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WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Academy Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Committee will present the school’s first-ever Athletic Hall of Fame Class with the induction of eight Oct. 20 at the academy.
The induction ceremony will conclude more than a year of work by the committee to begin the process of honoring the Academy’s greatest athletes, coaches, supporters, and athletic achievements with a Hall of Fame.
Cary Bentley, Hall of Fame Committee chair, said, “I couldn’t be more pleased with the selections the committee has made with this inaugural class. Appropriately, the inductees represent many of the great accomplishments in Academy athletics and beyond, as well as some of the firsts in the Academy’s history: the first alumnus to go on to a professional sports career, the school’s first 1,000 point scorer in basketball, and the first and only WA women’s softball team to win a state championship. It only makes sense that they would be the school’s first-ballot hall-of-famers.”
The members of the inaugural Woodstock Academy Athletic Hall of Fame Class:
In athlete category:
Lauren Anderson, Class of 1963: First female AD in Connecticut high schools; recently retired from a lengthy and distinguished administrative career in women’s athletics at URI.
Patrick O’Brien, Class of 1997: Successful three-sport athlete and WA’s first boy to score 1,000 career points in Basketball.
Joseph Patrone, Class of 1980: First Academy All-American in Track and Field High Jump; three-time New England Champion at URI; went on to successful coaching career in Massachusetts.
Roland Sheldon, Class of 1954: First Academy pro-athlete; went on to a successful Major League Baseball career, pitching for the Yankees in the 1960’s, including the 1961 & 1962 World Series teams; pitched back-to-back shutouts in 1961; and also played for the Red Sox.
In coaching category:
Kenneth Beatson: (posthumously) Taught Industrial Arts and coached cross country and track at WA for 38 years (1951-1989); founding father and past president of the Quinebaug Valley Conference.
Cecelia Ingraham: Very successful Soccer, Basketball, Softball, and Volleyball coach at WA during the ‘60s and ‘70s; if you were a female athlete during this time, “Lady” as she was known, was your coach; she also taught physical education and had an outstanding career as an amateur golfer; transformed women’s athletics at WA; will be celebrating her 90th birthday on Oct. 22.
Douglas Peck: (posthumously) Long-time soccer, baseball, and basketball coach, athletic director, and physical education teacher at WA in the 1960’s and ‘70s; he also ran an extensive intramural program.
In team category:
1976 Softball Team: WA’s first and only state championship team in women’s softball; this team was coached by ‘Lady’ Ingraham; the majority of the members of this team spent three seasons together compiling two QVC championships in 75, & 76; two undefeated regular seasons in 1974 & 75; and went on to win the 1976 state championship compiling an overall regular season record of 51-2.
Tickets are $25 and are available at the Woodstock Academy Alumni Office, Sweet Evalina’s Stand in Woodstock, and ZIPS Diner in Dayville. For more information, contact Kristen Willis in the Alumni Office at 860-963-4926.