.
In 1991 the awards were "reinstituted." The CSGA, not the sportswriters, now "assumed administration" of the ceremony. During this era, several CSGA executives earned honors. In 1991, former executive for the CSGA, Marty Moraghan, earned the award. "I can't tell you what this means to me," said Moraghan, "to be in the same company as Dick Siderowf and Bobby Grant is something I'll never forget." The following year, Jim Killington, another executive for the association, was inducted. In 1997, former CSGA executive director Russ Palmer was inducted. Palmer was instrumental in merging the CSGA with Connection Section PGA.
In the early 21st century, a number of awards were distributed posthumously to early 20th century golf figures. In 2000 and 2001, the award was dispensed, respectively, to leading 1920s professional Johnny Golden, and the amateur Dick Chapman, former U.S. Amateur and British Amateur champion. In 2005, Skip Henderson, the sportswriter who originated the idea of a Hall of Fame, was selected for the award.
Inductees +YearInductee2024Jack Bracken III, Joan Joyce, Del Kinney Jr.2023Elizabeth Janangelo Caron2022Andy Bessette, Bruce Edwards2021Suzy Whaley, Mike Ballo Jr., James A. Becker2020Genevieve Hecker2019Stan McFarland2018John Paesani, Dr. Bob Ruby2017Malcolm McLachlan, Tim Petrovic2016Jeff Hedden, Tom Gleeton2015J. J. Henry, Richard J. Zanini2014Roy Pace, Betty Boyko, Ted May2013Bruce Guthrie2012Bill Hermanson, Thomas W. Lane, Angela Aulenti2011Ron "Red" Smith, Gary Reynolds, Art Williams2010Dave Szewczul, Heather Daly-Donofrio, Bob Hopkins2009Bruce Berlet, Fran Marrello, Barbara Young2008Dick Mayer, William T. “Bill” Lee, E.B. “Pete” Broadbent2007Leslie Shannon Stewart, William Hadden III, Frank Selva2006Ken Green, Richard M. "Dick" Tettelbach2005Doug Dalziel, Skip Henderson2004Sanford P. Young2003John A. Gentile,2002Allan Breed, Edwin H. May, Jr., Harry V. Keefe, Jr.2001Glenna Collett-Vare, Charles G. Arnold, Everett Fisher, Dick Chapman, James T. Healey, Sr.2000James Grant III, John J. Murphy, Walter “Bud” Smith, Johnny Golden1999Dr. Philip T. Sehl, Robert D. Pryde, Caroline Keggi1998Herbert L. Emanuelson Jr., Anthony Patricelli, Owen Griffith1997Lida Kinnicutt, Russell C. Palmer1996Alpheus Winter IV1995Fred Kask1994Terry B. Calabrese1993Robert N. Shea1992James H. Killington1991Martin J. Moraghan1984–1990No awards given1983Ernest J. Gerardi1982Robert L. Kay1981Donald Hoenig1980Carol Patton1979Walter Lowell1978Charles Baskin1977Charles Petrino1976Marcia Dolan1975Jerry Courville, Sr.1974Dick Siderowf1973Harry Nettelbladt1972Doug Ford1971Edward Burke1970William H. Neale1969Grace Lenczyk Cronin1968Dr. Ted Lenczyk1967Pat O'Sullivan1966John Reardon, Ph.D.1965Felice Torza1964Tony Manero1963Billy Burke1962Gene Sarazen1961Julius Boros1960Harold H. Mandly, Jr.1959Georgianna Bishop1958Frank D. Ross1957Wilton W. Sherman1956Charles C. Clare1955Robert M. Grant Source:
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