Edward "Copper" Crotty
(Football Coach, 1960)
The name "Copper" Crotty is synonymous with the glory days of Danbury High School football. Coach Crotty coached the Hatters from 1946 until 1963 and his teams amassed some impressive records. Among them are: Most wins in a season-9 in 1959 (broken by the 1996 team with 11); most shutouts in a season- 5 in 1953 and in 1959 (broken in 1993 with 6); fewest points allowed in a season-27 in 1954; most consecutive games won-17 from 1958-1960; most consecutive games scoring-113 from 1948-1960. He had four undefeated teams during his years at DHS. In 1950 the Hatters were 7-0-2, in 1952 they were 7-0-1, in 1953 they were 8-0 and in 1959 they were 9-0. The list of all time greats who played for Coach Crotty is long and impressive. Players such as Dick Gilliam, George Radachowsky, Fred Morlock, Roger Schmeidel, 2007 Hall of Fame inductees Pete Gregory and Gus Edwards, Warren Conner, Gordie Fairchild, Vin Iovino, John Merullo, Steve Sprindis, Lonnie Young, Ralph DeSantis and Joe Coniglio all plied their trade under the tutelage of Copper Crotty. Coach Crotty is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and he began his coaching career as the basketball (yes, basketball) coach at Providence College where he also was the line coach in football. This led to a stint as an assistant at Brown University under Skip Stahley and later "Rip" Engle. In 1946 Coach Crotty returned to his native Danbury and started to work his own coaching legacy. Overall Coach Crotty's record as the DHS football coach is 113-44- 5 which places him number one in all time wins and also number one is all time winning percentage. It is fitting that the stadium where today's Hatters play, bears the name Ed "Copper" Crotty Stadium.