The 1992 boys golf team started a mini-dynasty at Williston Northampton by going 15-1 under the leadership of longtime faculty member Bob Blanchette.

That year, the team had wins over Loomis Chaffee, Northfield Mount Hermon, the Williams College junior varsity team, Deerfield, Choate, and Suffield.

With captains Jeff Brunelle ’92 and John Swierzewski ‘92, the team won the prestigious Kingswood Invitational Tournament (the New England championship) with an impressive score of 407. Jeff Brunelle led the way by medaling with a 74.

“The Golf Team enjoyed its most successful season ever,” proclaimed the 1992 yearbook. “John fixed a 72 at the Loomis course, while Jeff sparkled at Williams College with a 2 under par 69.”

Following graduation, the team travelled south to take on top prep schools in the Eastern Seaboard Championships, where they took home the title in the 3-Man Division with a final score of 475.

Team members included seniors Brunelle, Swierzewski, junior Greg Knight, and sophomores Paul Burns, Chris Shields and Aaron Uschmann.

On June 6, at the official Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, the boys golf team award will be accepted by Jeff Brunelle ’92.

The Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, dinner, and reception will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2015. Register to attend here.

Nominate your favorite athlete, team, or coach for the 2016 Athletic Hall of Fame here.

A phenomenal athlete with a love of music, Tony Lavelli came to Williston Academy as a post-graduate. He was elected captain of the varsity basketball team and led the team to a 14-0 record, scoring 307 points out of the team’s 672  total, before moving to tennis in the spring.

At the end of the year, Coach Lash toldThe Log that it had been “probably the greatest team in Williston’s basketball history.”

“This can be attributed to several factors,” the yearbook went on, “accurate shooting, aggressive team play, smart ball handling, and especially to a certain chap by the name of Tony Lavelli. Tony’s marvelous team play and sparkling leadership helped the Lashmen tremendously as Williston produced its first undefeated basketball team in thirty-five years.”

At Yale University, Tony scored 1,970 points (a school record that stood for 35 years) and, in his senior year, led the nation in (averaging 22.4 points per game).

Tony was named second team All-American selection in 1946 and 1948 and a first team All-American selection in 1949. He was also named the College Player of the Year. In February 1949, Life magazine called his hook shot “the most spectacular offensive weapon in college basketball history.”

Tony was the number four overall pick of the Boston Celtics in the 1949 NBA draft. In his rookie year, he averaged 8.8 points per game; he was traded to the NY Knicks the following year.

Tony had a great love of music, so he had it written into his contracts with the Celtics and Knicks that he could play the accordion at halftime to entertain the crowds. After his first year with the Knicks, he quit the NBA to pursue a career in music at The Juilliard School. Tony then returned to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, where be was named captain of the College All-Star team and the Globetrotters musical director. Tony went on to release two albums and had a long career as a songwriter and musician.

In a March 1949 issue of Sport Life Magazine, Anthony “Tony” Lavelli ’45, who as trained as a musician, was described as having taken up basketball for relaxation—a nice break from his musical training.

“Some think that the secret of Lavelli’s prodigious scoring—he averages 20 points a game against the severest opposition—is in his hands, the hands that were trained for music,” the magazine said. “They are large, powerful hands, with tensile fingers, fingers study enough to control a basketball held at arm’s length.”

The Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony, dinner, and reception was held on Saturday, June 6, 2015. Tony was the Veteran’s Committee selection for the 2015 Athletic Hall of Fame. His award was presented by Jake Ross ‘16 and accepted by his sister, Ginny Lovett.

Nominate your favorite athlete or team for the 2016 Athletic Hall of Fame here.

They would win New England championships, set school records—and national ones—and go on to play at Yale, Columbia, Boston College, or Williams College. They would be given such titles as best small college halfback in the East, Massachusetts Player of the Year, or Eastern Seaboard Champions and would compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials, with the Harlem Globetrotters, and with the New England Mutiny.

On Saturday, June 6, these five outstanding athletes, two amazing teams, and one beloved coach will garner one more honor: as inductees to the Williston Northampton School Athletic Hall of Fame.

The fourth class of athletic superstars will include pro basketball player Anthony “Tony” Lavelli ’45; the 1986 girls basketball team; the 1992 boys golf team; pro soccer player Katie Coffey ’04; All-American swimmer and football player Harlow “Chip” Ide Jr. ’55; All-American basketball player Roger Walaszek ’65; record-setting swimmer Jim Edwards ’65; and Coach Sue Curry Barnett.

Even while they were students, the athletes earned praise from their peers. That admiration can perhaps best be summed up by a description the 1945 student yearbook of “the greatest team in Williston’s basketball history” and the special player who made that possible.

“Tony’s marvelous team play and sparkling leadership helped the Lashmen tremendously,”The Log noted, “as Williston produced its first undefeated basketball team in thirty-five years.”

The inductees were nominated by their friends, families, classmates, and teammates and then chosen by a Selection Committee.

Nominations are now being accepted for next year’s Athletic Hall of Fame here. Eligible nominees who were not chosen this year will be automatically added to the list of candidates for next year.