Southern CT Diamond Club Establishes Dan Gooley Legends Awards
7/28/2025 7:00:00 PM | Baseball
Club Names Former Foran Coach Ken Walker as Inaugural Honoree
HAMDEN, Conn. (July 27, 2025) – The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club, Inc., has established the Dan Gooley Legends Award. The honor will be awarded annually at the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony, and each year's winner will be a member of the SCDC Hall of Fame.
The SCDC, a non-profit, volunteer-run organization whose stated mission is to foster and promote the game of baseball locally, has also announced the inaugural winner of the Dan Gooley Legends Award: former Foran High School coach Ken Walker.
The SCDC instituted the Dan Gooley Legends Award to honor early-era contributors to Greater New Haven baseball. The winner is chosen by a subcommittee of the SCDC Executive Board headed by Gooley, the longtime former Quinnipiac University and University of Hartford coach. Gooley was a co-founder of the Greater New Haven Diamond Club, the group which inspired the current club, in 1980 and was instrumental in helping start the SCDC in 2005.
Gooley was a top pitcher at Quinnipiac and still holds the school record of 316 strikeouts. He coached the Bobcats from 1977-87 and 2002-14 and owns a program-best 439 victories. He also won 101 games in five years at Hartford from 1988-92. He is a member of the Quinnipiac (1983) and SCDC (2008) Halls of Fame.
A standout player at Milford High School and Central Connecticut State University, Walker won 279 games as the head baseball coach at Foran from 1986-2003 and 2011-12. He was the New Haven Register Area Coach of the Year in 2011. Walker also coached the Lions' football team for six seasons and led them to the CIAC Class M state championship in 1994. Walker passed away suddenly in 2012 at age 60. Foran's varsity baseball field is named in his honor.
The SCDC will hold its 17th Hall of Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony on Thursday, October 23, 2025, at The Woodwinds in Branford. The entire Hall of Fame Class, along with ticket information, will be announced in August.
About the Southern Connecticut Diamond Club
The Southern Connecticut Diamond Club was formed with the goal of fostering and promoting the great game of baseball in the area. That simple mission continues in the dedication of its all-volunteer membership. The club spreads the goodwill of baseball through recognition of those who have given back to the game, donations to local organizations, and more. It is a full-fledged network of baseball enthusiasts working to help others enjoy the game. The SCDC, which has hosted the No I in Team high-school awards banquet since 2005 and held its first Hall of Fame dinner in 2008, gained its non-profit status in 2013. To learn more, visit www.southernctdiamondclub.org.
