Pride, tradition, and determination engraved the life of 1993 Branford Sports Hall of Famer Chet Tisko in many ways including his success in athletics and in business.<\/p>\n
Born to Polish parents on Christmas Day 1905, Tisko was a long-time Branford resident along with his three sisters and one brother.\u00a0 He attended local schools where he established an outstanding mark in scholastic sports, especially football and bowling.<\/p>\n
What was considered his first sports love \u2013 football \u2013 Tisko became involved in the sport in a most original fashion.\u00a0 While working on a backwoods farm, Tisko was discovered by two football players, one of them being 1988 Branford Sports Hall of Fame inductee Dave Hylinski.\u00a0 The pair soon went back to the farm with a football in hand and in the midst of tossing the pig skin with Tisko, soon found the discovery of a fast, brainy, tough-going athlete in Tisko.\u00a0 Already a halfback on the Branford Laurels team, Hylinski went to 1990 Branford Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Coach Bob Kelly told him that he had a great prospect in the waiting.\u00a0 When Kelly spotted Tisko, he was sure and the training began immediately.\u00a0 While a member of the Laurels football team, Tisko was part of semi pro championships from 1922 through 1926.\u00a0 He starred on the squad for 15 years as a defensive guard and tackle.<\/p>\n
Tisko started his prosperous bowling career in 1924 at the Branford Bowling Center, where he attained a season high average of 202.\u00a0 Throughout his career, Tisko maintained a steady 185 plus average as the anchor man of the Branford Bombers.\u00a0 As members of the new Haven City Pin League, the Bombers and Tisko were champions on many occasions.\u00a0 From 1950 to 1956, they won seven straight league championships. Chet contributed a 248 game as his team rolled an 1154 team series which was an association record until 1970.\u00a0 He has a career high game of 279 and a 717 set to his credit.<\/p>\n
Chet was also a team member of the \u201cStage Door Grille\u201d which traveled 170 miles round trip each Wednesday to Bowl Mor Lanes in New York City to participate in the Metropolitan Major League, where he was a squad leader for 21 years.\u00a0 Tisko was involved in 17 American Bowling Congress tournaments, including a memorable event at Columbus, Ohio where Tisko rolled games of 203, 279, and 158 for a 640 set in 1950.\u00a0 The 279 game was believed to be the highest game by an association member in an ABC tournament at the time.<\/p>\n
Off the playing surfaces, Tisko was famous in the town of Branford for operating the legendary Tisko\u2019s Market for 55 years, located at 401 Main Street.\u00a0 Chet operated the store from July 28th, 1924 to April 29th, 1979.<\/p>\n
Tisko passed away on June 29, 1984, the victim of a fatal car accident.\u00a0 He was married to the late Mary R Tisko, a well-known Branford educator.<\/p>\n
\u201cChet would have said he didn\u2019t deserve this award.\u00a0 He loved sports so he played them.\u00a0 He worked hard and played hard,\u201d said his sister, Frances Tisko.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":605,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee\/604"}],"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\/605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}