PLYMOUTH – These were some of the brightest stars to ever shine on the Norwich High School sports stage, and they were honored Saturday night at Canasawacta Country Club as the first inductees into the NHS Sports Hall of Fame.

From Glenn “Tommy” Manning, a product of the “Roaring ‘20s” to breakthrough track and field star, Katie Almeter, tales of legendary accomplishments were told by those who knew these athletes the best.

Manning, Salvatore “Toots” Mirabito, Charles “Doc” Ulrichs, Edward Ackley, Kurt Beyer, Jason Morris, Almeter, and the boys’ basketball teams of 1992-1993, and 1993-1994 comprised the first class, and Manning was the lone entry to not have a family member present for the occasion.

Hall of Fame committee member, Jim Dunne, recounted stories of Manning in the opening acceptance speech. He reminded the some 170 guests in attendance that the selection process of athletes from the bygone era was not an easy one, and required hours of painstaking research. It also helped, Dunne joked, to tap into the long memory of Frank “King Kong” Mirabito, who was familiar with many great Norwich athletes prior to World World II.