The following three celebrated athletes all took different paths to stardom and garnered different results as well.

James Justice, Class of 1973

Justice played baseball and basketball at the freshman, JV and varsity levels and football at the freshman and varsity levels. He also was a member of the track team. He was named Class Athlete and received the Robert O. Fletcher & Charles Willey Cup.

Justice started competitive sports on the playgrounds of Lake Street, Greenville, and Fitzgerald Field and played midget football two years for the Dairyland Packers, who practiced at Fitzgerald Field and played games at Hamilton Avenue Field.

The 1971 football highlights: At Enfield, Justice led the ground attack, rushing for 104 yards. He tore through the Fitch line for 112 yards. In the final game of the year, the Acads rolled over Saint Bernard with his fine 166-yard effort.

During the 1972 football season, Justice was the football tri-captain. When they played Fitch, the two scores came on runs by quarterback Ron Delgado and setback Justice, who ran up a total of 151 yards on that day; the final score was 14-0.

When they played against New Britain, the two scores came on Ron Delgado and Justice passes, one of which was a 70-yard screen pass. The best game of the season was against the Saints, 36-0. Justice scored four touchdowns, runing his season total rushing yardage to 1,020 yards, and he received the Robert (Bobby) Howard Sr. award for offense. Justice was one of seven NFA players placed on the 1972 CDC “Dream Team.”

Justice received All-CDC honors in football and track; All-State honors in football and track; and set school record throwing javelin and rushed for over 1,000 yards. He earned 12 varsity letters (football, basketball, baseball, track) and was all-state in football and track.

He earned a full scholarship to play football at Syracuse University, recruited by Floyd Little, and he was his guest of honor when he received the Gold Key to the state.

Justice played football at Westchester Community College, which went undefeated, and he was selected to play in the North/South Junior College All-Star game. He finished his college football at Eastern New Mexico University on a scholarship.

Justice played semi-pro football for the Eastern Connecticut Sea Raiders and the Hartford Crusaders. He attended The Kansas City Chiefs mini-camp and signed a three-year contract and the New Jersey Generals training camp and signed a one-year contract. He also played professional softball for the New England Pilgrims.

Justice coached football at Griswold and NFA, coached varsity track at Griswold, ran combined training camps for high school football players, ran football skill training camps for youth league football players, and volunteered at Norwich Youth Football League for many years as well as at Hersey track meets, Norwich PAL baseball and youth basketball. He coached basketball for Lisbon Central School’s varsity and junior varsity programs as well as Saturday rec programs.

Justice also played flag football in the Norwich League for 12 years, winning the championship five times.

He won the Norwich YMCA bench press competition with a lift of 450 pounds, won the Dan Jenkins Memorial Tennis Tournament, placed third in the NPC Connecticut Bodybuilding Championship, and placed second in the AAU Connecticut Bodybuilding Championship. He played on men’s softball leagues for more than 20 years in Norwich, Waterford, Groton, Ledyard, Montville, Franklin, Willimantic, Windsor, Manchester, and East Hartford and played softball in USSSA tournaments in many states.

Justice was inducted into the NFA Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 12, 2018, his son JJ is a member of the Class of 2004. It was a “proud” moment.

JJ received the Sportsperson of the Year Award from the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame in 2003; he was a four-year varsity starter in football and a three-year varsity performer in track; a two-time all-state pick in football and was named to the 2003 All-American team. He won Class LL and State Open javelin titles twice and helped NFA win its first State Open outdoor track title in 2004.

Justice is retired and lives in Las Vegas.

Ronald J. Delgado, Class of 1973

Delgado played basketball and football and was a member of the track team. He served as captain of the basketball team and was named all-CDC as a junior.

Delgado’s sports career began at the age of 8, participating in Junior Major League Baseball at Colonna Field. He also played midget football with Coach Bob Spain at age 9 and church league basketball at 11; it continued until he entered NFA.

Delgado excelled in both basketball and football in his junior and senior years. His athletic achievements were captured by the Norwich Bulletin sports coverage.

During the 1971-1972 basketball season, the Bulletin identified Delgado as a “Scoring Threat.” A Dec. 31 headline: “NFA Halts Bulkeley As Delgado Scores 31,” Ron had a point-per-game average of 21.6, according to another story.

At the NFA vs. Windham game, Jan. 25, Delgado tallied 33 points in leading NFA to an 82-80 win and at the Jan. 28 Hartford Public game, “Junior Captain Ron Delgado managed to score 21 points to lead the NFA cagers…”

During the next season, Delgado had 22 points during a 61-49 win over New London. He scored 25 on Jan. 17, 1973 in another victory and 26 more on Jan. 19 in a win over Weaver.

Both the Hartford Public basketball Coach John R. Cuyler Sr. and Weaver Coach Doc Hurley were impressed with Ron’s versatility and leadership and expressed their concern about Delgado’s name not being submitted for All-CDC honors in his senior year.

In football, the 1971 edition was one of the finest teams in recent years. The Wildcats crushed Fitch 62-2 as Delgado ran four touchdowns from his quarterback slot; he also threw two aerials to Ziemba in the end zone.

Their annual New London rivalry proved fruitful, with a final score of 34-14. On the offensive side Delgado completed five of eight passes for 122 yards. At the end of the season, he received conference Honorable Mention.

In 1972, Delgado was also quarterback of the varsity football team. During the New Britain game, the Acads potentially explosive offense was checked with the two scores coming on passes from Delgado to Jim Justice for a 12-0 victory.

He was injured in his senior year and left the team.

As exceptional as Delgado’s career was in basketball, based on his athletic ability, team leadership, grades, SAT scores, GPA and the numerous articles written by the Norwich Bulletin, the NFA basketball coach did not solicit any scholarships for him to attend college.

He was offered a scholarship to St. Thomas Moore Academy, but it did not come to fruition. He spent a semester at University of Maryland Eastern Shore;, but this was not the school for him academically or socially.

He attended Eastern Connecticut State University with an assurance of a scholarship and dorm; this was short-lived. He eventually opened his own, very successful cleaning business, Delgado Cleaning Services. He resides in Norwich with his family.

Delgado was inducted into the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame in 1995; Burchard Marshall was his sponsor. Unfortunately, he has not been inducted into the NFA Hall of Fame along with his peers.

Burchard W. Marshall

Although his dream of playing for the major leagues never came to fruition, Burchard W. Marshall never lost sight of his dream and his love of baseball. Because of that love, he opened doors that may have not been opened for many others.

Marshall never attended high school, which was not unusual during the 1930s and ‘40s; he worked in order to assist his family.

He began his athletic quest at the age of 15 when he played for the Werman Shoe City League team until they disbanded. He also played on the Greenville AC squad; most of his playing time was as a catcher.

In addition to his City League playing, Marshall spent years traveling the state playing independent baseball. While playing for the Norwich Yellow Jackets, major league scouts who were there were overheard to say, “the colored fellow was better.” Because of practices during that time, he was never given an opportunity to play for the major leagues.

Other teams he played for were the Decatur AC and the New London Colored Elks. He ended his 25-year career as a player when he retired in 1956.

Marshall was also a fine halfback when he played football with Norwich clubs during the 1930s. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, the King Seeley Thermos girls’ fastpitch softball team prospered under his management. He began his umpiring career in 1957 until he retired in 1983. He umpired in the Jr. Major League, Police Athletic League and Norwich City League.

Marshall served on the league board of directors for over 15 years. His involvement in sports through coaching and umpiring three generations of ballplayers earned him a place in the Norwich Sports Hall of Fame and Dodd Stadium naming the Skybox seats in his honor.

A Celebration of his life, “Burchard Marshall Day,” was held in July 2006, and he threw out the first pitch of a ballgame at Fenway Park in 2008.

In his later years, Marshall became a resident of the Regency Heights of Norwich. He passed away on June 2, 2010. Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” Marshall’s legacy will live on throughout infinity!