Ansonia youth sports leagues — the players, cheerleaders, parents, coaches and league officials — took time out Saturday to honor longtime volunteer and Ansonia Recreation Commission member Alfonso Smith.
The ceremony took place between Youth Football League games at Nolan Field, where Smith was presented with a plaque, a league jacket and a proclamation from Mayor James Della Volpe naming Sunday as Al Smith Day in Ansonia.
Smith, 89, a World War II veteran and retired U.S. Postal Service worker, said he had not known he was to be honored until his granddaughter, Janna Beames, brought him to Nolan Field that evening.
“I’m very grateful,” he said.
Recreation Commission Vice Chairman Steven Kichar Jr. said he and other officials had been looking for some time for a way to honor Smith, the chairman of the commission and a member for about 40 years.
Smith, known as “Butch” by his old friends and “Smitty” by the other youth league coaches and Recreation Commission members, is a lifelong Ansonia resident.
He played semi-pro baseball as a young man against teams from around Connecticut.
During World War II he served in Europe.
“It seems like yesterday,” he said of his first involvement with youth sports in Ansonia.
He said he got involved with youth sports when his son joined a Farm League baseball team for 9‑year-olds. Knowing he had played competitively, league officials asked him to coach, and soon he was appointed to the commission as well.
“I loved working with kids,” Smith said.
He said he believes sports teaches children to improve their behavior and helps them grow into better adults.
