\u201cFor bringing honor and distinction to the town of Branford\u201d has been the motto for the Branford Sports Hall of Fame since its inception in 1988.\u00a0 Continuing to share in a trademark of excellence is a man who gave himself unselfishly as an athlete, a public servant, and as a Marine veteran \u2013 Peter Ablondi.<\/p>\n
Born in Stony Creek on February 24, 1934, the son of the late Frank P. and Agnes Wallace Ablondi, Peter played baseball at Branford High School as a shortstop for fellow inductee Warren Sampson.\u00a0 During the 1950 baseball season, the Hornets opened against Housatonic rival Derby, only to shut them out, 3-0.\u00a0 Branford went on to defeat Shelton 6-5 and Derby again 12-11 while falling to opponents such as Milford, Wallingford and Derby according to the Branford High School Milestone Yearbook.\u00a0 This 1950 team was considered one of the most talented teams to don Hornets uniforms due to the many experienced positions players Coach Sampson returned that year.\u00a0 In 1951, Ablondi switched positions from shortstop to the \u201chot corner,\u201d known as third base.\u00a0 That year, Ablondi was a teammate of fellow inductee John McGowan.<\/p>\n
Peter was also a member of the Hornets football squad.\u00a0 During the 1951 season, Branford had a 4-3-1 record.\u00a0 A back coach on Warren Sampson\u2019s team,\u00a0 Ablondi saw the Hornets top St. Mary\u2019s 13-7 in the season opener, followed by a 25-0 rout over Rockville,\u00a0 After suffering a loss at hands of Derby 13-2, Branford bounced right back, topping Wallingford 27-10 and Seymour, the following week, 14-0.\u00a0 Branford finished the 1951 season with a 6-6 tie versus Milford, and losses to Shelton and East Haven.\u00a0 Peter continued playing baseball with the American Legion squad in 1948 and later with the Branford Townies and the Branford Braves from 1949 to 1953.<\/p>\n
After graduating from Branford High School in 1951, Peter attended Hopkins Grammar School, where he played football and was tabbed captain \u2013elect for the 1952 season.\u00a0 One year later, in 1953 Peter entered the United States Marine Corp and was a\u00a0 veteran of the Korean War.\u00a0 While in the Marines, Ablondi played football on the Hawaiian Marines team.<\/p>\n
Ablondi continued his education in 1956 as he attended Paducah Junior College in Kentucky, where he played baseball for the school and later played semi-pro ball for two years with the Paducah Cardinals.\u00a0 In 1958, Ablondi returned home and attended Southern Connecticut State College (University) and played baseball for coaches Gene Casey and \u201cDoc\u201d Moore in two seasons.\u00a0 Peter graduated from Southern in 1960.<\/p>\n
Off the playing field, Ablondi succeeded as a public servant for the town in many capacities.\u00a0 From 1950 to 1963, Ablondi served as the Branford Recreation Department\u2019s Assistant Director of Recreation, before taking the job as Town Clerk for 18 years (1963-1981.)\u00a0 In 1981, Ablondi ran for First Selectman and won, holding the title until 1984.<\/p>\n
A lifelong resident of Branford, Peter passed away on September 4, 1992 and is survived by his wife, Rosemary Tereschenko Ablondi and children, son, Steven, and daughters, Gale and Karen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was very honored to be receiving this award.\u00a0 He felt that he didn\u2019t deserve it.\u00a0 He was a very likeable person to all.\u00a0 As an athlete, Peter was a team person \u2013 a good athlete,\u201d said his wife Rosemary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":789,"template":"","acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/inductee\/788"}],"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\/789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/branfordsportshalloffame.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}