High school pool named for Squatrito, judge and swimmer
Jun. 21—MANCHESTER — Dominic Squatrito, the late federal district judge cherished as a vigorous advocate of civil rights and equality, will now be formally recognized for the athleticism of his youth.
Last week, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to rename Manchester High School swimming pool in memory of Squatrito, who was a star athlete at the school.
Squatrito graduated from MHS in 1957. He was a three-sport stand-out athlete, winning letters in swimming, football, and track and field, according to a federal news release issued last year after his death.
Squatrito competed in diving on the school's swimming team. In 1957, he broke the school and pool record in diving with a score of 65.83, a mark that stood for 25 years, according to retired Superior Court Judge Richard Dyer, a childhood friend who later worked as a lawyer at the Manchester firm of Bayer, Phelon, & Squatrito, in which Dominic Squatrito was a partner.
Squatrito also competed in pole vaulting on the high school's track and field team, finishing sixth in a regional competition, Dyer said.
Dyer, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Squatrito, called him "kind, loyal, and exceptionally gifted," both as an athlete and as a judge.
Squatrito also excelled as a student athlete at Wesleyan University, as a fullback and co-captain of the football team, the news release said. He was named most valuable player in 1960.
He was inducted in 2006 into the Manchester Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame Honor Roll for his contributions to football and diving.
Squatrito graduated from Wesleyan in 1961 and went on to attend the University of Florence, Italy on a Fulbright scholarship in 1961 and 1962. He received his law degree from Yale University in 1965.
After Squatrito's death, Judge Jose A. Cabranes of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, called him an "untiring guardian of equal justice for all."
In 1994, while delivering a tribute to Squatrito upon his appointment, Cabranes said he "has always been a big fellow but also a graceful fellow."
"I am a trusting person," Cabranes continued. But he went on to confess that "I am having some difficulty coming to terms with the idea of Dominic as a track star."
As a student at Wesleyan, Squatrito was the chief organizer and chairman of Wesleyan's committee on civil rights, according to the news release. Part of his work included collecting funds to meet the needs of civil rights demonstrators in the south.
In the summer of 1964, before his last year at Yale law school, Squatrito passed up a summer clerkship with a prestigious law firm and instead worked at the civil rights division of the U.S. Justice Department in Washington on cases involving disparities in voter registration, particularly in the South, the news release said.
Squatrito was the grandson and husband of individuals who immigrated to the U.S. from Italy. One of the duties he most enjoyed as a federal judge was presiding over naturalization ceremonies, Manchester resident Kevin Zingler said.
"He never forgot his roots or the struggles of those who came to America in search of a better life," Zingler added.
Squatrito's son, Sergio, who swam for a local club team until he was 13, said his teammates used to tease him because his dad's name and school diving record was posted on the wall in the MHS pool facility.
He called his father upbeat and energetic — someone who always wanted to make a positive impact.
"He was just a larger-than-life person," Sergio said.
