William Aniskovich grew up in Branford in the 40\u2019s and 50\u2019s.\u00a0 Bill was a three sport star at Branford High School, graduating in 1956.\u00a0 He served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps following high school, returning to Branford to marry and raise a family.\u00a0 Bill functioned as an athletic coach and a member of the Board of Recreation, and became an acknowledged leader in designing athletic facilities. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bill was a skilled high school athlete a hard-nose competitor and effective leader.\u00a0 Bill was known for his determination, physical courage and sportsmanship.\u00a0On the gridiron, Bill played during his junior and senior years, serving as a quarterback for the Hornets that posted a 7-2 record.\u00a0 The team included Hall of Famers Barry Royden, Skip Sciarra, Peter Dzwonkoski, and first year Head Coach Dom Cote.\u00a0 Bill played basketball for BHS during his freshman, sophomore and senior years for another Hall of Fame coach, Stan Petela. \u00a0In baseball, Bill started as an infielder or catcher for four years.\u00a0 As senior captain, he led one of the top teams in the state the to a 16-2 record.\u00a0 Bill\u2019s teammates included Hall of Fame members Royden, Dick DeSarbo and Dick Bentley.\u00a0 His coach was Hall of Famer Gerry Crotty.\u00a0 Bill\u2019s teammates selected him for the Savitt Sportsmanship Award.<\/p>\n
Following graduation, Bill enlisted in the U.S. Marines and was stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC and aboard ship in the Mediterranean for 7 months before receiving an Honorable Discharge in 1958.\u00a0 He returned to Branford and played for the Branford Townies in the semi-pro Middlesex Country League.\u00a0 Soon, Bill turned to coaching, applying his natural leadership talents to midget football (4 years), Little League baseball (6 years), Recreational Dept. baseball (2 years), and ST. Mary Grammar School Basketball (1 year).<\/p>\n
In 1971, Bill became coach of St. Mary CYO Basketball, posting record of 191 victories and 46 defeats (75%) over 15 years, experiencing only one losing season and winning League Championships 12 times.\u00a0 Under Bill\u2019s coaching St. Mary garnered two State Championships.\u00a0 His \u201984-\u201985 New England Championship team posted a 21-0 record.<\/p>\n
Through his work as Vice President of TPA Design Group and President of the WBA Group, planning, engineering and landscape architecture firms, Bill became well-known throughout the eastern United States for designing athletic facilities. Notable projects are Jess Dow Field, S.C.S.U., the W.C.S.U. Football Stadium, West Haven H.S. Athletic Facility.\u00a0 The WBA Group\u2019s project for the New York Athletic Club was honored with the 2008 American Sports Builders Association Multi-purpose Turf Facility Award.\u00a0 Without question, Bill has become a leader in the region in designing athletic facilities.<\/p>\n
In Branford, Bill served a chairman of the Recreation Commission between 1998 and 2005.\u00a0\u00a0 He provided his expertise in the building of Foote Park, Veteran\u2019s Memorial Park, Flax Mill Soccer Fields, Hammer Field Skate Park, and the James MacVeigh Athletic Complex.<\/p>\n
Bill and his wife Theresa (Richitelli, BHS Class of \u201957) have been married 48 years.\u00a0 They have three sons, Bill, Chris and Kevin and five grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1411,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee\/1410"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/inductee"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}