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It's Official: Salvatore Joins County Sports Hall

STAMFORD, Conn. – Bennett Salvatore, who began officiating basketball games in the NBA in 1981, was one of six people named Thursday as  new selections to the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame.

Salvatore will join the Jackie Robinson Professional Wing with Bridgeport's John Bagley. The James O'Rourke amateur wing selections are Joe DeSantis of Fairfield and Ceci Hopp St. Geme of Greenwich. The J. Walter Kennedy Community service winners are Charlie Bentley of Bridgeport and Albie Loeffler of Westport.

The Hall of Fame, which is overseen by the Fairfield County Sports Commission, Inc., will induct the new members at the commission's 7th Annual Sports Night awards dinner, Monday, Oct. 17 at the Hyatt Regency Greenwich. With the six new inductees, the Hall of Fame has now recognized 45 county sports legends.

Salvatore is one of the premier officials in pro basketball. He has worked 25 NBA Finals games, 228 playoff games and over 1,650 regular season games. The Stamford Catholic graduate spent two years working in the Continental Basketball Association and 10 years of high school basketball. Salvatore has two All-Star game credits (1993 and 2002) on his résumé, and worked international tournaments for the NBA in Germany ('93), Mexico ('97) and China ('04). A three-sport scholastic athlete, Salvatore was an all-state quarterback in 1967. He is the son-in-law of the late NFL Hall of Famer Andy Robustelli, also a Stamford native.

Salvatore joins Bobby Valentine (2006) and Garry Cobb (2010) as Stamford selections in the professional wing. Stamford's Mickey Lione joined the community service wing in 2010. Donna Lopiano (2007) and Amanda Pape (2010) are Stamford residents in the amateur wing.

What do you think about Salvatore's selection to the Fairfield County Sports Hall of Fame? Start the discussion below!

 

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