Babylon honors its sports stars at hall of fame exhibit

Babylon Town residents no longer have to look very far to see some of their hometown sports stars.

The Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame has established a satellite site at the Babylon Town Hall Annex for inductees who either played, worked or lived in the town. The permanent exhibit, located just outside the Tom Gargiulo Gymnasium, features 63 athletes, coaches, teams and others who have contributed to sports in a meaningful way.

“The more eyeballs the better,” Chris Vaccaro, president of the hall of fame, said of the exhibit, which was unveiled at a ceremony April 30. “The more people seeing our logo and our hall of famers ... and all the great things they did, the more people we can inspire to be great and hopefully one day become hall of famers themselves.”

The hall of fame has been without a permanent building since closing its museum location in Patchogue in 2013 amid controversy over its use of funding. The hall has established satellite exhibits around the county at Huntington Town Hall, the Long Island Ducks’ stadium, MacArthur Airport, the Section XI offices in Farmingville and Long Island Sports and Rehabilitation in Holbrook.

“Since we don’t have one centralized location, it’s been beneficial for the hall of fame to have these satellite exhibits,” Vaccaro said.

Hall's 35th anniversary

This year is the hall’s 35th anniversary. After this year’s induction ceremony at the end of the month, the organization will have 439 individuals and teams. The hall gets about 50 to 60 nominees each year who are voted on by a 10-person committee, Vaccaro said. The inductees range from high school and college star athletes and coaches to professional players and Olympic athletes. Championship teams, sports journalists and sports business leaders are also part of the hall.

Babylon inductees make up 15% of the hall of fame, Vaccaro said. He called the Babylon exhibit a “special spot” because of its proximity to a gym that is regularly used by youth.

“They can look at the names and look at the pictures and hopefully they can picture themselves on there one day,” he said.

Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said the exhibit lets the town recognize the hall of fame members’ achievements but also lets “some of the younger athletes who come through the building know that there is a potential of greatness in their lives if they stick to their respective sport, stick to their learning in school and stick to being good people in the community.”

'It's my hometown'

Kia Wright, a star basketball player for Walter G. O'Connell Copiague High School and St. John’s University, is one of those featured in the Babylon exhibit.

At 7 years old, Wright was the only girl on a Copiague youth team, she said. In high school, she averaged 24.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 6.3 steals per game, according to the hall of fame, to which she was inducted in 2022.

Wright led Copiague to its first Suffolk Class A and Long Island championship in 2002 and went on to become the only player in St. John’s program history to score over 1,500 points and amass over 400 assists, according to her hall of fame bio.

Wright, 39, suffered a series of injuries that ended hopes of a professional career, but she’s still in the game as coach of the varsity girls team in Copiague.

“I’m just training and coaching and living within my passion and my purpose in a different way, and it’s bringing me tremendous pleasure and so much honor to be able to give my gifts back to these kids here,” she said.

Wright, of North Amityville, said her inclusion in the Babylon exhibit is special for her.

“It’s my hometown; it’s just a tremendous honor,” she said. “Because I’m still here to reap the benefits of all my hard work and to have people acknowledging that — you can’t take that away.” 

Chuck Downey, 59, who shined on the football field for Deer Park High School and Stony Brook University, said the Babylon exhibit holds a special place in his heart.

Downey, who grew up playing a multitude of sports, fondly remembers riding his bike through Deer Park to practices and down Deer Park Avenue to the docks to fish.

The Commack resident is a battalion chief for the FDNY but in his spare time coaches Special Olympics indoor hockey and track and field athletes. He said his football career taught him the importance of good communication and helping those who are struggling — lessons he has carried into his profession.

Downey graduated from Stony Brook holding 30 school records and a dozen NCAA records and signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles but was cut, he said. He was inducted into the hall in 2016.

“When I think of the Town of Babylon and Deer Park, I have so many great memories,” he said. “It’s obviously an honor to be in any hall of fame, but I think having it in the Town of Babylon is special.”

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.