Meet the 10 Biggest Sports Stars From Connecticut

Connecticut is home to many great things. It’s one of the leading states for shipbuilding, and the area is known as a global leader in asset management and investments. Many famous people also came from the state, including several big names in the world of sports. That’s who we’re talking about today. The 10 biggest sports stars from Connecticut. While many athletes call the state home, these are the big names that really put the area on the map, and they deserve to be celebrated.

To determine the best and brightest from Connecticut, 24/7 Tempo researched many sources, including Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report, and others. We also looked at local sources and publications, such as the Connecticut Post and CT Insider. We’ll talk about the people who call the state home, some of their biggest accomplishments, and other fun facts that the world needs to know. (For more on the world of sports, click here for the 10 best sports documentaries of all time.)

Calvin Murphy

When you think about some of the best old-school NBA players of all time, Calvin Murphy undoubtedly comes to mind. He was born in Norwalk, CT, and he attended Norwalk High School, where he played basketball and was so good that he was All-America twice and All-State three times. In fact, he was such an inspiration in the town that they changed the school’s address in his honor. It’s 23 Calvin Murphy Rd. However, before he got into basketball, he was a world-class baton twirler. The rest of his family was also baton twirlers, and he says he was bullied into it. He was so good that he performed at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Murphy would go to Niagara University in New York and continue playing basketball there, where he was a three-time All-American. He even played one game where he scored 68 points. Throughout his professional career, Murphy played for what was then the San Diego Rockets (now the Houston Rockets). He continued to perform well and even helped the team reach the finals during the 1981 season. He retired in 1983 and then went on to work for the Rockets organization as a television analyst.

Floyd Little

Another old-school great was Floyd Little, who was one of the best players to ever play for the Denver Broncos. He set numerous records during his career. However, before all that, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He attended high school at Hillhouse High School in New Haven, but he later went on to Bordentown Military School in New Jersey. His big break was when he was recruited by Douglas MacArthur to play football for the military. He was also recruited by the University of Notre Dame but decided to attend Syracuse University. Little played football there for three seasons, and he did quite well. He almost won the Heisman Trophy twice.

As a professional, Little spent his entire career with the Denver Broncos. At the time of his retirement in 1975, he was the 7th all-time leading rusher, resulting in 54 touchdowns. During his rookie year, he also led the NFL in punt returns. His number, 44, was retired by the Broncos and by the Syracuse football program. In 2010, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as one of only five players to get there without ever playing a postseason game. Some of his other accolades include:

• NFL rushing yards leader (1971)
• 5-time Pro Bowl player
• NFL rushing touchdowns co-leader (1973)
• 6,323 career rushing yards

Bobby Valentine

He may not currently be a household name, but he continues to be one of the biggest sports stars from Connecticut. He’s mostly known as a professional baseball player and manager. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut, and went to Rippowam High School in that city. While there, Valentine was an All-State baseball, football, and track player. He is the only three-time All-State football player in Connecticut’s history. He made multiple state records for touchdowns and for having the fastest 60-yard dash. Later, he attended college at USC in California and pursued his love of baseball.

Valentine was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968, and he played for the Dodgers while also finishing college. In addition to the Dodgers, he would play for the California Angels, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets and retire with the Seattle Mariners. Overall, he had a batting average of .260 and 12 home runs. After his playing career, he went on to be a baseball manager. He coached the Texas Rangers, Chiba Lotte Marines, the New York Mets, and the Boston Red Sox. Overall, he ended with a winning record of 1,186–1,165. Later, he would work as the lead baseball analyst on ESPN.

Charles Nagy

Another of the significant sports stars from Connecticut is famed baseball pitcher Charles Nagy. He was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and went on to attend Roger Ludlowe High School in Fairfield, and that’s where he started putting a lot of time into playing baseball and football. Later, he would attend the University of Connecticut, where he played as a member of the Huskies. While there, he was a pitcher and became the eighth of all time for strikeouts. He would then play for Team USA Baseball in the 1998 Olympics.

Nagy was drafted by the Cleveland Indians, and he spent most of his time there from 1990 to 2002. He had a great career and made it to the 1997 World Series. In 2003, he went to the San Diego Padres and then retired. During his career, he had a win-loss record of 129–105 and had 1,242 strikeouts. After retiring as a player, Nagy went on to work as a pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Los Angeles Angels. He also worked as the Special Assistant to Player Development for the Cleveland Indians.

Scott Burrell

One of the biggest names in basketball from Connecticut is Scott Burrell. He was born in New Haven, CT, and then raised in nearby Hamden. He attended Hamden High School. It’s there that he played football as a quarterback and played baseball as the team’s pitcher. However, his real love was playing basketball. Later, he attended the University of Connecticut and played for the Huskies from 1989 to 1993. While there, he averaged 16.3 points and 7.5 rebounds.

Burrell started his professional career by being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the 20th overall pick. He would later play for the Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls (and played with Michael Jordan when they won the 1998 NBA championship), the New Jersey Nets, and several development league teams and overseas teams. After he retired, Burrell then went on to be a coach for overseas and college teams. As a coach at Southern Connecticut State University, he had a winning record of 91–56.

Dorothy Hamill

Though figure skating legend Dorothy Hamill was technically born in Chicago, Illinois, her family moved to Greenwich soon after her birth, which still makes her one of the biggest sports stars from Connecticut. She started taking skating lessons at the age of eight and soon fell in love with the sport. She would wake up at 4:30 am to go to the rink daily. Later on, her family moved, and she attended Colorado Academy.

Her career started with a bang when she won her first U.S. Championship at 12. From there, her star continued to rise as she won award after award. She won gold and silver metals in several world championships. She also won a gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Games. Hamill was also an Ice Capades headliner from 1977 to 1984. In 2013, she participated in the show “Dancing with The Stars.”

Mike Gminski

While not a household name these days, Mike Gminski is one of the most famous basketball players from Connecticut. He was born in Monroe, CT, and attended high school at Masuk High School in Monroe. Gminski is very smart, and he was able to graduate in just three years. Then, he attended Duke University and started his basketball career off with a bang by playing four years with the Blue Devils. He was the leading scorer during his junior and senior years. At the time that he graduated from Duke, he was the all-time scoring leader. At this point, he’s closer to 8th, which is still impressive.

He played for the New Jersey Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, and the Milwaukee Bucks during his professional career. Gminski did quite well throughout his career, scoring almost 11,000 total points and securing 6,480 rebounds. He was also an exceptional free throw shooter who made 84% of his attempts. After retiring from the game, he continued to be involved in basketball by working as an announcer for CBS Sports. He was also inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.

Chris Dudley

Another of the biggest sports stars from Connecticut is Chris Dudley, who was born in Stamford, Connecticut. He was the son of a minister and a teacher. He is of Hungarian descent, and his paternal grandfather was the U.S. Ambassador to Denmark during the Ford and Nixon administrations. While he was born in CT, he moved to California as a youth and attended high school in San Diego. Then, he went to Yale and played NCAA basketball with the Bulldogs.

He started his professional career with the Cleveland Cavaliers and then played for the Nets, Trail Blazers, Knicks, and the Suns. He had varying success during his career and reached the postseason in 1999 with the Knicks. His career ended with the Trail Blazers. Throughout it all, he had 3,473 points and 5,457 rebounds. Dudley’s other accomplishments include starting the Chris Dudley Foundation for children with diabetes and running for the U.S. House of Representatives in Oregon in 2009.

Ryan Gomes

Our next NBA star from Connecticut is Ryan Gomes, who was born in Waterbury, CT. He played basketball while attending Wilby High School, where he was the captain of the team during his last two years. He scored a whopping 26.9 points and 16 rebounds per game. Gomes also played baseball in high school as a pitcher, where he had a very respectable .013 ERA. Because of his skills, he was pursued by many colleges but decided to attend Providence College in Rhode Island. While there, he averaged 18.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game.

During his professional career, he played for several NBA teams, including the Celtics, Timberwolves, Clippers, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. He did well as a supporting player and scored over 12 points per game while playing for the Celtics. He has since retired, but since 2021, he has been the head coach for Team Overtime, which is a team in the Overtime Elite League.

Jeff Bagwell

Baseball player Jeff Bagwell was technically born in Boston, Massachusetts, but when he was one year old, his family moved to Killingworth, Connecticut. He seemed to love baseball from the time he could move. According to his mom, when he was six months old, when she would throw a ball to him, he would throw it back. Bagwell attended Xavier High School in Middleton, where he continued to excel in baseball and soccer. Later, he went to the University of Hartford with a baseball scholarship.

Bagwell spent his entire professional MLB career playing for the Houston Astros. He had a unique batting stance that worked well for him. He was also known for his defensive prowess. His efforts really helped the team, and they had several playoff appearances during his run with the team. Bagwell held numerous records, and he will go down in Astros history. His number 5 was officially retired by the team. Some of his many accolades include:

• NL MVP (1994)
• NL Rookie of the Year (1991)
• 3× Silver Slugger Award
• 4× All-Star