2023 Inductees
On Friday, June 16, 2023, Fairfield Prep welcomed six individuals into the Athletic Hall of Fame in a special ceremony with family, friends, teammates and coaches in the Student Life Center. The 2023 inductees were Richard Shea '46, John Maiocco '50, John Fitzpatrick '73, Alcindor Rosier II '87, Matthew Russell '01 and Bruce Jaffe.
Read about each of the inductees below.
Richard (Dick) Shea ’46
A native of Hartford, the late Dick Shea holds the distinction of being Prep’s first three-sport standout: in football (halfback), basketball (guard and forward) and baseball (second baseman).
Shea captained the football and basketball teams in his senior year and was selected as an All-District player (from Greenwich to Stratford) in football. He was also named to Prep’s All-Decade Team (1942-1951) in both basketball and baseball.
Following graduation, Shea played and basketball at Middlebury College, where he captained the baseball team his senior season and earned All Collegiate Vermont team honors.
During the summers while in high school and college, Shea played Senior City League amateur baseball as well as a short stint with the professional Bridgeport Bees in 1950. He then served with the Army in Korea from 1950-52, playing football and baseball with the 12th Infantry Regiment.
After his time in the military, Shea was a teacher in the Trumbull school system for more than 40 years. He then served as principal for two parochial schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport before retiring in 1999.
Shea passed away in 2014.
John P. Maiocco ’50
The late John Maiocco was a Bridgeport native who excelled in sports as well as in the legal and political arenas.
Maiocco was senior class president at Prep and as well as a three-year, two-sport standout in football (tailback) and basketball (guard), earning All-District honors in both sports. He led the Jesuits’ football team in scoring in his junior and senior seasons, highlighted by a record five touchdowns against Ludlowe for Prep’s “Miracle Team” of 1949. It was the Jesuits’ first unbeaten season (7-0-1), with the only blemish a 6-6 tie against Thanksgiving Day rival Stamford.
Maiocco was also selected to Prep’s All-Decade Team (1942-1951) in football and basketball.
After being recruited by more than 20 colleges, he attended Georgetown, but never played football for the Hoyas because they dropped the program during spring practice. However, Maiocco graduated from there in 1954 and then from UConn Law School in 1957. He then embarked on a long and distinguished legal and political career as a Superior Court judge, an Alderman for the city of Bridgeport, a Council President and a state representative.
Maiocco passed away in 2014.
John Fitzpatrick '73
One can certainly call John Fitzpatrick’s athletic choices diverse. He was one of three brothers to play baseball for 2018 AHOF coach Ed Rowe and usually got in shape for that by hitting the slopes in the winter.
For as competent as he was in baseball – playing third base and hitting .333 in 1973 – he had few equals in skiing. Although it had just gotten off the ground as a varsity sport in the early 1970s, Fitzpatrick did his best to make it successful.
As a slalom racer, he was second in the league championships as a freshman and continued to consistently place in the top five over the duration of his career. He was named co-captain along with Bob Morrison ’73 in their junior and senior seasons. Fitzpatrick competed in the state championships and finished in the top five in each season.
After graduating from the University of Vermont in 1977, Fitzpatrick raced professionally for two years before entering medical school.
He is currently a radiologist with a practice in Pennsylvania.
Alcindor Rosier II '87
Like fellow 2023 inductee Matt Russell, Al Rosier was a two-sport standout at Fairfield Prep. Rosier made his mark on the football field and on the track.
He was a sprinter, long jumper and triple jumper for the Jesuits in the spring, but in the fall Rosier did his work on the gridiron. A punishing runner, he led Prep in both touchdowns and total yardage his senior year and was a first-team all-conference performer in the first year of the ACC in 1986.
Rosier continued his success at Dartmouth, where he played tailback in 1990 and 1991. In 1991 he set the school’s single-game rushing record with 229 yards (on 25 carries) with four touchdowns against Brown. He was voted team MVP, won the Bushnell Cup as Ivy League MVP and was selected as an All-American by the Associated Press.
When he graduated in 1992, Rosier held Dartmouth’s single-season rushing records with 1,432 yards on 258 carries.
Matt Russell ‘01
Matt Russell played two sports at Fairfield Prep, lettering twice in soccer and four times in lacrosse. It was in the latter sport that he made his mark in Prep annals as one of its premier goalies.
Russell was named to the All-SCC and All-State first team three times, and was accorded All-America status his final two seasons with the Jesuits. He backstopped the Jesuits to a pair of SCC championships and helped them reach the CIAC Division I title game in 2001, where they lost a triple-overtime 6-5 heartbreaker to New Canaan. He served as captain in 2000 and 2001 and was the team MVP his senior season. He was also named National High School Player of the Week by Inside Lacrosse in April of 2000.
Upon graduation, he attended the United States Naval Academy and became a three-time All-American there. In 2004 Navy made it to the NCAA Division I title game for the first time since 1975, losing to Syracuse 14-13 after Russell had to leave the game with a broken collarbone. That season he was named Division I Goalie of the Year. He was second nationally in goals against average (6.69) in 2004, second in 2005 (6.68) and first in 2006 (5.45). Russell finished ninth in career saves at Navy with 380.
He went on to play professionally for six seasons, in between deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan as a member of the Marines.
Russell was named to the Connecticut Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bruce Jaffe
The late Bruce Jaffe left an incredible legacy at Prep, coaching swimming and diving for nearly half a century as well as soccer from its infancy as a varsity sport.
While there were no state championships forthcoming in soccer, Jaffe’s teams were formidable enough to win their share of league titles during his 3 decade reign.
However, overseeing the Jesuits’ pool exploits place him in the pantheon of legendary Prep coaches. From 1967 until his retirement in 2012, Jaffe presided over some three dozen All-Americans (among them AHOF 2019 inductee Chuck Berke) and 100 all-staters. His teams won three CIAC divisional crowns and two State Opens. The final State Open title in 2012 was most memorable, as it capped an undefeated season in Jaffe’s final year. When he retired, Prep had compiled a streak of eight consecutive SCC championships.
In his final season, Jaffe was named Coach of the Year by the Connecticut Post and New Haven Register and also by the Connecticut High School Swim Coaches Association. In 2004, Jaffe was named National Coach of the Year for boys swimming and served several terms on the national rules committee. He was also the State Open meet director for 30 years.
Jaffe passed away in 2020.