The Eastern Connecticut Conference (ECC) began operations in the 1934-35 school year as a six school alliance (Bulkeley, Chapman Tech, Fitch, Norwich Free Academy, Stonington and Windham) competing in five varsity sports (football, basketball, baseball, x-country and track). Previously, the schools were members of the Eastern Connecticut-Western Rhode Island League which folded when Westerly High School withdrew to focus on competition within their own State. Midway through the 1936 Fall season, NFA resigned from ECC football when Fitch would not offer mutual consent to a makeup date for a game between the two schools which had been rained out. NFA completed its obligation to the remainder of the football schedule and agreed to continue as a conference member in all other sports but they began independent football scheduling in 1937.
Bill O'Brien, Jack Conway, Mike Cronin, Tom Callaghan, Morris Fabricant, George Butcher, Howie Dickenman and Eddie Collins are generally considered to have shared the initial architecture and early development of the league. O'Brien (Bulkeley School), Conway (Chapman Tech), Callaghan (Windham), Cronin (Stonington) and Collins (Fitch) were there at the start with Fabricant (Stonington), Dickenman (Norwich Free Academy) and Butcher (Fitch) arriving a few years later. All of the above were coaches who handled multiple sports and also served as Directors of Athletics. It is interesting to note that they are all elected members of the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame, with the exception of Cronin, whose biography, nevertheless, offers rather strong credentials.
