Sports

New Canaan Old Timers Association Spotlight: Mary Beth McNichol

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There have been many trailblazers throughout the course of New Canaan’s sports history. That being said, perhaps none have broken as much new ground as both a player and a coach as Mary Beth McNichol. Mary Beth McNichol Pickering, known to most as “MB,” grew up in New Canaan and went through the public schools system, with the exception of her freshman year when she attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich. While at New Canaan High School, Pickering was a standout student-athlete in soccer (three years), basketball (three years), lacrosse (two years) and softball (one year). She received postseason accolades in many of these sports, ranging from All-FCIAC, All-State, and All-New England.

Sports

New Canaan Old Timers Association Spotlight: The Overbeck Brothers

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Looking back over the annals of New Canaan’s sports history, there have been many instances of siblings who became star athletes. Notable among those are Len and Dennis Paglialunga, Lem and Bea James, Lee and Robert Jones, Peil and Bob Pennington, Kurt and Rick Horton…the list is actually quite extensive. One name that belongs at the top of this list is Overbeck. Brian, Chris and Scott Overbeck were three of New Canaan’s greatest three-sport athletes, writing a legacy that stretched from the mid-1980’s to the early 1990’s with each brother starring in football, basketball and lacrosse. The offspring of former New Canaan hoops star Don Overbeck and legendary former Rams girls tennis coach Gail Overbeck, the first to arrive on the scene was Brian, a 1987 grad of NCHS.

Sports

New Canaan Old Timers Association Spotlight: Monroe Trout

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In one of the trophy cases in the lobby of New Canaan High School’s Athletic Complex is a scuffed, vintage Spalding basketball, marked with a simple inscription:

1,102 PTS. M.TROUT

1978-1980

The ball is a simple, but poignant reminder of New Canaan’s glorious past, also serving as an inspiration to future Rams of what can be attained through hard work, dedication and the full realization of one’s talents. It represents one of New Canaan High School’s brightest basketball stars—the third facet of New Canaan’s hardwood Holy Trinity. First, there was Wilky Gilmore. Then there was Gary Liberatore.

Sports

New Canaan Old Timers Association Spotlight: Robert Jones

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To say Robert Jones has sports in his blood would be an understatement. The 1980 New Canaan High School grad’s grandfather Deacon Jones played pro baseball for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League before embarking on a long career as a top scout for the New York Yankees. Jones’ father Gordon played in the Cleveland Indians organization, getting as high as Double-A while older bother Lee Jones made it to Triple-A in the California Angels system. And while Robert Jones never realized his dream of playing pro ball, he has made a huge impact on the local scene, starring for the New Canaan Cannons in the Connecticut Senior Men’s Baseball League since 1998. “I was blessed by good coaches growing up in New Canaan including Ed Ready, Gordon Jones, Bill Brown, Mark ‘250’ Rearick, Bob and Roger Fulton, Bill Brown, Joe Ditolla, Jerry Quinn, Dave Prutting and Art Mazmanian—my closest friend for the past 30 plus years,” Jones wrote in his bio submitted by the New Canaan Old Timers Association, who will be honoring the diamond star at their annual celebration on Sunday, September 20th at Waveny.

Sports

New Canaan Old Timers Association Spotlight: Bea James

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Bea James—known to many New Canaanites today by her married name, Bea Watkins—could very well have been lost in the considerable shadow of her brother Lem, one of the greatest New Canaan High School athletes who ever put on a uniform. Instead, she forged her own niche into Rams history, channeling her family ties as inspiration. “My brother, Lem James, and I enjoyed spending the years together in the same graduating class,” Bea James Watkins wrote in a bio submitted recently to the New Canaan Old Timer’s Association. “I loved watching him play sports and took great pride in cheering him on as he played football and basketball over the years. I couldn’t have been prouder.