Bob DeMayo was the North Haven (Conn.) High School baseball coach for 63 years and recorded 937 wins and five state titles. One of his former players, Frank LaMonaca ’75, continues to spread the teachings he learned.

“It was the most heroic performances I ever saw from a high school athlete,” Coach Bob DeMayo said of his pitcher Dave Mikos, after the 1985 state championship game. The moment offers a lesson that still resonates – championships are won not only by the talent on the field, but by trust, judgment, and the ability to manage adversity when it matters most.”

On a cloudy, damp Saturday in June 1985, North Haven High took the field against Newtown High at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Conn., for the Class L State Championship. For Coach Bob DeMayo, it was his third chance to win the final game of the season, after state titles in 1975 and 1982. By then, in his 26th year as head coach, he knew how difficult it was to even reach that last game, let alone win it.

North Haven had spent years coming close before finally breaking through in 1975. DeMayo had lived through championship heartbreak in several forms: an errant throw in the 17th inning, a rival pitcher who threw the game of his life, even a one-run loss that ended on an unusual triple play with the bases loaded and no outs. He understood that the final game of the season is often decided by the smallest details.

Still, on this day, he felt confident. North Haven had talent, chemistry, and desire. The team was ready. Then, during his final warm-up pitches, starting pitcher Dave Mikos, a senior and future NHHS Sports Hall of Famer, suddenly buckled on his right knee and went down hard. The crowd gasped, and the field fell silent.

DeMayo immediately turned to the bench and called for his ace, Scott Marks, to get loose. If Mikos could not continue, Marks would have to take the ball on three days’ rest. But when DeMayo reached the mound along with catcher John Brandt, Mikos was back on his feet and trying to reset the knee. Everyone knew that knee. Mikos had injured it during football season, ending his chance to finish his career on the gridiron. He had also missed his final basketball season because of the injury. Now, in what might be his last competitive game in uniform, he was not ready to give up the baseball.

As Mikos later explained, “There was no way Scott Marks was getting that baseball.” The question was whether he could convince his coach that he could still compete at a high level.

For DeMayo, the decision was not that simple. He had to balance the risk of further injury against what was best for the player and what was best for the team. Could Mikos still get hitters out? Was the knee stable enough? Was this a moment for caution, or a moment to trust a senior competitor who had given everything he had to the program?

Mikos made his case plainly: this was his last game in uniform, and he wanted the chance to finish it. He knew the knee had affected his recruiting prospects, and he knew college baseball was not in his future. If he aggravated the injury, so be it. “Just give me the chance — I want the ball.”

DeMayo then turned to Brandt, his senior catcher and Mikos’s close friend, and asked what he thought. Brandt looked at Mikos and saw the answer in his face. “If Dave says he can go, then I’m with him,” he said. “Let’s start with nothing but fastballs, and let’s see if we can get people out.” From that point on, the game belonged to Mikos.

As they walked off the mound, DeMayo, a former catcher himself, told Brandt to let him know immediately if Mikos lost velocity.
Brandt cautioned Coach that Marks stay ready. Everyone understood the risk. Mikos’s knee was not right. But everyone also understood the competitor in front of them. DeMayo had coached Mikos in football and baseball for three years, and he knew the kind of athlete and person he was. After all the effort, leadership, and loyalty Mikos had given the program, DeMayo felt he owed him the chance to finish the game.
Nine innings later, Mikos had done exactly that. Throwing nothing but fastballs and straight changes, he pitched North Haven to its third state championship, a two-hit 4-0 shutout. The defense, as it so often had after DeMayo’s demanding “live” game situation practices, responded with poise and precision. Mikos put the ball in play, and the defense handled the rest. DeMayo had his third state championship ring.

That result, though, was about more than the final score. It was about trust: a coach trusting a player, an experienced catcher helping manage a difficult moment, and a team that had learned how to support one another when the pressure was highest.

Mikos, Brandt, and Marks remain close friends to this day – and none of them can quite explain how Mikos threw nine innings that afternoon. Mikos’s own best explanation was simple: “I just didn’t want to give the ball to Scott. He was my best friend, but this was my game. The fact that Coach had faith in me and allowed me to pitch, despite all evidence to the contrary, earned him a place in my heart forever.”