Old Saybrook High School held its inaugural Hall of Fame induction ceremony as part of the Senior Sports Banquet that took place at the Saybrook Point Inn on May 20. The Hall of Fame’s first inductees were Patrick E. Burke and Lorraine S. Splain, who are both former coaches, physical education instructors, and athletic directors at Old Saybrook High School. The Rams’ Hall of Fame was founded as part of a senior project by recent Old Saybrook graduates Matt Barnes and Kyle Savino, who both presented Burke and Splain with their awards.

The Hall of Fame is located in the gym lobby at Old Saybrook High School. Barnes and Savino worked on making the Hall of Fame a reality since October of last year. Integral in the project’s realization were Old Saybrook language arts teacher Gretchen Bushnell, track Head Coach Pete Capezzone, and Athletic Director Michael Cunningham. Next year, Savino will attend Sacred Heard University in Fairfield, while Barnes will attend Springfield College in Massachusetts.

Patrick E. Burke

Patrick E. Burke started teaching physical education at Old Saybrook High School in 1973 and began coaching that same year. Burke coached the Rams’ boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, boys’ tennis, and softball teams, in addition to serving as assistant football coach for the football squad. He also spent two years coaching at the middle-school level. Burke earned a Coach of the Year Award for boys’ basketball during the 1976-’77 season.

In 1985, Burke became Old Saybrook High School’s co-athletic director with Lorraine S. Splain. When Splain retired, Burke became the athletic director and later retired with a 28-year tenure. Burke introduced several new sports into the Rams’ athletic program, including girls’ soccer, girls’ lacrosse, boys’ lacrosse, crew, swimming, and wrestling. He served on many state committees over the years and was honored with the National Interscholastic of Athletic Administrators State Award of Merit in 2005.

Honored and humbled to be recognized in the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class, Burke said that he looks forward to many great athletes and coaches joining him as an inductee in the coming years.

Lorraine S. Splain

Lorraine S. Splain has dedicated more than 39 years to Old Saybrook athletics in her roles as a physical education teacher, coach, and athletic director. Splain coached Old Saybrook’s field hockey, girls’ basketball, softball, and track and field squads. She also was the advisor for cheerleading and the majorettes.

Splain held leadership positions as the chairman of the physical education department at Old Saybrook, chairman of the Shoreline Conference field hockey coaches, and a member of CIAC girls’ track commission. She was also chairman of the Old Saybrook High School scholarship awards committee. She has been recognized with additional awards for her dedication to high-school athletics, including being named the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) District 1 Coach of the Year and the NHSACA National Coach of the Year.

Splain has also been selected as the Connecticut High School Coaches Association (CHSCA) Coach of the Year, the Middlesex County Coach of the Year, and the Class S State Coach of the Year. She was inducted into the CHSCA Hall of Fame, the Commission Field Hockey Hall of Fame, and awarded the Shoreline Athletic Directors Association Award for her years of hard work and dedication to Old Saybrook athletics.

Information courtesy of Matt Barnes