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A plaque in the front lobby of Stamford High School.
Photo: ContributedA plaque in the front lobby of Stamford High School.
A plaque in the front lobby of Stamford High School.
A plaque in the front lobby of Stamford High School.
Stamford High School was built in 1873. More than a century later, the school still stands, more riddled than ever with historical remnants and stories of the past. One of these stories has been permanently embedded into the school’s building through a special plaque, which is only the face of an incredible story of Stamford High alumni.
The plaque, titled “The Boys of ’56,” resides in the front lobby of the main building, right by the entrance doors. In it are engraved the names of 16 former Stamford High students, along with a caption that reads:
“These are the members of the SHS Class of 1956 that formed close friendships with one another that lasted their entire lives. They were in one anothers wedding parties, Godfathers to one anothers children, and pallbearers at one anothers funerals. It has been said that there has never been a group of this many classmates, anywhere, that has remained so close for so long with such enduring love and respect for one another. For all those who know them, they are referred to and will be remembered as ‘The Boys.’”
Aside from that, the plaque leaves little clue to what the so-called “Boys” did to make them deserving of such an honor. After a few inquiries with teachers and students revealed little, it was the 1956 Stamford High yearbook — titled “Our Golden Years” — and these men’s personal anecdotes that could finally provide the secret to their glory.
“Our Golden Years” revealed the undeniable fact that each of the men left their own memorable imprint on Stamford High School: Carmen Tornatore was voted “Best Looking” of the class, Robert Ferrera was the school’s “own Mickey Mantle,” and William Caporizzo was known for being a “handyman with numbers,” who aspired to be an accountant after high school.
The majority of them played on sports teams. If not on the football team (coached by Paul Kuczo, the namesake of the main gym), it was the baseball or track team. Two acted as class officers: Micheal T. Beluk was president, and Robert Horan was vice president. Nearly all were involved in the “Mad Hatters,” which — as described by one of “The Boys” himself — was a social club at Stamford High during that time.
They all had varying aspirations for after school, though. Lenny Roberto would “sail off to the Navy,” while Donald Tefrey, the school’s “versatile varsity man,” would “score more points at engineering school.” But no matter where they went after they graduated, each and every one of them carried the Stamford High name with pride and brought honor to the school itself.
As enticing as the high school legacies of these men were, it is even more interesting to consider what they have achieved after leaving the brick walls of Stamford High, bringing history to its name.
Joseph Anzalone lived up to his high school nickname — “Mr.Touchdown” — by pursuing his football career and becoming a coach. The New York Times published an article on Oct. 2, 1983, titled “Anzalone Gets No. 100,” that celebrated him for his 100th career win as a football coach at Stamford Catholic High School (now Trinity Catholic High School). The school honored him for his work in 2017.
Dominick Lacerenza — who was known as “a good sport who’s good in sports” — was also a Trinity Catholic High School football coach. In 2019, he contributed an opinion article to the Stamford Advocate regarding the success of the school. In fact, Lacerenza’s name appears many times in the Advocate’s database, for he, like many of his friends, has remained in Stamford all these years and has tirelessly contributed to the community.
Eugene “Beans” Bonina became a Marine. After his service, he attended Southern Connecticut Teachers’ College and had the opportunity to train both Frank Robinson and Roberto Clemente. He ended up marrying his high school sweetheart, Grace Bonina, and opening up a successful insurance agency in Boca Raton, Florida, in 1975.
In 2012, Bonina, alongside former classmate Peter Walsh, was honored by the Stamford Old Timers Athletic Association. Walsh accompanied Bonina as a Marine, and later returned to Stamford to work for his father’s company, Anthony Walsh Construction, which he later took over. He also served three terms on the Stamford Board of Representatives, showing his commitment to the city.
Thomas McTigue was also honored by the Stamford Old Timers a few years back for his unending work in the community. Alongside being an FCIAC football official, he was an active member of St. John R.C. Church Atlantic Street, a Third Degree member of the Knights of Columbus St. Augustine Council No. 41, and a past member of the Stamford Golf Authority. After he graduated Stamford High, McTigue joined the U.S. Navy, and later worked as a claims manager for an insurance agency.
Prior to delving into Micheal Beluk’s adult legacy, it would be wrong not to mention his popularity in high school. The ’56 yearbook referred to him as the “monarch of the Senior reign,” after all. He played for the football and golf teams and was active in the school’s theater program. If those activities alone don’t show his influence, he was also voted “Most Popular” by his class. As an adult, Beluk was heavily involved in charity work and giving back to the community. A life-long resident of Stamford, he served as the president of the Stamford Exchange Club twice.
Beluk’s right-hand man in his reign over the senior class was undoubtedly Robert Horan, his VP. Horan was voted “Most Athletic” and “Most Versatile” by his peers, and lived up to these titles with his involvement on a number of sports teams, the Mad Hatters, and acting as president of the Math Team (in an interview, Horan jokingly revealed that “he didn’t know why” he was president of the team, but he was).
His achievements in sports did not cease in high school, though. A New York Times article from July 11, 1971, titled “Horan Is Appointed Aide of the Harvard Football Team,” wrote about his recent hiring as a full-time football assistant for the Harvard University football team. The article also mentioned his previous job as a football coach at Stamford Catholic High School, during which “he posted a won-lost-tied record of 31-7-1.”
Horan’s college roommate, Robert Masotti, was known as “Mr. Sports” in high school for his skill in football, basketball and baseball. After graduating from UConn, Masotti cofounded Masotti & Masotti LLC, an accounting and consulting agency based in Stamford. In an interview, he revealed that The Boys do still keep in contact to this day, and that he feels “fortunate to have so many [remarkable friends].”
Right across the hall from Masotti & Masotti LLC, one can find the office of Frank Li Volsi, who now works as an attorney. In an interview, Li Volsi spoke of the photographs that still top his office desk: one of himself with Robert Horan from when they played football together at 5 years old, and another of the good old Stamford High football team from his years on the field, which pictured most of “The Boys.” Before the coronavirus pandemic struck, he said, he and a few others would still get together once a week for lunch.
Edward Mazurek certainly appeared in the photograph Li Volsi described, for he, alongside Horan, must have been one of the most successful in pursuing football after high school. After playing for Xavier University on a 4-year football scholarship, he was selected to play for the Gem City Bowl in Buffalo, New York. He was drafted by the AFL Patriots, the NFL Chicago Cardinals and a team from Canada. He ended up signing with the Cardinals (who later moved to St. Louis), and was traded mid-season to the New York Giants. After retiring from football, he pursued a master’s in education, which allowed him to teach and coach football In New England for 35 years.
William Caporizzo, like Masotti and Li Volsi, had pursued his own business after college. He acted as a founding partner at Caporizzo and Caporizzo, CPAs, LLC, and maintained a public accounting practice in Stamford for 35 years. After Stamford High, Caporizzo had received a degree in business administration from Pace University, and in 1966, he was granted the Gold Medal Award by the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.
Raymond Gentile — nicknamed “Gent” — served in the U.S. Army after high school, after which he went on to work as a self-employed carpenter for many years. While at Stamford High he played on the golf team, and he never did stop pursuing the sport. He was described as being “an avid golfer” who was always trying to “perfect his game.”
As a whole, “The Boys of ’56” have a myriad of fascinating life stories, but what is most remarkable about this group of men is not the achievements they brought to the Stamford name, but the incredible bond they have that has persisted ever since their graduation.
“We all grew up together and stayed together” seems to be “The Boys’” unofficial slogan, as each one I interviewed used that same phrase. “It is unlike other friendships,” Masotti assured me.
From the times they spent “cruising the square” in high school, to planning vacations together for the summer of 2020, they have always remained in contact, through phone calls, emails or gatherings. Multiple “Boys” have confirmed that they have attended each other’s weddings and visited each other in the hospital in their times of illness. On the day of our interview, Robert Horan mentioned that just that morning he had received four emails from his life-long friends, checking in on him.
While reminiscing on the past, Robert Masotti shared an anecdote from one of the recent gatherings: a few years ago, the group all met up in Boston for dinner. As their meal came to an end, a young girl knocked on the door of their private room, saying that she just had to meet them. She explained, “one moment I think you’re about to kill one another, and the next you guys are laughing again.” Masotti admits that that is the way the friends act together; they would argue, they would fight, but “anyone in the group can say something to someone else,” as he put it. They are all just that close.
Robert Horan had stopped by the school last year to see the plaque — which each “Boy” has their own copy of — and admitted that “it looks exactly the same.”
“It brings back so many memories,” he said. “And I will always be proud to be a Stamford High graduate.”
The family of Eugene Bonina, who died in Florida, wrote in his obituary that “he never forgot Stamford, his family and ‘the boys.’” And just like Bonina, the remaining “Boys,” and all of Stamford High, will never forget this group of incredible men.
Sofia Sarak is a junior at Stamford High School.
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