Head Coach Bob DeMayo

Bob attended Notre Dame High School and was a three-sport athlete (football, basketball, baseball). In his senior year, he was awarded the Outstanding Athlete of the Year trophy. He received a baseball scholarship to Fordham University. After graduating from Fordham, Bob signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and played in the Appalachian League.

 

In his first professional at-bat, playing for Wytheville (VA) of the Appalachian League, DeMayo belted a grand slam. A few days later, his 10th-inning home run landed on the roof of a house beyond left field to beat Bluefield. Just 24 games into the season, DeMayo was hitting .285 with three homers, six doubles, two triples, 19 runs scored and 19 RBIs.

 

According to DeMayo, back then, minor league life south of the Mason-Dixon Line was exactly how it was portrayed in the movie “Bull Durham.” There was a game every day and two on Sunday. Bus trips took him through just about every one-horse town on the Appalachian Trail. It was, quite simply, the time of his life.

 

Bob returned to New Haven that fall, greeted with a job offer from his high school mentor, John Janenda, to become an assistant at Notre Dame. Bob chose to begin his teaching/coaching career under Coach J.

 

Bob began to teach and coach at North Haven High School in 1957 as the freshman basketball coach and a member of the Social Studies department. He was named the JV baseball coach in 1958. From 1957-1972, Bob was an assistant football coach. In 1973 he took the reins of the football program and remained head coach for the next 24 years. In 1959, Bob became the head baseball coach and continues in that position today. Bob’s coaching style in baseball has withstood the test of time. His record is unmatched in the state of Connecticut: his 300th win in 1978 – his 400th win in 1984 – his 500th win in 1990 – his 600th win in 1997 – his 700th win in2003 – and his 800th win on May 2, 2011. As of the end of the 2017 season, Bob has 884 wins.

 

In baseball, he and his teams have won 18 Housatonic Championships, 5 State Championships (’75, ’82, ’85, 2003, 2015), one State Regional Championship (’82), 5 Hammonasset Divisional titles, 6 Oronoque Divisional titles, and 2 Southern Connecticut Conference Championships.

 

Bob continues to be recognized by many groups for his accomplishments. In 1968 he received the Knights of Columbus Marion Council Annual Chair Award. He was named Coach of the Year in 1981 by the Connecticut High School Coaches Association, High School Coach of the Year in 1985 by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance, Region I Coach of the Year in 1986 and again in 1997, and Football Coach of the Year in 1991 by the National Football Foundation. In 2010, Bob received the first North Haven High School Football Alumni Association Coaching Award. Bob was selected to coach the State All-Star team in both 1978 and 1988. He also coached the

Southern Connecticut Conference All-Star Team in 1995. Bob received the National Coach Gold Award from the Scholastic Coach Magazine in 1987. In 2001, Bob was again named Region I Coach of the Year but that year he went on to be named the National Coach of the Year in baseball. In 2003, Bob was named All-Area Baseball Coach of the Year. In 2010, Bob was given a coaching award from the NHHS Alumni Association and in 2011 he was recognized with an Award of Excellence at the CT-RI Governors Cup Annual Football Game. In 2015, Bob was honored on Opening Day by the North Haven Little League for his contribution to youth baseball. Once again he was elected as both All-Area and All State Coach of the Year by the New Haven Register. The end of December, 2015, saw Bob named as the Sportsperson of the Year by the New Haven Register. In early January, 2016, Bob was honored as the High School Coach of the Year by the Connecticut American Legion. He was recently named the Division III Baseball Coach for the Senior All-Star team in 2016.

 

In 1999, Coach DeMayo was named one of the “Heroes of the 20th Century” by the New Haven Register and “Best of the Century” (baseball recognition) by the Hartford Courant. In 2000 Bob received the Gold Key Award from the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance. In 2009, he was awarded West Haven Twilight League’s Gold Bat Award. On November 8, 2010, Bob was honored as an Elm City Legend at an event hosted by the March of Dimes.

 

Bob has served on many local, state, and national committees throughout the years. He has served on the CIAC baseball committee, the National Coaches Convention Baseball Committee, and continues to serve as chair of the Oronoque Baseball Committee.

 

Bob was inducted into the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club Hall of Fame in 1985 and into the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994. He was inducted into the North Haven High School Hall of Fame in 2003 and inducted into the National High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007.

 

At the end of the 2009 baseball season, the new North Haven Varsity Baseball Field was renamed the Robert E. DeMayo Baseball Field. The dedication of that field was held on May 26, 2009 before a crowd of past and present players and their families. At that time, Coach DeMayo dedicated a statue of a baseball player, “Swinging Away”, to all North Haven baseball players who exemplify a strong commitment to the team concept in their play. At that game, the players announced they had created a scholarship in his name for future baseball players. A $500 scholarship has been awarded to a graduating senior every year since.

 

Bob’s greatest pleasure is spending time with his extensive family – his wife, Bette, and his son Gary (with wife Lucy and children Brittany and Robert), his daughter Robin (her husband Adam and children Zachary, Ryan, Olivia and Troy), and daughter Kristen (husband Gary and daughters Genevieve and Lilliana). In his free time, Bob enjoys golf and is working his way back from a knee injury so he can once again play tennis. His competitive spirit continues whether on a baseball field or the golf course.