The West Haven Hall of Fame Committee has announced its newest inductees to be honored, Saturday, Nov. 18, at Cielo, West Haven Italian-American Club. With seven members added to the prestigious club, there are now 165 inductees since the start in 2000.
Included in the Class of 2017 are the late Thomas “Tinker” Blake, Bill Yale, John Riederich, Vicci Duane Messina, Julie Sitro Flemming, Matt Turner, and Keith Dupee.
Duane Messina played softball for four years under Hall of Fame coach Frank Biondi. She was named an All-League selection each year, becoming the only West Haven softball player to take home that honor. Duane Messina was an All-Area selection after the 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons, was a New Haven Register All-State selection in 2003, and a Connecticut High School Coaches Association All-State selection following the 2004 season.
Duane Messina is first all-time in West Haven history with 59 wins, first with 540 strikeouts, and first with a 0.80 earned run average.
Sitro Flemming is a three-sport star on the basketball, soccer and softball teams. She played volleyball her freshman year, before the soccer team was formed and was named the team’s Rookie of the Year.
Sitro Flemming played on the first girls soccer team at West Haven High as a sophomore and was named the team’s captain her junior campaign. She was an All-District selection her junior and senior campaigns, and the most valuable player her senior year.
Sitro Flemming was the team’s captain her junior and senior season on the hardwood. She was the team’s Rookie of the Year, team’s most valuable player her senior year, an All-District and All-Area selection her junior and senior seasons, and second-team All-State as a senior. Sitro Flemming was the team’s assist leader her junior and senior seasons, the free throw percentage leader as a junior, and the team’s most valuable player as a senior.
Sitro Flemming also played for Biondi from 1986 through 1989. She was named the team’s Rookie of the Year in 1986, was the team most valuable player in 1989, and took home the Toni Johnson Award for Career Offensive Excellence in 1988.
Turner is a 1998 graduate who played at West Haven his sophomore through senior campaigns. He made his initial mark his junior campaign where he was the team’s co-captain, averaging 19 points per game. Junior year saw Turner named to the All-Conference team and All-State honorable mention.
As a senior and the team’s captain, Turner averaged 29 points per game, four rebounds per game, and five assists per game. He was named to the New Haven Register All-State team, Connecticut Post Super 15, Hartford Courant All-State, and SCC Quinnipiac Division Most Valuable Player. Turner was an All-Area selection and All-Area Most Valuable Player, along with the team most valuable player, and Gatorade Player of the Year runner-up.
Turner went on to play basketball at Boston University where he averaged 12 points per game as a sophomore, and 19 points per game as a junior, before season-ending shoulder surgery. As a red-shirt junior, Turner was the team’s co-captain, averaging 12 points per game in both his red-shirt junior year and senior campaigns.
Turner also played professionally in the Philippines and Venezuela.
Blake, who recently passed away after a long illness, was a 1974 graduate of West Haven High who played football for three years and tennis all four years. While he was a solid athlete, Blake will long be remembered as the “Voice of West Haven.”
He was a long-time master of ceremonies for the West Haven High School softball, football, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, girls hockey, and West Haven Hall of Fame banquets, past president of the West Haven Penalty Box Club, former vice president and coach of the West Haven Little League, former Board of Director and coach for West Haven Youth Hockey, Board of Director and dinner chairman for the Jimmy Fund and West Haven Twilight League, co-chairman of the Savin Rock Festival, and founder and past president of the West Haven Football Alumni Association.
Blake was an active member of the West Haven community for many years. He was a former coach and board member for the West Haven Youth Hockey Association, as well as the president of the West Haven High School Penalty Box Club, which is the parent group supporting the West Haven High School hockey team.
Blake received numerous awards throughout his decorated career, including the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance Good Sport Award, the West Haven High School PTA Unsung Hero, West Haven Twilight League Community Service Award, West Haven Twilight League Program Book Award, Jimmy Fund Award, and the West Haven Football Alumni Association Edward L. Bennett Award for Community Service. Blake was also part of the New Haven Gridiron Club Hall of Fame.
A 1994 graduate, Dupee was a hockey star at West Haven from 1991-1994, where he accumulated 113 career points to join the 100-point club in just three seasons. His best year came as a senior where he had 27 goals and 41 assists to lead his team to it last state championship, a 7-4 win over rival Notre Dame.
That championship season saw Dupee tally 15 points in four playoff games on a team which was 21-2-1 and outscored its playoff opponents 29-8.
Senior year was a special one for Dupee as he was named to the New Haven Register All-Area team and All-Area most valuable player. Dupee was named the team’s most valuable player, the Hartford Whalers high school player of the month in February of 1994, and was one of only six players named to the All-State team. The Westies were ranked in the top 15 of high schools in the United States after the 1993-1994 season.
Dupee went on to attend Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) from 1996-2000 and graduated with a B.S. in Management, concentration Finance. Named a Dean’s List of distinguished students in 1999-2000, Dupee was a four-year member of the Men’s NCAA Division 1 Hockey Team.
Yale is a 1960 graduate who played four years of basketball at West Haven, the first two under John Foley and the second two under coach Joe Pfister.
Senior year was a special one for Yale as he was named West Haven High’s co-athlete of the year and was the only basketball player to receive the Savitt Outstanding Sportsmanship Award two years in a row following his junior and senior seasons.
Yale was the only player to win the Greater New Haven free throw championship four years in a row, setting a new record by making 50 out of 50 foul shots in the 1958-1959 season. He was the captain of the team his senior year, and was fifth in the Greater New Haven area in scoring with a 19.8 points per game average, while shooting 90% from the field.
Yale capped his high school career in style as he was selected to the All-District team and received the Charley Gebauer trophy as West Haven’s Outstanding Player and leading scorer his senior year.
Riederich is a 1955 graduate who starred on the football field, in the pool, and was a key member of the track and field team.
Riederich was a four-year member of the football team who was an Honorable Mention All-State selection. In the pool, John, was a key performer his first two years, before the program was dropped at the end of his sophomore campaign. John swam in the state finals his sophomore campaign and placed sixth in the 100 meter relay.
Riederich also left his mark in track and field. Playing the final three years of his high school career, Riederich was a standout thrower in the discus and javelin events and he received the Outstanding Athlete Award.
Riederich went on to play football at the University of Connecticut from 1957 to 1960.
For more information on the West Haven Hall of Fame, including how to purchase tickets for the event, contact Jon Capone at Jonathan.Capone@whschools.org.