Athletes Inducted into Groton Hall of Fame
The 2019 inductees into Groton’s Athletic Hall of Fame include members of three undefeated teams and a standout runner and all-around athlete.
Front row: Bill Chauncey ’51, Al McLean ‘51, Brantley Turner Bradley ’94, Mary Helen Trent Kelt ’94, David Wilmerding ’79, John Steinert ‘79, Jay Hass ’79 Back row: Mike Lay ’51, Aaron Cooper ’94, John Tulp, Tom Bator ’79, Digger Faesy ’79, Tom Hoopes ’79, Steve Higginson ’79, Phil Blood ’82
1950 FOOTBALL TEAM Until 1950, only seven Groton football teams had played undefeated seasons. The 1950 team, with its T-formation and extraordinary record, easily became the eighth. On the gridiron, the team rolled up 225 points in a seven-game schedule, averaging thirty-two points per game and never scoring fewer than four touchdowns. In the fall 1954 Quarterly, Coach Larry Noble wrote this about several players from the Form of 1951: “Frank White, Ray
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Groton School Quarterly
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Fall 2019
Walker, and Bill Chauncey were all fast, triple-threat backs, and quarterback John Rhinelander was not only a deft ball handler and accurate passer, but a real student of football strategy and a cool thinker under fire. Their best weapon was the wide pitchout to White or Walker, with the option to run or pass. This was effective on both sides as White was a left-hander. Bill Chauncey’s off- tackle slants and thrusts through the middle were devastating. Gordon Gray was a great end, and Al McLean one of the three best centers of my time.”
1978 BOYS VARSITY SOCCER In 1978, boys varsity soccer had an outstanding season. Only the second team since 1958 to have a perfect Gummere Cup league record (10–0), it was also the first Gummere Cup champion to participate in post-season, losing in the semi-finals 1–0 to Williston-Northampton, the eventual winner of the WNESC Tournament. The team defeated key rivals — Middlesex, Belmont Hill, Brooks, Noble & Greenough,
Milton, and St. Mark’s — by a 19–4 margin, including a 6–1 drubbing of St. Mark’s, and set a new Groton team scoring record (forty-one goals in thirteen games). The steady development of the defense (two goals allowed in the last five games and fourteen altogether) played as important a role in the overall success of the team as did the outstanding offense. Nine core players were able to build on the success of the prior year’s team, which ended its season in second place due to an overtime loss to Belmont Hill, making the two-year league record