By Bob Montgomery

The Summer Olympics

With the Olympics just around the corner, I’m being reminded of the many we’ve almost or had since the late 1940’s, beginning with Emerson Bouyea, a weightlifter. Bouyea, now deceased, was a neighbor of ours in the 1950’s on Sixth Street. I recall going to his family cottage as a young boy, and boy, did he look great in a bathing suit.

Emerson, who was to be an alternate in the Olympics in 1950 never competed, because WWII canceled “The Games.’ Another fine lifter was Paul Neveu. Like Bouyea, he was a member of the Bristol Boys Club Strength and Health Club, doing so between 1935-1950. He won multiple state and New England crowns.

Bristol on ESPN 

This segment is being written on Tuesday. It was kind of “Bristol Day” on the channel. There was a short documentary on Donovan Clingan and interviewed or speaking were Bristol’s Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN basketball insider; Bill Clingan, Donovan’s dad; Donovan’s high school friend Vinny Rosa, who is on the UConn football team as one of its best; and Tim Barrette, their high school basketball coach. 

P.S. The next day Donovan was picked seven in the draft by Portland. I predicted this a couple of weeks ago. Congrats also to his three UConn teammates who were also chosen. I plan to follow Portland and UConn next year. Bristol must be proud!

R.I.P – Kenneth Hintz. Sr.

Ken, who recently died at age 88, was an All-State basketball player at Terryville High, who went on to play at UConn. A Terryville resident, of course, he enjoyed all sports and his family and friends. He is a legendary athlete from the “Clock Town.”

I’m wondering if he was a cousin to Ken Hintz of Bristol? Our Ken was a Bristol High tennis player who is legendary for his play with the game here. He hosted many friends at his Washington Street home on his tennis courts. Many well-known people were said to be there. I visited a ew times to watch these guys, those such as Gerry Burns and his crew.

Remember the annual Ralph Strong Tennis Championships held by the Bristol Parks Department when it was a big event? The names of winners through the years is almost a history of the sport here.

The Petkes

While writing about Ken Hintz, I thought of the Petke Family from Terryville. Emile, Walter and his brothers were all standout athletes from nearly a century ago. Walt, the best known to me, taught at Bristol Eastern in its early years. 

Walt’s boys, Joe and John, were solid athletes at the school. In fact, John, now deceased, was an inductee of the Bristol Sports Hall of Fame. I was on the track team with him at Eastern. Their mother, Mary, used to call me frequently at “The Press.”

Bristol’s trains

One of our experts on the history of Bristol trains is Steve Vastola, a longtime member and officer at the Bristol Historical Society.

Contact Bob Montgomery at BobMontgomeryNews@BristolEdition.org, or by calling 860-583-5132.

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