Legendary North Branford Coach Named 2023 Gold Key Honoree

NORTH BRANFORD, CT — A highly-successful coach at North Branford High School for half a century has been selected to receive one of the state's oldest and most prestigious sports honors.

Babby Nuhn, whose Thunderbird teams have won six state championships during her tenure, will receive the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Media Alliance (CSMA) at the 81st annual Gold Key Dinner on Sunday, Oct. 22 at the Aqua Turf Club in Southington.

Nuhn's team have compiled 533 victories and a .701 winning percentage, and her span of state titles ranges across 42 years, first in Class M in 1980 and most recently in Class S in 2021 and 2022. She is a member of the New Agenda: Northeast, Connecticut High School Coaches Association and National High School Athletic Coaches Association halls of fame.

She serves as chair of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and was founder of the Connecticut Field Hockey Hall of Fame. In 2014, she was the recipient of the Thomas M. Monahan Honor Award from the CHSCA.

Other Gold Key honorees are longtime Darien High School volleyball coach Laurie LaRusso, Norwich Free Academy coach/athletic director Gary Makowicki, former Olympian and distance running record-holder Jan Merrill-Morin and retired Major League Baseball umpire Terry Tata.

With two exceptions, the Gold Key Dinner has been an annual event since its inception in 1940. Among the Connecticut sports legends recognized in past years are Gordie Howe, Willie Pep, Floyd Little, Geno Auriemma, Calvin Murphy, Kristine Lilly, Julius Boros, Connie Mack, Gene Sarazen, Ron Francis, Dwight Freeney, Terry Lowe, Bill Rodgers, Brian Leetch, Rebecca Lobo, Bobby Valentine and Joan Joyce.

Award winners in other categories will be announced later this spring. They include the President's Award, the Doc McInerney High School Coaches of the Year, the Bill Lee Male Athlete of the Year, the Hank O'Donnell Female Athlete of the Year, the Bo Kolinsky Special Recognition Award, the Bob Casey Courage Award, the Hal Levy High School Achievement Award and the John Wentworth Good Sport Awards.

Tickets for the Gold Key Dinner are $75, and are available by contacting CSMA president Tim Jensen of Patch Media Corp. at 860-394-5091 or tim.jensen@patch.com. Proceeds support the Bo Kolinsky Memorial Sports Media Scholarship, a $3,000 annual award named in memory of the noted high school sports editor of the Hartford Courant and past CSMA president, who passed away in 2003 at age 49.