The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Friends, family celebrate columnist’s life at golf tournament
Hundreds turn out for first Memorial Golf Tournament for the Boy
ORANGE — They came to remember the man. And in doing so, they helped support the boy.
The first Chip Malafronte Memorial Golf Tournament for the Boy was held Monday at Race Brook Country Club. Friends, family, colleagues and many of the sports figures he covered over the years gathered to celebrate the life of the longtime member of the Hearst Connecticut Media and New Haven Register sports department.
Chip Malafronte passed away Aug. 12, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. He was 48.
“He was very strong,” his sister, Nancy Malafronte, said. “We called him the Warrior. He was at death’s door and the doctors told him in 2019, he wasn’t going to see October and he pushed through and went back to the doctor in December of 2019 and said treat me again.
“He did lose the battle, but he was an incredible man and loved by many people,” she added. “He was a very well-respected sports journalist.”
All proceeds from Monday’s event will go to John Paul’s future. He is 13 and will be entering his freshman year at Notre Dame-West Haven.
Chip Malafronte started writing for the Milford Citizen out of college in 1993. He later served as the New Haven Register’s sports columnist from 2011-18, writing a popular weekly column called ‘Sunday Gravy’. The column featured observations about sports and often included funny and touching anecdotes about life with his son, John Paul, who he referred to as the Boy.
Nancy Malafronte says the amount of people that came out to support her brother was “overwhelming.” As a quiet man, she says the outpouring of support the family received was surprising.
“It’s overwhelming,” Nancy
Malafronte said. “The love and support that we have felt from people just over the past year has been incredible and then to just see the outpouring of people here today it’s really just overwhelming. I don’t know what else to say. It is so touching.
“Our brother wasn’t a man of many words you know, he was fairly reserved,” she said. “He was kind of a quiet man, so it was surprising to us the coverage that he received when he passed away and then for all of these people to join forces to be here and to honor his life.”
Chip Malafronte’s sister Mia Malafronte says members of Hearst Connecticut Media “came out in full force” to celebrate her brother. In fact, the event sold out as all 144 golfing spots were filled and many people even bought tickets just to join the family for dinner.
Chip Malafronte played a major role at Hearst Connecticut Media and in the Register’s 200 At 200 series in 2012, a celebration of sports history in Greater New Haven to commemorate the Register’s 200th anniversary.
He discovered fascinating facts about sports history in the area, from visits from Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Jim Thorpe to Fred Goldsmith’s claim he threw the first curveball in baseball history as a teenager in New Haven in the 1870s. He was proud of his work and would dig deep to explore historical sports facts in the area.
Malafronte also covered college hockey for much of his career at the Register and extensively chronicled the growth of the programs at Quinnipiac and Yale to national prominence. In 2013, after Yale defeated Quinnipiac for the NCAA Division I championship, Chip Malafronte authored the book “Hockey Haven” along with Jim Shelton.
“Chip will forever be in the hearts and thoughts of our team at HCMG, as well as the many readers who enjoyed his work,” said Wendy Metcalfe, Hearst Connecticut Media’s Vice President of Content and Editor-in-Chief. “The success of today’s event is further proof of the significant impact he had. It’s wonderful to see so many people come forward to support his family and this important cause.”
Hearst Connecticut Media served as a presenting sponsor of Monday’s event.
A graduate of Amity (1989) and Central Connecticut State (1993), Malafronte was also a fine athlete, playing baseball both in high school and as a centerfielder for the West Haven Twilight League. He was presented with a Gold Bat by the West Haven Twilight League in 2007, representing induction into their Hall of Fame.
Chip is survived by his son, John Paul; sisters Mia Malafronte, Gina Malafronte and Nancy Malafronte, and his mother, Shirley Malafronte Fontana. Mia Malafronte previously worked at the New Haven Register as a photographer.