10/03/2024

Greek American Sports Founder Nick Tsiotos

We welcome the amazing Nick Tsiotos to the show! Nick Tsiotos is the Sports Editor of Greek Americans in Sports and a Boston Public School teacher with a dedication to excellence in education. Passionate about sports and his Hellenic culture, Nick has also worked as a journalist for The Hellenic Chronicle, as Sports Editor for The Hellenic Voice, and contributed to The AHEPA Magazine.

Nick and his colleague former Boston Globe Columnist Andy Dabilis are longtime chroniclers of Boston sports history, co-authoring several books including Harry Agganis, The Golden Greek, An All-American Story; The 1903 World Series: The Boston Americans Red Sox vs. Pittsburg Pirates, the first World Series won by Boston; and Running With Pheidippides, the dramatic post-World War II true story of the 1946 Boston Marathon contest between good friends Johnny Kelly and Stylianos Kyriakides, a race that was considered the first charity run for The Boston Marathon. This book was also translated and published in Greece, Γεννημένος Nικητής, η απίστευτη ιστορία του Στέλιου Κυριακίδη. The book was featured in the Emmy Award Winning 2004 Athens Olympics documentary Journey of A Warrior, introduced by Bob Costas and seen by over 100 million people during the Closing Ceremonies of the Athens Games.

Nick has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows talking about topics ranging from The Olympics, Hellenism, sports, Harry Agganis, and The Boston Marathon. A professional entertainer, Nick was voted by New England sports fans as The Boston Herald's “Wrestling Personality of the Year” in 1991 and 1992, and as “Nick the Greek, Master Predictor of Wrestling,” with his magical and mystically powerful Delphi Cane.

Nick led a grassroots fundraising effort to erect a statue of Harry Agganis for the Sports Museum of New England in 1995, working closely with current Curator Richard Johnson and world-renowned artist Armand La Montagne. This community effort would resurrect the beloved Agganis legacy and lead to a Boston University street named Harry Agganis Way, the naming of Agganis Arena, and a bronze statue of Agganis at Boston University, donated by BU alumni Mike and Greg Agganis. He has diligently worked and raised funds for a variety of charities, including his tenure as President of The Harry Agganis Team Fund, The Viking Pride Foundation, Boston Children’s Hospital Hellenic Cardiac Fund, Hellenic Nursing Home, AHEPA’s Cooley’s Anemia Project, and AHEPA Olympic 1996 Tribute, ALS, and other causes.

Tsiotos graduated from Winthrop High School, where he captained his legendary Hall of Fame Coach Henry McCarthy’s basketball team (17-1) to the old Boston Garden State Tech Tournament, and went on to play in two Suffolk University NCAA Basketball Tournaments for New England Hall of Fame Coach Jim Nelson. He also played professionally in Greece and was involved in the Greek American basketball circuit for many years nationally.

He has been a devoted member of The Boston Cathedral and Saint George Greek Orthodox Church, a long-time member of AHEPA, Sparta (Vassara) Society, Kalavrita (Kokova) Society, The Federation of Hellenic American Societies, and other organizations.

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