[3] Connolly sustained severe nerve damage to his left arm during birth, prohibiting the limb from ever developing properly.

Until his death, he coached youth athletes and served as the Junior Hammer Development Chairmen for US Track and Field Association.

During the 1956 Games, Connolly began a relationship with Czech discus thrower Olga Fikotova, a fellow gold medal winner.

They were divorced in 1975,[2] and the following year, he married Pat Winslow, a former coach of track star Evelyn Ashford and herself a three-time Olympian in the 800 meters and pentathlon.

[2] A statue of Connolly is located at the former Taft Elementary School in Brighton, Massachusetts, and depicts his gold medal-winning hammer throw at the 1956 Olympic Games.