Chris Sprenger, modestly, says he doesn't remember too much about his career at Bridgeport, which included first-team all-state selections in both football and boys basketball in both 1969 and 1970. He also played baseball and tennis.
 
"I'm 74 years old," he laughed.
 
So we'll let another Hall of Famer, Steve Stout, tell a bit of this story.
 
"What an honor to be in the same group as Chris Sprenger," Stout said when asked about his reaction to his own membership in this first class of the Harry Green Bridgeport High School Athletics Hall of Fame. "Chris Sprenger was my hero. I was in junior high at that time. I always thought he was the greatest."
 
So did Stout's teammates, to the point where even wearing his uniform was intimidating.
 
"I remember in the old field house, they had one of the student managers go up there and start throwing down the jerseys. The football team was downstairs and those jerseys just kept flying down the steps and you just grabbed whatever number you wanted. There was always a few people that wanted a certain number, so they'd hustle and get up there. But when Chris Sprenger's number came up, the manager yelled '42' and threw it down. It just landed on the floor. Nobody, nobody wanted it because nobody wanted Chris Sprenger's number.
 
"I said, well, nobody wants it, I'll take it."
 
Game recognizes game.
 
"Well, he was a great player, so that means a lot that he said that," Sprenger said. "The main thing that I remember is my teammates. I had a lot of good teammates, made a lot of good friends. I remember the things that we did after the game, hanging out."
 
Being a multi-sport athlete was something that Sprenger didn't think too much about at the time.
 
"When football rolled around, we played football and then we got ready for basketball. Then you're looking forward to baseball in the spring. I think I ran in a few track meets as well," Sprenger said. "It's not today where a lot of people just concentrate on one sport."
 
Sprenger never needed coaxed to do that, either.
 
"I was self-motivated. I wanted to be the best," Sprenger said. "We had some good coaches that always preached the work ethic: Work hard and good things will happen."
 
They did for Chris Sprenger.
 
"The more I think about it, it's a great honor. Now that I'm getting up in age, something like that is a real surprise. I'm happy that it happened," Sprenger said.
 
The class will be announced one member at a time and announcements will continue as the full class is unveiled.
 
The inductees were selected via voting by a committee comprised of members of the Bridgeport High community.