Richard Balzano
In the storied history of Branford sports, tremendous individuals graced our athletic fields with their excellence, but occasionally a team comes along to define an era. The American Legion Post 83 baseball team had one of the most prolific runs in Branford’s rich sports history. Rich Balzano coached a team that would dominate Connecticut and the Northeast region and participate in four American Legion World Series.
Rich Balzano began playing baseball in his hometown of North Haven where he played for the legendary Bob DeMayo at North Haven High School .Balzano would co-captain the ‘73 team. He would adopt many of DeMayo’s strategies into his coaching the Branford Post 83 American Legion team. Over his tenure Balzano stressed “small ball”: bunting, sacrificing, stealing bases, advancing runners. His players bought into the system and he got everything from his players. A quote that resonated with Balzano throughout his coaching career came from his mentor, “prepare to win, or be ready to lose to somebody who is.”
Balzano’s interest in baseball was revived when his two sons got involved with Little League. He began coaching at the Sandy Koufax level starting his own team, the Rebels winning two state titles, and eventually moved on to the Junior Legion team, winning a state title in 2004. By the next year he was coaching the Senior team to unprecedented success. Towards the end of the regular season, Post 83 was behind 9-5 in the ninth inning in a must win game to advance to the state tournament, the team rallied to win 10-9 in the 10th. They were in their first state tournament. This was the team that put Post 83 on the map. They were resilient and scrappy and blazed the trail for other Branford teams to follow. They won their first CT and Northeast Regional title and would go on to finish third in the nation, losing to the eventual champion Oklahoma.
Branford would continue their success again in 2007, returning to the Legion World Series with many players from the 2005 team, including future major leaguer Mike Olt. Trips to the 2010 and 2013 World Series were not as successful but Branford Post 83 was established on the national level as a team to be reckoned with. Between 2012-2014 Post 83 had a 54 game regular season winning streak, one game short of the national record.
By 2016 Balzano decided to retire from coaching, leaving an incredible legacy behind: 4 Connecticut and Northeast Region titles, 4 World Series appearances (the only CT coach to bring his team to four WS appearances). Balzano finished with a career coaching record of 375 wins 79 losses including a Zone 2 record of 250-59. Reflecting on his success he said “ you don’t win without great players. I’ve been fortunate we’ve had really good, dedicated players over the years.” He was grateful to the young men who came through the program during his tenure, and the impact Legion Ball had on their careers and future. All this success is the result of a tremendous group effort, his dedicated staff of coaches were instrumental to bringing the dream to reality along with the unwavering support of Massey’s Glass.
Rich is a 1977 graduate of Providence College and remains an avid Friar fan. Rich is married to his wife Barbara and has two sons, Rich and Jimmy, and one granddaughter, Calla. He is owner of RAB Associates, a manufacturers rep agency for over 40 years in Branford.
