Vermont Sports Hall of Fame
posted
Oct 4, 2012
The Vermont Sports Hall of Fame will honor 13 of the finest
Green Mountain State athletes and contributors when it inducts its
inaugural class on November 17, 2012 at the Doubletree Hotel in
South Burlington. Dave Hakins, chair of the VtSHF board of
trustees, unveiled the Class of 2012 on September 11 at Cairns
Arena in South Burlington. The enterprise is in cooperation
with Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, the VtSHF's designated
charity.
Members of the class represent 11 sports, several generations
and seven different Vermont counties. Collectively, they have
earned multiple Olympic medals, won several team-sports World
Championships, and captured numerous individual and team
accolades.
Inaugural Class: 2012
Larry Benoit, outdoors:
Larry is a legendary deer hunter. He has an unparalleled record for
bagging large, mature bucks in the woods of northern Vermont and
Maine. He was called "The Best Deer Hunter in America" by Sports
Afield in 1970. He resides in Duxbury.
Jen Carlson, soccer:
A Shelburne native, Jen was a standout soccer player at Champlain
Valley Union High School and the University of Connecticut. A
two-time NSCAA high school All-American at CVU, she was a
three-time Big East first team selection for the Huskies. She
finished her college career among the UConn leaders with 40 goals
and 40 assists.
Ray Collins, baseball:
The Colchester native was a standout at Burlington High School and
the University of Vermont before he joined the Boston Red Sox. Ray
pitched seven seasons with Boston with a record of 84-62 and a 2.51
ERA. He was in the rotation for the 1912 and 1915 Red Sox World
Series champions and started the first World Series game at Fenway
Park in October 1912.
Larry Gardner, baseball:
Larry was a stellar player at Enosburg High School and the
University of Vermont before signing professionally with the Boston
Red Sox. He played 17 years with the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia
Athletics and Cleveland Indians, hitting a career .289. A superior
defensive third baseman, the native of Enosburg Falls helped the
Red Sox win three World Series titles and the Indians win one.
Albert Gutterson, track & field:
Raised in Andover and Springfield, Albert stood out in several
sports at Springfield High School and was a Vermont/New Hampshire
and New England prep champion in several track and field events. He
continued his outstanding track and field career at the University
of Vermont, winning several New England titles and another in the
prestigious Penn Relays. He then became Vermont's only Olympic gold
medalist in track & field winning the long jump at the 1912
Stockholm Games.
Bill Koch, Nordic ski:
From Brattleboro, Bill is arguably America's greatest Nordic
skier. He competed in four Olympics: 1976, 1980, 1984 and
1992, and was the first American to medal in Olympic
cross-country skiing, earning the 30-K silver at the 1976 games.
Koch was the overall Nordic world champion in 1982, the first and
only American to do so. He was the flag-bearer for the U.S.
team at his final Olympics in 1992.
Andrea Mead Lawrence, Alpine skiing:
The three-time Olympian (1948, 1952, 1956) from Rutland was 15
years old at her first Games. She swept the U.S. Alpine nationals
at age 17. In 1952, Andrea became the first American Alpine skier
to medal in the Olympics, winning the gold in slalom and giant
slalom. It also was the first time an American won has two Alpine
gold medals in the same Olympics. It was 20 years before another
American woman earned any Alpine medal.
John LeClair, hockey:
John had outstanding careers at BFA-St. Albans and the University
of Vermont before making his mark on the National Hockey League.
Scoring on his first shot in his debut for Montreal in 1991, he
scored two overtime goals in the 1993 finals to help the Habs win
the Stanley Cup. He moved on to Philadelphia where he was a
five-time NHL All-Star. LeClair was the first American-born player
to have three consecutive 50-goal seasons and he finished his
career with 406 goals. He also helped lead the U.S. to the 1996
World Cup of Hockey title and he helped the Americans capture a
silver medal at the 2002 Olympics.
Nicole Levesque Andres, basketball:
A native of Shaftsbury, Nicole was a standout guard for Mount
Anthony Union High School scoring 1,938 points for the Patriots
including a then-state single-game mark of 40 in 1990. She went on
to Wake Forest where she became the school's all-time assist leader
and ranked third in scoring while twice earning All-ACC honors. She
is the first and only Vermonter to play in the WNBA, playing for
the Charlotte Sting in 1997.
Bob Yates, football:
A native of Montpelier, Bob was an all-state player for Montpelier
High School before a fine career as an offensive and defensive
lineman at Syracuse University, where he also handled kicking
duties. He helped the Orange win the 1959 national championship
going 11-0 with a Cotton Bowl victory over #2 Texas. He was a
Sporting News All-American as a senior and was named to the SU
All-Century Team in 1999. He went on to play six seasons for the
Boston (now New England) Patriots including playing in the
franchise's first title game, the 1963 AFL Championship Game.
Tony Adams, contributor-media:
Tony was a trailblazer in bringing televised sports to Vermonters
on WCAX-TV for 35 years. He also served as the voice of University
of Vermont, Dartmouth College and St. Michael's College sports
teams and was named the Vermont Sportscaster of the Year five
times. He resides in Essex Junction.
Jake Burton Carpenter,
contributor-snowboarding:
While residing in Londonderry, Jake is the inventor of and an
innovator in snowboarding. His vision led to the rapid spread of
the sport nationally and internationally. He hand-built many of the
first snowboards, took part in the first competitions and helped
organize the first national championships at Suicide Six. Due to
his efforts, the sport grew from a barn in Londonderry in the late
1970s to become an Olympic sport starting in 1998. He founded
Burton Snowboards, a leader in the sport's industry in equipment as
well as sponsorship of events.
Ken Squier, contributor- auto racing and
media:
Ken, a native of Waterbury, has spent decades broadcasting
high school sports in Vermont and he was a pioneer in the
television broadcasting of NASCAR races. He built and still co-owns
Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre. He is a five-time
Vermont Sportscaster of the Year. The NASCAR Media Award bears his
name.
Launched in October 2011, The Vermont Sports Hall of
Fame is a nonprofit organization to recognize those individuals
whose achievements and efforts have enhanced sports, athletics and
recreation in the Green Mountain State. In addition to honoring
those who make a significant contribution to the state's sports
legacy, the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame will promote and provide
inspiration in sports and recreation to the state's
youth.
