The Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance honored Doc Hurley (Weaver-Hartford administrator), Jim O'Neill (New London, Waterford administrator), Charlie Bentley (Warren Harding-Bridgeport boys basketball coach) and Deborah Chin (University of New Haven Director of Athletics) with the Gold Key Award at the 66th Gold Key Dinner on April 22nd 2007 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville.

The Gold Key Award is the highest sports honor in Connecticut as the Alliance recognizes those who have made significant contributions to athletics in Connecticut. Past award recipients include baseball great Connie Mack, boxing legend Willie Pep and former President George H. W. Bush. Last year's award winners were former NHL All-Star Ron Francis, NBA player Charles Smith, East Lyme softball coach Judy Deeb and Masuk-Monroe girls basketball coach Dave Strong.

About the recipients:

• Walter "Doc" Hurley is a 1941 graduate of Weaver High and was a four-sport star before serving in the U.S. Marine Corps. He played professional football in the 1940s for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the All-American football conference.
  
  Hurley was a graduate of Virginia State University and was a successful track and football coach in Virginia before coming back to Hartford as a teacher in 1959. He served in the Hartford school system for 25 years, the last 20 as vice-principal of Weaver High School before retiring in 1984. An accomplished basketball official, Hurley organized the Doc Hurley Scholarship Basketball Classic in to help provide "book money" for area students. Thirty two years later the basketball tournament has grown into a full scholarship organization. Over the last 32 years the Doc Hurley Scholarship Foundation has awarded nearly $500,000 to students in the Greater Hartford area. Athletic prowess isn't a requirement for the scholarship with academic achievement, financial need, community service and an essay written by each candidate the criteria.
  
  Hurley is 84 years old and lives in Hartford. He was married to his late wife Gwendolyn for 56 years and has two daughters Jeanne Costley and Muriel Hurley-Carter and a late son Walter Hurley, Jr.
  
  
• Deborah Chin has been both a coach and pioneer for women's sports at the University of New Haven, has served as Director of Athletics since 1993, and has been one of the most active athletic administrators in the Northeast. Chin, a 1968 graduate of SUNY-Corland, came to New Haven as coordinator of women's athletics, responsible for building athletic programs for women, including four that she coached: volleyball, basketball, tennis and softball.
  
  In 1979 she was promoted to Associate Director of Athletics, stepping down as coach of basketball, tennis and softball.
  
  Internationally known for her clinician skills in volleyball, Chin was a member of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame class of 2006. She was 576-178 (.764) in 19 seasons as coach at New Haven (1975-93). At the time of her retirement her winning percentage was ranked among the top five all-time. She led the Chargers to 10 NCAA Division II tournaments (and three AIAW tournaments), and New Haven was ranked in the top five four times. Chin's teams won 30 or more matches 12 times, including six straight years. Six times she was named Northeast Region coach of the year, and eight times she was named New England College Conference coach of the year.
  
  In 10 of her final 11 seasons, Chin led the Chargers to at least the Sweet Sixteen, including four trips to the Elite Eight. She has also served as an official at the national level numerous times. Chin served as commissioner for volleyball for the 1995 Special Olympics World Games held in New Haven, and has served as chairperson for NCAA Division II volleyball committee, NCAA Division II baseball committee, and the NCAA Northeast Regional football committee. Chin was the Northeast athletic director of the year in 1998-99, the Connecticut Post Woman of the Year in 1993 and is a member of both the Connecticut Women's Basketball and Connecticut Volleyball halls of fame. She overseas 17 athletic programs at New Haven.
  
  
• Jim O'Neill was an educator, administrator and coach for 37 years in the New London and Waterford school systems.
  
  He's best known throughout Connecticut as one of the best summer baseball coaches in state history, leading New London American Legion to 14 Zone championships, three state titles and two trips to the American Legion World Series. O'Neill's teams also won multiple sportsmanship awards at state and regional tournaments.
  
  O'Neill was the athletic director at New London High school for seven years and for seven more at Waterford High, overseeing a combined 11 state championships and 70 Eastern Connecticut Conference titles. He was also the point man for ECC expansion and realignment, that split the conference into enrollment-based divisions and schedules.
  
  O'Neill was a teacher for 30 years in the New London school system, also running the high school's gifted and talented program. He earned a reputation for balancing academics and athletics.
  
  O'Neill and his wife, Dorian, a teacher in Groton, live in New London.
  
  
• Charlie Bentley is one of the most successful basketball coaches in Connecticut history in a 29 year career as Warren Harding-Bridgeport boys basketball coach.
  
  Bentley is one of seven Connecticut boys basketball coaches with 500 or more career wins and has won nine state title in his career including five straight from 1983-1987. He is closing in on 600 wins in his career and has one of the top teams in the state again this season and has won five FCIAC titles. In his coaching career he has produced over a dozen all-state players including a pair of NBA players in Charles Smith and John Bagley. He was named 1988 Coach of the Year by the Connecticut Sportswriters' Alliance.
  
  Bentley was a standout player at Bullard Havens-Bridgeport, graduating in 1969 and was a four year starter at Central Methodist College in Missouri. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Education. He currently serves as Dean of Students at Harding.
  
  Bentley's wife Jeanella is a volleyball coach at Harding. He has two sons in Charlie Jr. and Charoy and a daughter, Chanella.

John Wentworth Good Sports

The John Wentworth Good Sports Award goes to those who unselfishly give back to their communities. This year's recipients are: Donald Longtin (Glastonbury), Matt Fischer (Cheshire), Bob Russell (Madison), Dave Ruotolo (West Haven), Gary Moore (New Haven), Bill Donovan (Waterford) and Nick Koules (Stamford) were selected.

Glastonbury's Don Longtin has volunteered for the Glastonbury Little League for 40 years and has served as President of the league for the last 30 years. During Longton's tenure the Glastonbury Little League has grown from 350 players to over 1,400 players ranging from ages 5-16 in both baseball and girls softball. Glastonbury is one of the more innovative little leagues using special participation rules and pitch counts for players. The Glastonbury 11-12 year old team won the State Title this past year and came within one game of making the Little League World Series in Williamsport. Longtin is also founder and president of a youth girls basketball association that has over 1,000 girls participate. Longtin is a retired manager from United Technologies. At 72, he lives in Glastonbury with his wife Jeanette and has four children.

New Haven's Gary Moore, who has won 21 state titles in boys and girls track at Hillhouse High School, has also made a difference in the community. Moore has been an integral part of the Play It Smart Program. Hillhouse was one of four pilot programs for the national program, which guides high school student-athletes through SAT preparation, college applications, community service events and accountability lessons.

He has been co-director of the New Haven Skills Football Combine and Play It Smart College Coaches Football Fair, both of which help New Haven athletes interact with prospective college recruiters. He has served on the Governor's Cup (Connecticut vs. Rhode Island) football game committee and has organized and served as meet director for several camps and track meets in the New Haven area for all age groups. He was honored by the Secretary of State for his work with the New Haven community last year.

Madison's Bob Russell is heavily involved in both ice hockey and lacrosse. In hockey, he has been an on-ice official for more than 30 years and is president of the Connecticut Chapter of the National Ice Hockey Officials Association and also the national president (2002-2003). He is a past supervisor of officials for the Metro-Atlantic Conference and the ECAC, is an NCAA replay official and sits on the Hobey Baker Award committee.

In lacrosse, he is the president of Connecticut/New York Youth Lacrosse (CONNY), an organization serving over 5000 boys in grades 3-8. He is on the national training committee for coaching certification for US Lacrosse and is on the publication committee for Lacrosse Magazine. He coached Team Scotland in the lacrosse World Championshipos last summer and is the head coach for the Connecticut Select team which will play in the US Lacrosse National Youth Festival this summer. He and his wife, Katy, reside in Madison.

Stamford's Nick Koules is a longtime fixture on the Fairfield County sports scene, officiating in baseball, basketball and soccer for more than six decades. Koules, who will turn 90 in April, still stays active by serving as a referee for youth basketball games in Stamford. In his prime, the irrepressible Koules was known for working as many as 10 games a day on weekends. In his 67 years of working as a referee and umpire, Koules has worked a legion of championship games, including the Babe Ruth Baseball World Series. Koules' popularity and level of respect in his hometown was best reflected in 2002 when the World War II veteran was named the grand marshal of Stamford's Memorial Day parade.

Cheshire's Matt Fischer is currently the Director of Information Services for CAS-CIAC and has over 20 years experience working in the media relations field. A Washington State University graduate, Fischer spent 10 years working with San Francisco Giants, first as Assistant Director of Media Relations and then as Director of Media Relations. He moved to Connecticut in May, 1994 and formed Fishman Communications, LLC, now e-fish solutions, in 1995, which provided print, graphic design and web services to both sports-related and non-sports related organizations including Yale University, several professional sports franchises, a number of retail operations and professional firms. Fischer developed the initial casciac.org website in 1997 when CAS-CIAC was a client of e-fish solutions and became a fulltime CAS-CIAC employee in July, 2004 as Director of Information Services. Married for 18 years (Linda), two children (Lisa, 12 and Brian, 9), resides in Cheshire.

Waterford's Bill Donovan has broadcast high school sporting events in Eastern Connecticut for the last 25 years. Starting with AM radio in the late 1970s, Donovan can be found in the press box during football season and courtside during basketball season. His broadcast partner, Mike McLaughlin, is also a Good Sport Award recipient and the duo host a weekly local sports program weekly.

West Haven's Dave Ruotolo has spent over 35 years involved with Little League starting as a manager in 1971. He has been President of West Haven Little League twice and has served an integral role in the development of the West Haven Little League. Ruotolo is responsible for the building of field 4 at the Little League Complex in West Haven and has also served as a player agent the director of daily operations. He coordinated the building of additional fields in West Haven from 1987-1990 and served as softball chairman for District 4 from 1991 to the present.

Art McGinley Award

The Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance will honor Ted Moynihan of the Meriden Record-Journal with the Art McGinley Award for meritorious service.

Moynihan was a staple of the Meriden Record-Journal sports staff from 1984, when he went from stringer to full-timer as the paper established its Sunday edition, to 2003, hen he retired as senior sportswriter. In between, Moynihan was the anchor of the Record-Journal's scholastic and pro golf coverage, and also contributed his popular "The Townline" column to the Op-Ed page.

He continues to write "The Townline" and remains the paper's point man each summer when the PGA rolls into TPC at River Highlands. Moynihan covered a couple U.S. Opens and established the Record-Journal's coverage of UConn women's basketball during the Huskies' first championship run in 1995. Along the way, he's taken home 16 Connecticut SPJ awards and two from the New England Associated Presses Newspaper Editors Association. Moynihan served as vice president of the Sports Writers' Alliance in 1992 and 1993. He was Alliance president in 1994 and 1995. Ted and Fran, his wife of 45 years, live in the Yalesville section of Wallingford. They have three children, Mark, Mary and Lea, and two grandchildren, Lindsay and Connor Underwood of Cheshire.