PRESS ARCHIVE
Friends keep alive
memories of Lione, Rioux
Bob Kennedy, Sports Editor
Courtesy of The Stamford Advocate, January 22, 2003
02003 Southern CT Newspapers, Inc.
Mickey Lione, Jr. and Allyson Rioux are deceased, but due to the efforts of their numerous friends, their accomplishments on and off the field have been memorialized.
Lione was remembered Monday night at the inaugural Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine and Food Experience which benefited the Mickey Lione, Jr. Scholarship Fund.
Rioux will be inducted on January 31 into the University of Massachusetts Hall of Fame.
The athletic accomplishments of both are impressive.
Lione's name is synonymous with success as both a player and coach. He played on three world championship youth baseball teams and coached two Babe Ruth world championship teams.
In a 34-year coaching career, he won six state titles at Trinity Catholic High School in baseball and hockey and had an overall record of 731-413.
He was also an assistant football coach at Trinity and New Canaan, where he contributed to three state championship teams.
He died in 1999 at age 59.
Rioux was a second-team All-American softball player at UMass in 1982 and a two-time All-New England selection. She had a career .328 average and still ranks among the all-time school leaders in several offensive categories.
Rioux played 10 seasons with the Raybestos Brakettes and won five ASA national titles, was a six-time ASA All-American and MVP of the 1985 National Championship series.
Rioux was also a member of the 1983 U.S. Pan American team, where she batted .549 and was a two-time World Games participant, earning All-World honors in 1986.
An editorial in The Advocate said of Lione: "In a world of cliché' and artifice, Mickey Lione Jr. stood as a welcome contrast. Stamford is a better place because he grew up and made his life here."
The same can be said of Rioux.
Stamford is a better place because of Lione and Rioux and friends are making sure that these two special people aren't forgotten by the next generation. Scholarships have been established to perpetuate their memories and are considered the most prestigious awarded to Stamford student-athletes.
Scholarships are awarded not only for athletic excellence, but to athletes who embody ideals, personal excellence and strengths and make a positive impact on our community as did Lione and Rioux.
Valentine, a close friend of Lione, spearheaded Monday night's Wine and Food Experience. He seized the fundraising concept conceived by Anthony Zezima and Bill Ippolito and took it to the next step and beyond.
A crowd of more than 500 attended the first gala. Included were the likes of baseball Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda, New York Mets pitchers Al Leiter and Steve Trachsel, noted artist LeRoy Neiman, designer Joseph Aboud and many others.
They, and many other celebrities, were there because Bobby Valentine asked them to attend. He asked them because like many others, he's personally committed to raising money for the Mickey Lione Jr. Scholarship Fund.
Valentine was omnipresent. He cajoled for more money as the auctioneer for vacation trips and sports memorabilia, sold tickets for the event and for a car raffle, shook hands and signed autographs.
Thousands of dollars were raised for the Mickey Lione Scholarship Fund to match thousands raised by Valentine and Friends at an annual summer golf tournament the past two years.
Six Lione scholarship winners are currently in college, while three are juniors in high school. Six more scholarships will be presented this year.
At the time of her death, a memorial fund was created in Stamford to honor Rioux. More than $200,000 has been raised since its inception, which has gone toward scholarships to 15 graduating female athletes and to support Stamford individuals and families in need.
Lione and Rioux will be remembered both for their athletic excellence and their work in our community, and because the efforts of their friends, others will be directed in the same direction.
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.