November Dates In The Sports History Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

HARTFORD-TOLLAND COUNTIES, CT — With the start of a new month comes the beginning of a new series on Patch sites in Hartford and Tolland counties, recalling significant dates, events and milestones which occurred in the region during that month.

Here is the November timeline, arranged by calendar date rather than chronologically by year:

Nov. 4, 1948 - Manchester High School graduate Leo Katkaveck scored 12 points in his professional basketball debut with the Washington Capitols of the Basketball Association of America, during a 99-95 triple overtime victory over the Providence Steamrollers. He became the first player from a Hartford or Tolland county school to play at the highest level of pro basketball. The following season, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League to form the National Basketball Association.

Nov. 6, 1922 - Morgan G. Bulkeley, the first president of the National League, later governor of Connecticut and a 1937 inductee into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, died in Hartford at age 84.

Nov. 9, 1974 - In just the second girls cross country state meets since the implementation of Title IX a year earlier, Granby Memorial High School won the B Division with 73 points, 43 better than runner-up Portland. The races took place at Southern Connecticut State College.

Nov. 11, 1923 - Hartford native Elmer "Moose" McCormick became the first player born in Connecticut to start in an NFL game. Wearing jersey No. 14, McCormick played left guard for the Buffalo All-Americans in a 3-3 tie with the fabled Canton Bulldogs. The 5-foot-7, 220 pound lineman went on to be named second team All-Pro after that season, and was a first team All-Pro selection the following year.

Nov. 11, 1975 - The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics 100-91 in the first NBA game played at the Hartford Civic Center. The Celtics played a total of 63 games in the Connecticut capital city between 1975 and 1995, including three annually from the 1981-82 season through 1994-95.

Nov. 13, 1976 - After four years of conducting a single open championship meet in girls swimming, the CIAC implemented three divisions beginning with the 1976 season. Glastonbury took home the first Class LL crown, recording 187 points to Norwalk's 164.

Nov. 14, 1932 - The inaugural CIAC boys cross country championship meet was run at Yale University, with Hartford High School emerging as champion by compiling 45 points to 75 for runner-up Hillhouse.

Nov. 15, 1980 - The first CIAC girls soccer championship game was played, with E.O. Smith High School of Storrs earning a 5-0 victory over Windsor Locks at Eastern Connecticut State College in Willimantic. The Panthers were coached by Len Tsantiris, who shortly thereafter moved on to UConn, where he directed the women's program for 37 years.

Nov. 16, 1948 - The inaugural CIAC boys soccer championship was won by Wethersfield High School by a 2-1 score over Hale Ray in the finals in Middletown.

Nov. 17, 1973 - Coach Dot Johnson guided Granby Memorial High School to the inaugural CIAC field hockey tournament championship, a 2-1 victory in double overtime over Guilford.

Nov. 20, 1945 - 20-year Major League Baseball veteran and 2-time World Series champion Jay Johnstone was born in Manchester.

Nov. 22, 1981 - The University of Connecticut won the inaugural NCAA Division I field hockey championship with a 4-1 win over the University of Massachusetts.

Nov. 24, 1927 - The first Manchester Road Race was run on Thanksgiving morning, with John McCluskey as its inaugural champion. McCluskey's brother Joe, later an Olympic bronze medalist, would win the race twice.

Nov. 25, 1982 - Glastonbury High School senior Leslie Wrixon won the women's division at the Manchester Road Race, becoming the first (and to date, only) high school athlete to accomplish that feat.

Nov. 28, 1968 - Boston Marathon champion Amby Burfoot won the Manchester Road Race for the first time, and would win it eight more times in the next nine years.

Nov. 29, 1939 - 3-time American League All-Star and 1968 World Series champion Dick McAuliffe was born in Hartford. He played baseball at Farmington High School, winning the 1957 Class M title.