2009 Andover Athletics Hall of Honor Program

Andover Athletics Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony 2009

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Andover Athletics Hall of Honor Induction Ceremony 2009 Saturday, June 13 3:30–4:30 p.m.

Kemper Auditorium

Opening Remarks Head of School Barbara Landis Chase, introduced by Alumni Council President Peter Hetzler, MD ’72 Introduction of the Hall of Honor Peter Hetzler Announcement of Inductees Abigail Harris ’96 and John Kane ’63 Keynote Speaker Richard J. Phelps ’46 Closing Remarks Mike Kuta, Director of Athletics

Richard J. Phelps ’46

Dick Phelps came to Andover in 1944 to study and to play football, ice hockey, and his personal favorite, baseball. After graduating from Andover, he went on to Yale and later became an extremely successful businessman. Throughout the course of his life, Dick has made a concerted effort to give back to the Academy.

He has given freely of his time, service, and financial resources. In 1990, Dick made an extraordinarily generous gift, including funds for scholarships (Phelps Scholars), a number of campus projects, and, in particular, the renovation and improvement of the baseball field, which was dedicated in May of 1993 as Phelps Park. Dick’s heartfelt appreciation and gratitude for the opportunity that Andover gave him when he was a student is reflected in his continued support and service to the Academy. To the highest degree, Dick Phelps is a giver—he personifies our non sibi motto. His love and passion for Andover and Andover athletics is unsurpassed. We are incredibly fortunate to have such an ardent, thoughtful, and generous friend, benefactor, and alumnus.

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Andover Athletics Hall of Honor Inductee Class of 2009 Daniel G. Bolduc 1972 While at Andover, Danny Bolduc played soccer, ice hockey, and baseball, but as a Maine native, his first love was ice hockey. Making the varsity team as a freshman, he graduated from Andover in 1972 as the all-time leading scorer in hockey.

He continued to play hockey at Harvard University, playing for the school team for three years before going on to join the U.S. National Team and scoring 39 goals and 70 points in 54 games. The highlight of his hockey career came in 1976 when he played for the United States at the Winter Olympics in Innsbruck.

Bolduc’s impressive play with the U.S. National Team earned him a free-agent contract from the World Hockey Association’s New England Whalers following the Olympics. Bolduc played three years for the Whalers, a precursor to his eventual jump to the NHL. The Detroit Red Wings signed Bolduc in 1978, and he played the better part of two seasons with the team. In 102 NHL contests, Bolduc scored 22 goals and 41 points.

After his athletic career, Bolduc acquired a small, floundering insurance agency and built it into a multimillion-dollar business.

Frank “Deke” DiClemente From 1935 to 1975, Deke DiClemente was a beloved teacher, coach, and mentor at Phillips Academy. After graduating from Springfield College in 1935, DiClemente joined Andover that same year as an instructor in biology and chemistry and as an assistant in the physical education department. Over the next 40 years, he coached soccer, basketball, and baseball at the varsity levels.

In addition to his varsity-level coaching, DiClemente was one of the key leaders who helped shape the nature of health and physical education at Andover. Most notably, he helped build an athletic curriculum that placed a greater emphasis on physical fitness and body conditioning. It was a program that could be tailored to the strengths and needs of every individual student-athlete, regardless of age or ability. As part of this new curriculum, DiClemente developed a competitive intramural team sports program that mixed players of all ages on club teams, thereby eliminating the atmosphere of cutthroat competition that arose from the previous intramural system that pitted older classes against younger ones. In 1954, DiClemente also co-organized the Andover Press Club, a student-run organization that supplied

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information about Andover’s teams and players to local newspapers and wire services. In 1968, he wrote and published a book, Soccer Illustrated; For Coach and Player, illustrated by William Abbot Cheever.

DiClemente’s players still recall with great fondness the positive effect he had on them. One recalls, “Deke was thoughtful, considerate, warm, and supportive. I could tell many stories about Deke, how he whistled the theme song of F Troop on his way to practice or how he wore the ubiquitous crew-neck sweater and gray slacks. But perhaps most importantly, Deke was one of two faculty members who saved me at Andover, who challenged me to reach inside myself and face my fears, and who made me a better person for it.” This type of account is widespread among those who knew DiClemente, many crediting him as the most important mentor they had at Andover. DiClemente passed away in 2001 at age 91; his presence is fondly remembered and sorely missed.

Martha Hill Gaskill 1978 For her first three years at Andover, Martha Hill Gaskill excelled at varsity tennis and varsity squash. In addition to being a fine athlete, Gaskill’s leadership, character, strength, and sportsmanship were praised by her teammates and coaches alike.

However, those very qualities were put to the test when, right before her senior year, Gaskill lost her leg to a rare bone cancer. While this would have stopped many, it inspired Gaskill to reach higher. She completed her senior year with optimism and grace, helping to coach the women’s varsity tennis team, trying a new sport as a crew coxswain, and receiving the Ayars Award in 1978 for contribution to and respect from the school community and student body.

Gaskill went on to Dartmouth College where, just six months after losing her leg, she learned to ski on one leg with outriggers. She skied recreationally for four years and then took the winter off during her senior year to teach full time in the Winter Park Handicapped Ski Program. She also tried ski racing and soon qualified for the U.S. Disabled National competition where she earned a silver medal in slalom. In 1984 she helped establish the Winter Park Disabled Ski Team and also competed in the Disabled Olympics (now called the Paralympics). She went on to receive numerous honors, including “Sportswoman of Colorado,” and was honored in 1987 by President Reagan at the White House. She has remained a leader in the world of disabled skiing, coaching for national camps and competitions.

Seeking a new challenge, Gaskill became an avid mountain climber. In 1991, she trekked on crutches for 23 days throughout the Mount Everest region and then traveled another three months in Nepal, Thailand, and New Zealand. Gaskill also tried her hand at acting when she starred in the PBS series, The Second Voyage of the Mimi, as an amputee scuba diver (and used the role to actually learn to scuba dive).

She has spoken throughout the United States, including at the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 11th Annual National Character & Leadership Symposium, and has 5

been selected twice by the U.S. Olympic Committee to carry the torch at the opening ceremonies.

Martha Hill Gaskill could not be here today, but she sends the following message: I am very honored to be part of such a distinguished group. Andover has such a special place in my heart and helped make me who I am today. Because of my bone cancer and amputation during my senior year, my adjustment to being disabled and having an uncertain future could have been devastating. But, thanks to the wonderful support and encouragement from the Andover community, I had a great senior year and didn’t feel disabled until I left Andover. That positive first year gave me the strength and confidence to forge on into an exciting unknown future. It is amazing that that was almost 32 years ago! I remember my Andover years with great fondness—like it was yesterday!

With deep appreciation, Martha

Eleanor Tydings Gollob 1986 Eleanor Tydings Gollob was a tri-varsity athlete for all of her four years at Andover, captaining the field hockey, ice hockey, and lacrosse teams during her senior year. In addition to her athletic success, she was active as a Blue Key leader and a Phillipian writer. When Gollob was a senior, the Phillipian called her “a coach’s dream, someone who is liked and respected by all, and someone who always pushes her teammates to learn and improve.” Even today, more than 20 years later, her humility and leadership abilities stand out to her teammates. They remember her as “everything a PA athlete should be, someone who loves the challenges of athletics and who encourages others to discover that passion themselves.”

After Andover, Gollob went on to play ice hockey and lacrosse at Princeton, earning the titles of captain and MVP for both teams during her senior year. She also was recognized by her peers as the Daily Princetonian Female Athlete of the Year in 1990. Additionally, Gollob received national accolades as a senior, earning recognition as First Team All-Ivy in ice hockey and lacrosse and Second Team All-American in lacrosse. While a student at Princeton, Gollob used her passion for athletics to help the community by acting as co-coordinator of a mentoring program called “Girls Hockey in Harlem.” She then continued this work when she moved to Los Angeles and, with the same college teammate, founded a similar program, “Skate LA,” an inline hockey instruction and mentoring program for girls ages 7–12 in South Central Los Angeles.

Before starting her post-college mentoring work in California, Gollob returned to Andover as a teaching fellow in athletics and admissions. Dick Phelps ’46 (today’s

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keynote speaker) engaged Gollob to help recruit and identify scholar-athletes to be awarded Phelps scholarships at Andover. Gollob took on the challenge of increasing the number of outstanding scholar athletes admitted to Andover and helped attract a talented group of Phelps Scholars that year. Thanks to Phelps’s generosity and Gollob’s hard work, the Phelps Scholar program is still thriving and has allowed hundreds of scholar-athletes the opportunity to attend Andover.

Since then, Gollob has started lacrosse programs at two different schools and has played in several different adult hockey and lacrosse leagues (including the Mighty Moms ice hockey team, for which she currently plays and coaches). She also coaches her children’s teams, serves as the co-commissioner for the McLean Youth Lacrosse League, and continues to be a strong role model for girls.

William Clarence Matthews 1901 A 1901 graduate of Phillips Academy, William Clarence Matthews is widely credited as one of the few men to “challenge the color line” in athletics—decades before Jackie Robinson did so in 1947. After his baseball career, he built a name for himself in politics and law, being dubbed “one of the most prominent Negro members of the bar in America” by the Boston Globe.

A star shortstop at Andover and beyond, Matthews went on to become a four-year varsity member of the Harvard team, boasting a .400 batting average and 22 stolen bases in 25 games during his senior year. At Harvard, his presence on the team caused boycotts and tension both on and off the field. Nevertheless, Matthews’ behavior and work ethic remained impeccable as he continued to earn his way through Harvard by taking jobs during the school year, working summers in hotels and on Pullman cars, and teaching in a Cambridge night school.

Matthews played his only season of professional baseball in the summer of 1905 in Vermont’s “outlaw” Northern League. He had previously been signed by the Boston Nationals immediately after Harvard, but the offer was rescinded four days later because of heavy league boycotts. After a long, hard fight, Matthews retired from baseball in 1906 and returned to Boston to earn a law degree while working as a high school athletics instructor in the public schools. He went on to hold special assistant and legal counsel roles on the Boston political circuit, working closely with notable figures such as Booker T. Washington, black separatist Marcus Garvey, and eventually, President Calvin Coolidge. In fact, when Coolidge was elected in 1924 with the help of one million black votes, Matthews was rewarded for his work with a post in the U.S. Department of Justice. He continued to fight for black rights, presenting to party leaders a list of “demands for the recognition of colored Republicans” (which was ignored). Despite the controversy that surrounded him early in his baseball days, his death at age 51 received widespread coverage in major mainstream newspapers. He was honored and remembered for his accomplishments in politics and athletics alike.

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John P. McBride 1956 John McBride played varsity soccer and varsity ice hockey at Andover, and was also a Phillipian writer, secretary of the Philomathean Society, and president of the Student Congress. McBride continued to exhibit his athletic prowess at Princeton, where he played ice hockey for all four years and broke three scoring records.

McBride joined the U.S. Hockey Team in 1961, and by 1966 had retired from his own hockey career in order to pursue coaching. He moved to Aspen and started a successful junior hockey program, and in 2002 he was selected to be a torchbearer for the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

While in Aspen, McBride also expanded his interests beyond hockey by founding the North Forty Residential Community and the Aspen Business Center. His goal was to help preserve the environment while also aiding the Aspen economy by creating self-sufficient communities that would reduce the need to commute.

McBride continued his environmental conservation efforts by joining the boards of the Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Worldwatch Institute, and then partnering with his daughter Katie to found the Sopris Foundation, which addresses issues of population, natural resource distribution, and political balance surrounding environmental issues. Because of his leadership in the field of local preservation and conservation, McBride was inducted into Heritage Aspen’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

James P. McLane 1949 Jim McLane had an illustrious swimming career that consisted of 21 national competition titles, three Pan American Games gold medals, and three Olympic gold medals (one of which he won at the 1948 Olympics in London while still a student at Andover). Even before coming to Andover, McLane was the youngest-ever Men’s Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) swimming champion when he won the National Long Distance title at age 13. This feat cemented him as one of the leaders of the 1940s “youth movement” that put swimming back in the spotlight as a popular sport. Needless to say, McLane dominated in the pool at Andover, and he continued on to become a swimming star at Yale, where he was coached by the legendary Robert Kiphuth. McLane also became the U.S. team’s oldest Pan American champion at the age of 24.

McLane was perhaps one of the greatest tacticians the sport of swimming had ever seen. He almost always had a plan that included complete knowledge of his opponents’ race plan. McLane relished the tactics and strategy of gamesmanship. His classic victory was the gold medal he won in the 1500-meter freestyle at the 1948 Olympic Games. McLane studied the great John Marshall and found that the Australian liked to swim by hugging the lane line on his breathing side. McLane, who had a powerful kick, swam in the next lane and hugged the other side of the same lane line, sprinting out one body length ahead of Marshall. Kicking hard, McLane

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let his splash frustrate the Australian. McLane won, then swam with Marshall for three years at Yale. As captain of the U.S. team in Mexico City, McLane came back in 1955 to dominate the Pan American Games with three gold medals.

Since McLane retired in 1955, only one swimmer, American Roy Saari, has repeated McLane’s feat of winning a U.S. Men’s AAU swim title at age 13.

In 1970 McLane was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

C. Anthony Pittman 1990 Tony Pittman came to Andover as a new upper. He excelled on the football field right from the start, being dubbed by his peers as a “senior sensation” and a “true team leader” who was part of a “punishing running tandem” that included classmate Tony Ryan. His former coach, Leon Modeste, echoed that sentiment: “Tony Pittman is on another page. He gains more and more yards each week, using his brain and his body to control the plays. He’s so good, he outruns my mistakes; he makes me look good on the field.” In fact, during his senior year, Pittman ran for a total of 1,067 yards in 139 attempts and scored 9 touchdowns, a rare feat at the high-school level. Rarer still was Pittman’s 7.5-yard average per rush. “I’ve coached for 13 years in this league, and I’ve never seen a running back as good as Tony Pittman,” said assistant coach Lou Bernieri. “He’s in another league.”

After Andover, Pittman indeed rose to another league, joining the Penn State University team under legendary coach Joe Paterno, who also coached Pittman’s father, Charlie. As father and son, Charlie and Tony started a combined 46 games under Paterno, with a cumulative record of 45 wins, 0 losses, and 1 tie. This is believed to be the most successful record of any father-son pair in college football.

In fact, in 2007 Tony teamed up with his father to write Playing for Paterno, a book about their shared experiences playing for the renowned coach.

Ironically, Pittman began playing football at a relatively late age, in part because his father forbade him from participating in full-contact team football before ninth grade. However, Pittman tried out for and immediately started on the freshman team at McDowell High School in Erie, Pa. Even at a school where football was the biggest sport, Pittman played for the varsity team as a sophomore and junior, before coming to PA as a new upper the following year. In addition to his success on the PA football field, Pittman was an exceptional basketball player, a standout runner on the track team, an honor student, and a National Merit semifinalist. With such diverse talents, it is no wonder that Pittman was universally praised for his leadership both on and off the field. When Pittman was named “Athlete of the Term,” Coach Modeste offered nothing but praise. “The fact that he’s humble, I mean genuinely humble, is what makes him so great. I consider myself fortunate to know him, both in the dorm and on the field.”

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Robert W. Sides 1934 As a student, Bob Sides was deeply involved in athletics at Andover, both as a member of the basketball, track, golf, and tennis teams, and as a member of the Athletic Council. Sides went on to attend Harvard University, where he continued playing golf and also picked up sailing, a sport that would soon become one of his great passions and talents. Sides first tried sailing when he registered as a competitor in Marblehead Race Week, one of the oldest and most prestigious regattas in North America. In the sailing world, this is akin to learning how to drive by entering the Indianapolis 500. Sides would then become a regular fixture on the Atlantic sailing circuit, winning championships on the national and world levels. In honor of his accomplishments, he was inducted into the third class of the Yacht Racing Hall of Fame, alongside Olympians and America’s Cup winners. As Sides continued a racing career that eventually spanned seven decades, he also remained very connected to Andover. After graduating from Harvard in 1938, he returned to PA as an instructor in mathematics, a post he held until his retirement in 1972. Sides also served as the director of admissions from 1954 to 1972 and coached the sailing, tennis, squash, and golf teams.

Even after his retirement from PA in 1972, Sides has shown remarkable strength and perseverance, weathering double knee replacements, a corneal transplant, and a quintuple bypass surgery in order to remain active in the sports he loves. He has been a longtime supporter of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and also was honored by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his work in this field. Best of all, Sides has rarely missed a game, meet, or regatta in which his 16 grandchildren competed. Many of them are Andover alums or current students.

Stephen Sorota Coach Stephen Sorota was a beloved football and track coach at Andover from 1936 to 1977. As head football coach, Sorota led his teams to a total of five undefeated seasons (including the 1952 season) and six more seasons with only one loss.

Sorota came straight to Andover after graduating from Fordham University in 1936, where he played running back with Vince Lombardi on the most successful football team in the university’s history. In those days when letters in team sports were awarded much more selectively, Sorota was one of only six Fordham football players who received a letter for service on the 1935 team. Sorota was initially brought to Andover on a one-semester assignment: to introduce the “Notre Dame Box” formation to the football team. Asked to extend his stay another year, he ended up staying for 41 years. In that time, in addition to his varsity coaching duties, he directed Summer Session for three years and acted as athletics director for one year.

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Sorota’s coaching philosophy was a departure from the high-pressure, highly repetitive coaching style that was common at the time. He knew he needed to strike a balance between teaching sound fundamentals and keeping the “fun” in the game.

Before every practice, he instituted a “sandbox” period, during which the players were allowed to “horse around” (i.e., receivers tried kicking field goals). Joe Wennik ’52, who went on to become athletics director at PA, recalls, “One of the greatest thrills I’ve ever had as an athlete was quarterbacking for Steve, because he never, ever called a play from the sidelines. He made us play the game entirely ourselves, and that is what education is all about.” Sorota has been universally hailed as both an impeccable coach and an influential mentor; many former students and players call him a “father figure” and “the most influential person” in their lives.

Sorota’s Andover legacy continues today. The Sorota Track Award was established in his name, and the Sorota Track was named in 1988 in honor of his contributions to the track program at Phillips Academy. He also received numerous recognitions outside of PA, including a Special Recognition Award in 1986 from the Massachusetts State Track Coaches Association, an NCAA award for 35 years of coaching, and a lifetime member award from the American Football Coaches Association.

1952 Andover Football Team The Andover football team of 1952, led by Captain George Bixby ’53, climaxed the first undefeated season since 1948 with a 59–0 massacre over their gridiron opponents from Exeter. Coach Steve Sorota had maintained that this was his best defensive team in 14 years at Andover. The majority of the players had come up through the junior varsity football system, and they had developed an offensive precision that was almost as strong as that of the veteran defense. In the six games prior to the final, the Big Blue team had scored decisive wins over Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and Harvard, Amherst, Wesleyan, Springfield, and Tufts freshmen. The mere 38 points totaled by their opponents all season is indicative of the quality of the hard-hitting Blue defensive unit. Holding all opposition at bay throughout each Saturday afternoon, the team reached its peak against the Exonians, holding them to an incredible rushing total of 11 yards.

The Blue machine played to its fullest potential in that historic game, with all giving strong performances. One of the four touchdowns scored by Hort Smith ’54 was made without a single Exeter hand being put upon him. This feat was possible largely because of the efforts of guard Joe Mesics ’53, who threw three separate blocks on Red defenders. Touchdown tallies for the season broke down as follows: Hort Smith (10); Randy Heimer ’53 (6); Leo Daley ’53 (2); Dick Sigal ’56 (2); Dick Golden ’53 (1); Ray LaMontagne ’53 (1); Ben Janssen ’53 (1); and John Scranton ’53 (1). Andover would have other fine football teams in the future, but none would match the combined depth and versatility, both offensively and defensively, of that group.

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