During the 1930s and 1940s, the rifle-armed Benjamin S. “Benny” Brezicki played for a number of great Bristol teams in football and baseball, his favorite. At age 43, he won the batting title while playing softball for the New Departure “Endee” team in a fast-pitch league comprised of mostly 20 and 30 year old players. After he hung up his spikes as a player, he shared his experiences and knowledge in mentoring Bristol youth in sports, particularly in baseball.

He once said, “Keep the kids’ names in the sports columns and you keep them out of the police records” and he as much as anyone did this during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, always with his baseball cap on, a glove fitted on his catching hand and a ball in the other to toss around or pitch to a youngster. He loved teaching running, hitting, stealing and bunting and was known to be quite vocal, but had a heart of gold. The awards passed his way for the hours he spend with Bristol’s youngsters came in numbers, including the Bristol Pony League naming a tournament after him, the Benjamin S. Brezicki Tournament, played annually in August.

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