An undefeated football team, an Olympic runner, a National Hockey League player, and a coach who took his team to 15 New England championships are just four of the outstanding members who will be inducted in the Williston Northampton School’s inaugural Athletic Hall of Fame.
After being nominated by their friends, families, classmates, and teammates, seven outstanding individuals and two stellar teams were selected by committee as having the qualities worthy of being included in the school’s hall of fame.
They are: David “Duff” Tyler ’63, Mark Timm ’76, Martha Grinnell ’86, Patrick Rissmiller ’97, Coach Wilmot Babcock, Coach Ray Brown ’55, Coach Rick Francis, and the 1953 boys swimming and 1963 boys football teams.
On Saturday, June 8, the school will honor these nine athletes, coaches, and teams during a special Reunion Weekend ceremony. Kirk Minihane ’94, of Boston’s WEEI Sports Radio Network, will emcee the event; induction ceremonies will be followed by a cocktail party and dinner.
Over 138 individuals, 45 teams, and 13 coaches were nominated for the inaugural hall of fame class. Director of Alumni Relations Jeff Pilgrim said that the number of nominations was so high, and of such quality, that the initial group of inductees was larger than expected.
“Selecting the final nine was incredibly difficult due to the high level of accomplishments,” he said. “We had Olympians, All-Americans, professional athletes…the list goes on and on.”
Mr. Pilgrim said that the new hall of fame will provides a venue where the school can rightfully honor the athletes, their accomplishments, and the athletic legacy of the school.
Nominations are now being accepted for next year’s Athletic Hall of Fame. Eligible candidates who were nominated, but not chosen this year, will be automatically added to the nomination list for next year.
Editor’s note: Over the next two weeks, we will be posting profiles of the nine inductees on this blog. Check back daily to read more and to add your own memories of the athletes, coaches, and teams.
Martha is an excellent choice. I was lucky enough to run cross country and track with her, and she was a true inspiration for me and many others. Not only was she (and is still) an amazing athlete, but she was just a truly sincere and kind person. My most treasured memories of Williston revolve around our little cross country team, its stellar captain and our great coach, Mr.T. Congratulations to Martha!
I am coming to the Hall of Fame event on June 8th!
May I consider this my registration?
Thanks for your message, Richard! For more information about registering for the Athletic Hall of Fame or other events on Reunion Weekend, please visit: https://www.williston.com/reunioneventregistration
Well done ! Lotsa inductess from the 60’s when Willy was a force to be reckoned with. Babs was a coach way ahead of his time, we were doing weights just as Doc Councilman had his teams at Indiana and severe time splits.Duff was great, never forget the race at Willy versus Steve Clark.And the ’63 FB team had many great ones….good job.
Kudos to all inductees, a steller group of individual and collective talents! Happy to see a few names from my years on campus especially Coach Francis and Coach Brown who I had the joy of being around both on the field and in the classroom. And of course Martha who accomplished so much! Great to see the ’63 football team (with Coaches Francis and Carpenter). I still remember walking the halls of the old gym, looking at all the team photos, and imagining that if they could talk all the stories they could tell not just of wins and losses, but of friendships formed and bonds created that, for many of us, are still in place today. I’m happy the WNS community is able to celebrate the accomplishments of these wonderful people. Congrats all!