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Don Huot<\/p>\n
(BISHOP BRADLEY HIGH SCHOOL\/TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL)<\/p>\n
A TRUE \u201cBLUE CHIPPER\u201d<\/p>\n
Part 1<\/p>\n
Before I begin, I\u2019d like MIL readers to know that I\u2019ve wanted to interview this man for more than 20 years.\u00a0 Thanks to the help of a close friend, Richard (Rick) Sullivan and his close friend, Tom Woodring, my wish became reality, but not without a \u201cglitch.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I first contacted him, he stated that he was a pretty private man and sitting down for a story about him would mean stepping out of character.<\/p>\n
Stories I write are under either of two titles\u2026\u201dWhere Are They Now?\u201d or \u201cSpotlight On\u2026\u201d.<\/p>\n
I chose \u201cWATN\u201d because he\u2019s very uncomfortable under a spotlight.\u00a0 To gain his \u201ctrust\u201d I even had to enlist the support of one of his friends who is also one of \u201cmy\u201d own blue chippers, Ron Beaurivage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, thank you Rick, Tom, and Ron.\u00a0 The following story is the result of the friendships shared among you three gentlemen and I couldn\u2019t be more thankful.<\/p>\n
BLUE CHIPPER<\/p>\n
The term first began usage back in the 1950s and it was used in reference to both the stock market and the game of poker.<\/p>\n
On Wall Street, stock issued by a major company that had a reputation for stability and financial strength and a good record of dividends was \u201cBlue Chip\u201d stock.<\/p>\n
In poker, a blue chip has high value.<\/p>\n
The term became so popular, it found its way into the world of sports.<\/p>\n
Blue chippers are athletes, particularly high school players, targeted for drafting or signing by teams at the college level and it includes collegiate players being scouted by professional franchises.<\/p>\n
A blue-chip player is one who\u00a0demonstrates rare abilities and can create mismatches that have an obvious impact on the game. A blue chipper will rate in the top five players in the league at that position.<\/p>\n
If a person coaches long enough, a blue-chipper will cross that coach\u2019s path\u2026and I believe that for most coaches, that will be true.<\/p>\n
If I limit it to only those who made it to the top in their chosen sport, two crossed mine, Mike Flanagan and Steve Balboni, both leading their teams to World Championships.<\/p>\n
If I limit it to high school players, then I would add two more, Ron Beaurivage and Scott Thompson, both signed by MLB teams.<\/p>\n
But those blue chippers were players from Manchester Memorial High School.<\/p>\n
The subject of this WATN story was not.<\/p>\n
Though he didn\u2019t play for me and didn\u2019t make it to MLB, after watching him play, especially after watching him pitch, I know a blue chip athlete when I see one\u2026especially when my team faces one, like THIS pitcher.<\/p>\n
Read on and I hope you\u2019ll see why.<\/p>\n
Unless you played or followed baseball back in the \u201960s and \u201970s, you probably never heard of him.<\/p>\n
If you played against him in Little League, Babe Ruth, high school, or American Legion, you\u2019ve probably never forgotten him!<\/p>\n
His name is Donald (Don) Huot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He has no middle name and prefers to be called Don.\u00a0 In fact, the only person who called him Donald was his Mom\u2026and that was only when he had done something wrong.<\/p>\n
A MANCHESTER LITTLE LEAGUER\u2026AND AN OMEN OF WHAT WAS TO COME<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/huotpart16.png\")
<\/p>\n
Don is a true Queen City native having been born at the old Sacred Heart Hospital on Hanover Street and residing on the West Side\u2019s Douglas Street with Dad, Conrad, Mom, Bernice, brothers, Willie, Dick, Armand, Ron, Paul, Jim, Denis, and sister, Jane.\u00a0 Count \u2019em, seven brothers and one sister.\u00a0 If Jane wanted to play baseball, their family could have had its own team!<\/p>\n
He began his baseball career playing for Hickman\u2019s Flying A of Southwest Little League.\u00a0 His club won the league championship every year under the coaching guidance of Ed Forbush and Don Anderson (Yes, THAT Anderson from Union Leader journalistic fame).<\/p>\n
When I asked what his favorite sports memory was (and he had plenty), he never hesitated.\u00a0 \u201cPlaying with my 10 year old brother, Paul, who was my catcher.\u201d<\/p>\n
How good was Paul?\u00a0 Good enough to be behind the plate for each of 12 year old Don\u2019s three no-hitters!\u00a0 Paul wasn\u2019t only a good backstop, he could hit, too!<\/p>\n
And the omen to come\u2026<\/p>\n
During a particularly difficult game at the start of his LL career after giving up a few walks (according to him totaling in the high double figures), Don noticed his Dad sink a little deeper into his seat in the bleachers with each base on balls.\u00a0 He was a little overwhelmed when he watched Coach Ed walk up to Conrad and say \u201cYour son is going to be a great pitcher some day.\u201d<\/p>\n
It impacted him so much that he\u2019s used the \u201cmessage\u201d himself to a struggling ballplayer.\u00a0 After watching his high school shortstop start to come apart after making an error, he walked up to him and told him to put it behind him because some day he was going to be a great shortstop.\u00a0 It surprised his player, but stunned his mother.\u00a0 Every time she sees Don, she thanks him for what he said to her son because her son has never forgotten it either.\u00a0 And I\u2019m pretty sure what that SS will say to a struggling player when he\u2019s a coach.<\/p>\n
Don Huot was a POINT GUARD, TOO<\/p>\n
A baseball wasn\u2019t the only ball Don could handle well.\u00a0 He was equally effective with a basketball in his hands as point guard for his St. Raphael CYO hoop team, led by another familiar name, coach Tom Kilrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re wondering if Don was a decent shooter, he beat out Scott Pappas as Manchester\u2019s leading Catholic Youth Organization\u2019s top scorer by a single point.<\/p>\n
Don continued with St. Raphael, but this time playing baseball under the guidance of another Queen City sports legend, George Smith!<\/p>\n
Transitioning from CYO ball to the Manchester Babe Ruth League, Don ended up joining Elks under coaches Lou Amato and Chipso George.\u00a0 Toeing the rubber, he was undefeated during his 3 years in BR.\u00a0 Because of his success on the mound, he was selected as a member of two Babe Ruth All Star teams that ended up playing in the national tournaments held in Douglas, Arizona, and Anchorage, Alaska.<\/p>\n
DON HUOT HIGH SCHOOL DAYS<\/p>\n
From there he became a member of the Bishop Bradley Pioneers baseball team under one more high school legend, Dick Powers.\u00a0 As a junior, he threw a no-hitter against Pinkerton Academy and followed that by pitching and winning the 1969 state championship against the Blackbirds of Keene High School.<\/p>\n
It is here that I, the author of this story, want to, need to, step in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Because in 1970, I was the opposing coach for what was called (by the UL\u2019s Don Anderson), the greatest high school baseball game ever played in NH.<\/p>\n
It was at the Crusaders\u2019 home field that Bishop Bradley Ace, Senior left hander, Don Huot, faced off against my ball club, the Crusaders of Manchester Memorial and our Ace, Junior lefty Mike Flanagan.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Final score:\u00a0 Bradley \u2013 2\u00a0\u00a0 Memorial \u2013 1<\/p>\n
Total strike-outs:\u00a0\u00a0 Huot \u2013 21\u00a0\u00a0 Flanagan \u2013 21<\/p>\n
Read that last stat one more time: Total strike outs\u00a0 42!!!<\/p>\n
During his senior year, the Pioneer blue chipper pitched another no-hitter, this time against the Little Green of Manchester Central.<\/p>\n
LEGION BALL FIRST\u2026THEN COLLEGE BECKONS<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Moving on from high school baseball, Don joined the Queen City\u2019s most successful American Legion team, Henry J. Sweeney Post #2 coached by, surprise, surprise, two more icons, John \u201cJumbo\u201d Reilly and Jim Triantifellou.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There, he joined his high school nemesis, Mike Flanagan, and Don\u2019s no-hitter success continued, this time against Derry Legion.<\/p>\n
He followed that up with a 10 consecutive strikeouts performance against Nashua\u2019s Coffey Post at Holman Stadium then finished his American legion pitching career by throwing 12 scoreless innings against West Covina, California in the national tournament in Klamath Falls, Oregon.<\/p>\n
His success on the mound during both high school and legion earned him a scholarship offer from two colleges, U Mass \u2013 Amherst and Brown University and Brown won out.<\/p>\n
Under Bears coaches, Bill Livesey and Woody Woodworth, he again started with success, going 9-2 during his first two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, it was during the summer between his sophomore and junior years that he experienced a dilemma.\u00a0 Instead of pitching in the Cape League, he was given an option.<\/p>\n
He could pitch in Massachusetts or accept an offer from Dale Parent, the player-coach of the Woodstock Schooner-Merchants ball club in the New Brunswick, Canada Semi-Pro League.<\/p>\n
\u00a0There he would play for the Schooner-Merchants at night and during the day, be a groundskeeper for the home field as well as run baseball clinics.<\/p>\n
He chose Canada and the \u201cchange in venue\u201d resulted not only a change of scenery, but also a change in his pitching mechanics.<\/p>\n
During his Babe Ruth, high school, American legion, and at Brown, he pitched from a regulation mound, 10\u201d high \u2013 the standard mound height everywhere in the country.<\/p>\n
Not so in Canada.\u00a0 Not so in New Brunswick.\u00a0 The mound there\u202615\u201d\u2026and that difference can make a difference and for Don, it did.<\/p>\n
When he returned to Brown and the 10\u201d high mound\u2026he began to have trouble with the two worst areas\u00a0\u00a0 a pitcher can experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Loss of power and loss of control.\u00a0 And, while in Canada, a third was added\u2026they changed his arm slot.<\/p>\n
With no designated pitching coach to rely on to help him work through his problems, he had to figure it out by himself\u2026and for a brief period of time he did, throwing his best game for Brown University, a 1-hitter against Princeton.<\/p>\n
However, it was also during this time that he experienced his most frustrating and emotionally upsetting moment as a pitcher with a member of his coaching staff, one he\u2019s never forgotten.<\/p>\n
His record over his last two years on the mound\u2026 9 wins \u2013 8 losses \u2014 9 complete games<\/p>\n
He ended his time at Brown with 18 wins 10 losses.\u00a0 Of those 28 games, he finished 18 of them, tied for 8th place in Brown\u2019s baseball history.<\/p>\n
A PERSONAL NOTE<\/p>\n
As a pitching instructor\/pitching coach for over 50 years, I sincerely believe that if he had a designated pitching coach to properly analyze his throwing mechanics and help resolve the problems he was experiencing, he would have finished with a record of 22 wins \u2013 6 losses AND 23 complete games.<\/p>\n
With a record like that, I also think he\u2019d have received at least a couple offers from MLB.<\/p>\n
I was never his coach, but, as enticing as the offer from New Brunswick was, I just wish he had spent the summer between his sophomore and junior years pitching at the Cape.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But, as Don said when asked what playing sports has taught him, \u201dThat\u2019s baseball. That\u2019s sports.\u00a0 That\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Come back tomorrow for Part 2.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Ted Menswar Jr<\/a>. is a life-long resident of the Queen City and a retired member of the English Department of Memorial High School who has been involved in local sports for 70 years as a player, a coach, a mentor and a fan. He can be reached at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Don Huot (BISHOP BRADLEY HIGH SCHOOL\/TRINITY HIGH SCHOOL) A TRUE \u201cBLUE CHIPPER\u201d Part 1 Before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-450509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}