Foundation Honors Hamden High Athletic Excellence

Hamden High School's tradition of athletic excellence will be on display in November when the Hamden Education Foundation inducts nine former players into the Hamden Athletic Hall of Fame.

Among this year's inductees is Ed Ellis, one of the town’s most noted athletes of all time who graduated from Hamden High in 1993 and spent eight years in the NFL as a defensive tackle, starting his career with the New England Patriots and finishing with the New York Giants.

He actually sat on the bench for his last five games at HHS when the team changed to a wishbone formation, but he said he was the only one on the team who got a college scholarship and made it to the NFL.

He attended the University of Buffalo, where he was a two time All American before starting his pro career.

He played three years at Hamden, during which time the team won or shared the District League title each year, he said. He counts his most memorable game as a victory over Cheshire, one of the top teams in the state, along with a 14-14 tie in a Green Bowl game when Notre Dame was ranked second in the state.

“Hamden prepared me for the NFL,” he said. “I was a feisty kid but got help from two great coaches, Ron Carbone and Anthony Sagnella, who took me into the weight room and taught me how to run to the ball.”

Speaking of his NFL career after starting at Hamden, he said, “I always thought of football as a game, but you never know.”

Ellis will be inducted into the Hamden Athletic Hall of Fame at its eighth annual dinner on Nov. 16 at Laurel View Country Club. Eight other top Green Dragon athletes, including basketball star Dennis O’Keefe and hockey greats Robert DiLauro and his son, Daniel, will join him.

O’Keefe graduated in 1965 and played on the basketball team for three years, competing against top District League foes Wilbur Cross and Hillhouse. In his senior year, the team went 13-8 and played in the quarterfinals of the state tournament before losing to Naugatuck by a point.

O’Keefe went to Quinnipiac, where he was captain of the team his last two years and was inducted into the QU Hall of Fame in 1996. He’s worked as a sales executive at IBM for 35 years.

Bobby DiLauro was two years behind O’Keefe, graduating in 1967.

“It was before the rink, we played at the New Haven arena,” he said. “Five schools used the rink and the ice surface was a disaster. We went on the ice after another school practiced and there was snow on the ice. The kids today are so lucky.”

His team may not have had its own rink, but it played to the level the town is accustomed to, winning three state titles, he said. DiLauro played center and led the team in goals. He scored 63 goals during his Hamden career and received a gold plated puck after he scored 50.

His best game was a 2-1 win over West Haven for the state title when he scored the winning goal with 1:21 to play, he said.

“I never lifted my stick when I scored a goal,” he said. “I didn’t want to rub it in the goalie’s face.”

His son, Daniel, who graduated in 1999, will also be inducted into the Hamden Athletic Hall of Fame.

“He was an awesome playmaker,” Bobby DiLauro said. “I taught him to be a good passer. He’s the most unselfish player I’ve ever seen. He’s more proud of his assists than goals.”

This is the first time a father and son haven been inducted into the Hamden Athletic Hall of Fame.

“The significance of the awards is very important to me," said Vin Iezzi, a former Hamden High School principal and the president of the Hamden Education Foundation, which sponsors the Athletic Hall of Fame awards. "We’re honoring some great athletes and all are Hamden High graduates.”