Eight Bristol sports legends to be inducted into the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame on Nov. 17 — Part 2

Posted By: Jack Krampitz November 10, 2023

On Friday, Nov.17, the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting the following individuals into their Class of 2023: Mark Dunn, Frank Owsianko Jr., Chris Michalowski, Rob Nicoletti, Chuck Nolan, Sara Paradis, Carol Langlois Panigutti, and Tim Washington Jr..

In our last article, Mark Dunn and Frank Owsianko Jr.. were introduced. Today you will meet Chris Michalowski and Rob Nicoletti.

The evening will begin at 6 p.m. at The Doubletree by Hilton Bristol. Tickets for the evening can be purchased at the Hall of Fame website, BSHOF.org. Sunday is the final day tickets will be sold on the BSHOF website.

Cris Michalowski

In 1999, Chris Michalowski became the first male athlete in Bristol since the 1930‘s to earn first team All-State honors in three different sports.

Michalowski attended Immanuel Lutheran School where he was the first player in school history to score 1,000 career points and led the team to a fourth-place finish at the National Lutheran Basketball Tournament.

He went on to St. Paul High School where he was two time All Conference and a two-year captain in soccer, basketball, and baseball. He scored 31 career goals in soccer, including a Northwest Conference-leading 22 in 1997. He scored 1,352 career points while leading the Falcons’ basketball team to three state tournament appearances and played in the Class S-M All Star game as a senior in 1999. During his senior year baseball season, he batted .507 with 39 hits and 24 RBI’s while having a 4-1 pitching record.

Michalowski also was selected as an All Star for the Bristol American Legion baseball team.

He went on to play basketball at Babson College where he was a four-year starter and two-time captain. As a senior, he was selected to the First Team NEWMAC team and Second Team All Northeast.

Rob Nicoletti

Rob Nicoletti played football, basketball and baseball at Bristol Central High School and was an All-Star pitcher for the Bristol American Legion team’s Zone 1 champions in 1971.

Nicoletti posted a pitching record of 44-8 in three years as a starter with the Rams and the Legion team and was the starting pitcher in the 1971 American Legion state championship game that drew a crowd of nearly 3,000 to Muzzy Field.

He started his athletic career at St. Anthony School and McCabe-Waters Little League and was an all-CCIL defensive back for the Central football team as well as a two-time all-CCIL pitcher.

He went on to play baseball at Eastern Connecticut and led the team to a third-place finish in the NAIA National tournament in 1975. He was selected as an All-New England Division 3 pitcher at ECSU in 1978.

Nicoletti won two league championships while playing for the Bristol Cassins in the Greater Hartford Twilight League and coached the McCabe-Waters Giants to the city championship in 1993.

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