Sports

Smithtown Takes Over Suffolk Sports Hall Inductions

Ball players Catalanotto, Mecir, joined by former Section XI head Gallagher.

Growing up in Smithtown, Frank Catalanotto certainly didn’t dream of being a Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame inductee.

But the day has come and the former Major League Baseball player will be joined by Smithtown native and former major leaguer Jim Mecir, as well as former Smithtown coach Cathy Gallagher as Class of 2011 inductees.

Catalanotto was present Tuesday at a press conference at the hall in Patchogue. Mecir was home in Illinois and Gallagher in Connecticut.

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“When I got the phone call I was excited,” said Catalanotto, who spent 14 years in the big leagues with five teams. “I’m not going to be a hall of famer in the Major Leagues, but to be a hall of famer and be recognized here on Long Island is very special. I take a lot of pride in growing up in Suffolk County.”

Catalanotto graduated from Smithtown East High School in 1992 and was drafted by the Detroit Tigers the same year in the 10th round. He made his big league debut in 1997 with the Tigers and had stints in Texas, Toronto, and Milwaukee and finished with the New York Mets last season.

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The St. James resident has always been known for sticking close to his roots and is looking to open the next chapter in his career as a broadcaster. He has auditions scheduled and is hoping to land something with ESPN or MLB TV.

“He’s a hero in Smithtown,” said former Smithtown athletic director Nick Schroeder, who played baseball with Frank’s father, Frank, at the University of Bridgeport. “He deserves the honor as much as anybody who was ever inducted.”

Mecir, who graduated from Smithtown East in 1988, was one of the best pitchers to come out of Suffolk County. He was a third round selection by the Seattle Mariners and was known on Long Island for leading Smithtown to the state finals in 1988. As a senior he was 9-1 with a 0.99 ERA. Mecir also spent time with the Yankees, where he won a World Series ring in 1996, Boston, Tampa, Oakland, and Florida, where he retired in 2005.

“Over that period of time Smithtown baseball did very well because of those people who led us,” Schroeder said, also mentioning that Catalanotto and Mecir will join fellow Smithtown alum and pro ball player John Curtis, who is already in the hall.

Gallagher was the only former high school administrator inducted into the hall this year.

She was a physical education teacher and coach in Smithtown and Cold Spring Harbor before taking the role of Associate Director of Section XI in 1973 and eventually running Suffolk’s governing body of high school athletics from 1982 to 2003.

“Everything we have in high school athletics, the organization of Section XI and the way it operates is due to her insight and her ability to get the job done,” said Ed Cinelli, the current director of Section XI. “We feel it’s the most organized section in New York.”

The inductees will all be present at a formal ceremony on May 3 at Patchogue’s West Lake Inn.

All 2011 Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame Inductees:

  • Eric Brown, Baseball coach at Suffolk County Community College
  • Donald Buckley, Athletic Director at St. Anthony’s High School
  • Frank Catalanotto, Former Major Leaguer out of Smithtown
  • Cathy Gallagher, Former head of Section XI
  • Jesse Jantzen, Legendary wrestler from Shoreham-Wading River
  • Jim Mecir, Former Major League pitcher out of Smithtown
  • Jeff Reh, Skilled soccer and lacrosse player out of Rocky Point
  • Scott Reh, Skilled soccer and lacrosse player out of Rocky Point
  • Barbara Williams, Skating coach with New York Islanders


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