PRESS ARCHIVE
Lione lived up
to his father's legend
Mike Chiappetta Staff Writer
Courtesy of The Stamford Advocate, Feb. 7, 1999
02003 Southern CT Newspapers, Inc.
He left behind a sister, Roseann, a legion of friends, and hundreds of players who under his tutelage, made Lione one of the winningest coaches in city history.
But his record -731 combined wins in hockey and baseball-is not what made Lione a winner. That would be his years of service to youth. Coaching is what Lione did, just about as well as anyone who has ever taken up the noble profession. It's a selfless act, and anyone who knew Mickey wouldn't hesitate to use that word to describe him.
He molded hundreds of young men who passed through the doors of 926 Newfield Avenue, instilled in them the qualities to succeed, made them winners like their coach.
But then again, winning is all Mickey Lione ever knew. He was a winner from the beginning, having played on the 1951 Little League World Championship team, and to the end, coaching the 1997-1998 Trinity ice hockey team to the Division I state championship.
He was also one of the friendliest and most polite people around, a true gentlemen in a world that seems to lose them by the day. His smile was disarming and his demeanor calm. He was downright mellow.
His loss is the latest blow to Trinity Catholic High School, which is still grieving over the passing of longtime softball coach Mary Kay Smith, who died at the beginning of the 1998-1999 school year.
The two were the foundation of the school's athletic programs. Smith taught and coached at the school for 37 years while Lione checked in with 28 years of service.
The thing about it is if you knew Lione, you understand what a loss this is. But for those who didn't it's difficult to put in words. He wasn't solely a coach. To his players he was a friend, a mentor, a father-figure.
"He always made you feel special", said Steve Weiss, a distant relative of Lione's as well as former basketball coach at then Stamford Catholic and later at UConn -Stamford. "He always took the time out to talk to you and make you feel like you mattered."
Lione was like that with everyone no matter who you were.
He crossed paths with another Stamford legend, Bobby Valentine, and the two shared a 30 year friendship. Lione was a confidant for Valentine, and basically had free reign at Shea Stadium where it seemed every one of the ushers knew Mickey by first name.
In Valentine's office he had framed words of wisdom given to him by Lione: "It's not the critic who counts…If he fails at least fail while daring greatly so that he'll never be with these cold and timid souls who never know either victory or defeat."
These very words could well be applied to one of Lione's finest hours as a coach, during Trinity's 3-1 state championship game win over New Canaan last year at the New Haven Coliseum.
In what ranks as one of the biggest upsets in recent scholastic history, the Crusaders, who had lost three games by a combined 17-1 score to the Rams previously, pulled off a stunning win, piloted by Lione.
Several players that day mentioned how the game was more a mental battle than a physical one. Dare to be great, Lione had.
He told them, just like he told Valentine, and they followed their leader.
"He was just one of those coaches who knew how to get the best out of you", said Andy DeBrisco, an assistant baseball coach at Westhill who was coached by Lione in Babe Ruth baseball. "And he never lost that."
Lione was such a well-respected man that newspapers like The New Haven Register and The Hartford Courant ran stories about his passing despite their distance from Stamford. Friends from all over the country flew in to pay their respects.
My last great memory of him was the hockey team's celebration dinner last year. Although he was very personable one on one, Mickey was not fond of talking before big crowds and wasn't' looking forward to his speech, even though there was nothing but friendly faces before him.
The time came when he went up to the podium to say a few words about his team. He shifted nervously as he talked, but he thanked just about everyone in the room for something or other, from his assistant coaches to his scorekeepers. The man who didn't like crowds had no problem giving out thanks in bunches.
That was the type of man he was. Selfless, sharing, simply indescribable.
The plaque that honors his father, Michael, Sr., also known as "Mickey" in Lione Park on Stamford's west side, reads in part" fiery enthusiasm for victory with equal dedication to honor." Those words, written 40 years ago, could just as easily have been written to describe his son, Mickey Jr. The two will forever stand side-by-side, leaders of men and legends of sport, each a Stamford original.
Media Relations
If you want to obtain information for articles or television/radio programming contact:
Tom Chiappetta
The Mickey Lione, Jr. Fund
84 West Park Place 3rd Floor
Stamford, CT 06901
Phone: 203 984-4806
Fax: 203 966-2973Press packets are available. Permission must be secured for all photograph and video use.