Mike Eruzione packed the house at Lake Placid in 1980 and he packed them in Saturday night at the Winthrop Yacht Club.
Eruzione, forever the Olympic gold medal-winning captain and hometown sports hero, and his wife, Donna Eruzione, led the Winthrop Murder Mystery Dinner to support the family’s Winthrop Charities organization.
The dinner, which drew a capacity crowd, came on the skates [heels] of Team USA’s scintillating victory over Canada in the Winter Olympics in Italy. Jack Hughes’ golden goal served to enhance the magnitude of Eruzione’s winning goal 46 years ago versus the Soviet Union. Throughout the recent Olympics, Eruzione was besieged by autograph seekers in Italy and a was a guest on television shows seen by millions worldwide.
Eruzione delivered the welcoming remarks Saturday night, noting that the charity had its roots when he won $250,000 on the “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” show hosted by Regis Philbin.
The Eruzione family has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars through Winthrop Charities to a number of local causes, including the schools for defibrillators, scholarships, and athletic and local families in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Winthrop Charities has also answered the call for national causes as well.
Guests enjoyed a marvelous buffet dinner by Brett Henry Catering of Nahant. Several guests wore 1980s-themed attire.
Eruzione thanked the follow sponsors:
Sailloft- Jamie Tipping
Lance Piccolo
Robert Travaglini
Paul Marks Co Inc.
Galaxy Electric- Angelo Vigliotta
Robert Murary
Inello Electric- Robert Inello
Ashtec- Neil Gould
Robert Deeb, MSA Mortgage
Be the Light Yoga- Kathleen Duffy.
E.J. Callahan & Associates LLC- Chris Previte
The only question to be answered from this spectacular evening of food, mystery, and fun: Who was the best athlete in the room?
Was it the gold medalist Mike Eruzione himself, NHL Canucks and Bruins alumnus Dale Dunbar, BU Quarterback, Jimmy English, multi-sporter Mike Norris, Hall of Fame football coach and Cincinnati pro hockey player Tony Fucllo, Notre Dame’s Jenny Fucillo Golic, all-time Winthrop Little League home run king Jarrett Herdt, the immensely talented Paul Ferrara, track star Colleen Kinsella, or the Lally sisters, Kim (Paulson) and Elizabeth (Ferrara)?
No, we’re going with Vinnie Eruzione, a three-sport (football, hockey, and baseball) Division 1 athlete at the College of Holy Cross and now the director of athletics at Curry College.