Cassetti to be featured in book about mayors with unique backgrounds

Mayor Cassetti photographed with Ansonia’s Pinky Silverberg photo on the wall behind him. Silverberg was 1927 World Flyweight Boxing Champion, and competed in many boxing matches at the Ansonia Opera House.

Sharing from a post today on the City of Ansonia Facebook page:

"Our own Mayor David Cassetti will be featured in a coffee table book (and no it’s not a coffee table book about coffee tables). 

"This book will feature select mayors from throughout the country. This past Saturday, a pair of professional photographers and interviewers from California stopped by City Hall to capture the Mayor, and images of downtown, for inclusion in the yet to be named coffee table book.

"The book’s premise is featuring one mayor from each state that has a unique, unusual or unconventional background. 

"As photographer Paul Shellenberg explained, 'The book will not be about a Mayor having a law degree, that would be boring because 90% of mayors are lawyers. This book is about one mayor from each state with a unique background. For example, we have a Nun, a mortician, a commercial 747 pilot, and now a former amateur champion boxer who also ran a sewer contracting business for 35 years.'

"Having completed their Northeast assignment swing, to date they have interviewed/photographed nearly 40 mayors in 40 states. The book is under contract with a major publisher and is expected to be available within 2 years. A complimentary copy will be given to City Hall, and another copy will likely arrive at our library too."

Ansonia mayor to dedicate street sign for boxer Pinky Silverberg

ANSONIA - Mayor David S. Cassetti's initiative to recognize former Ansonia resident and World Flyweight Boxing Champion Pinky Silverberg will come to fruition at 10 a.m. Thursday with a street sign unveiling and dedication.

The sign's unveiling, at the corner of Main Street and Father Salemi Drive, is the location of Pinky Silverberg's residence in Ansonia where he lived for most of his adult life. Silverberg passed away in 1964 at age 59.

His son Ron Silverberg will attend and speak at the ceremony, unveiling the sign and exhibiting Pinky's original 1927 Flyweight Boxing Champion belt.

Pinky moved to Ansonia from the Bronx in 1920 seeking employment in the many Naugatuck Valley factories, and soon turned to pro boxing at the age of 16 by adding two years to his age. (Although listed as age 59 at his passing, his age was actually 57, due to adding the two years.)

In 1925, Silverberg took the Connecticut Flyweight Championship by winning a 10-round points decision against Al Beauregard held at the Opera House on Main Street in Ansonia. The win heralded his emergence as a potential flyweight contender.

He won the National Boxing Association Flyweight title in 1927.

Last fall, Cassetti debuted his original Pinky Silverberg Valley Young Gloves boxing program for area youth at the Ansonia Armory, an event that is scheduled to return later this year.

"Pinky was an inspiration for me growing up and I was intrigued by his Ansonia boxing history," said Cassetti, who was once a promising middleweight boxer himself.


This is taken from a press release from the mayor's office.