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The Tony Sapienza Math Scholarship Fund In 1958 the price of gas was 24-cent a gallon, the Boston Celtics won the NBA Finals over the Minneapolis Lakers and Yugoslavian Fanjo Mihalic won the Boston Marathon. Three places behind him was longtime Haverhill resident Tony Sapienza. It would not be until 1979 when Lowell's Bob Hodge finished third overall that another runner from the Merrimack Valley would break into the top five at Boston. Despite the long list of great runners this region has produced, Sapienza and Hodge are the only top five finishers in the last 97 years. Tony Sapienza had a long and distinguished running career. He finished
sixth at the 1963 Olympic Trials, won 36 New England Championships
and was a teammate to running greats such as John Kelley (the younger),
Al Confalone, Jim Green and John Lafferty. These runners barnstormed
the New England racing circuit in the late fifties and early sixties
and set the table for today's events and athletes.
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