Gene Bergin

1950 * Football-Baseball * “Mr. Outside”

"I do not give, just to get, I give because I have something to give. I do not demean him, nor aggrandize myself." Leona Holbrook (Human Values Through Sports) "They don't go to Mickey's any more, its too crowded" ~Yogi Berra

Those of us that are old enough may remember Glen Davis and Felix "Doc" Blanchard also known as Mr. Outside and Mr. Inside. They were the two dynamic running backs of the Black Knights of West Point. They made West Point a national power in the late 1940s under coach Ed Blake.

In 1949 The Owls continued the tradition of dynamic running backs through Gene Bergin, Mr. Outside and Jack Hanley, Mr. Inside. Together they led Hartford Public to a State Championship under coach Bill Loika. Gene Bergin earned All State honors while setting a new scholastic scoring record. In 1949 he was named the MVP for the traditional Thanksgiving Day game against Weaver High School. As the catcher for the Owls, Gene received a similar honor, the Bill Savitt "Savitt Trophy". In 1950 Gene led the Owls to a State Baseball Championship while under legendary Hall of Fame coach Bill Loika.

Gene Bergin was also at the beginning of NASCAR, as he drove the first modified Pinto racecar. He won several championships at various tracks and was inducted into the New England Racing Hall of Fame in 1998.