‘Pioneers’ headline inaugural Portsmouth High Hall of Fame

These guys aren’t getting any younger. I wanted to honor them when they could still enjoy it.”

John Blaess

Who’s in the Hall?

Here are the inaugural members of the Portsmouth High School Hall of Fame who will be honored in October:

Coaches:

• Ed Akucewich — basketball

• Joseph Flood — golf/cross-country/basketball

• Maureen Ford — field hockey

• Richard Heisler — baseball

• Del Martin — football/basketball

• James P. Martin — basketball (posthumous)

• Peggy Matteson — basketball

• Joe Narcizo — football

• Peter O'Hara — soccer (posthumous)

• Sandy Reynolds — basketball

• Ray Sabourin — soccer

• Ray Sullivan — football (posthumous)

• Richard Thibeault — soccer (posthumous)

• Richard Travers — football

• Roger Vierra — soccer

Athletic booster:

Ray Ainsworth — band director

Athletic director:

George McGaw (Note: Mr. McGaw is Portsmouth Times editor Jim McGaw’s father.)

Team recognition:

• 1968 golf team — Eastern Division champions

• 1968 football team — Class C champions

PORTSMOUTH — “They need to know that they aren’t forgotten,” John Blaess said of the inaugural inductees who are being welcomed into the newly established Portsmouth High School Hall of Fame.

“They need to know what they started 50 years ago is still going strong. It’s one of the strongest athletic programs in the state,” said Mr. Blaess, a former teacher and coach at the school who’s led the charge to get the hall established.

It’s long overdue, he said. 

“Look around. Every community I can think of has a hall of fame for athletics. We’re definitely behind the times,” he said.

The first inductees — 15 coaches, two championship teams from 1968, an athletic director and an “athletic booster” — will be honored on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Green Valley Country Club in Portsmouth. The event will begin with a cocktail hour and hors d'oeuvres at 4:30 p.m., followed by the induction ceremony. 

The impetus for the athletics hall of fame, Mr. Blaess said, was Ray Sullivan, a much-respected social studies teacher at PHS who started the school’s football program in the ’60s. Mr. Sullivan, who died in December 2015, coached the team to the school’s first championship of any kind in 1968.

“Before he passed away, I wanted to honor Ray Sullivan,” said Mr. Blaess. 

In fact, two months before Mr. Sullivan died, Mr. Blaess and others made a plea for the hall of fame to the School Committee. The plan was received with much enthusiasm and a volunteer planning committee held several meetings, he said.

“And then it just died in the spring of 2016, and I was disappointed,” said Mr. Blaess.

He decided to revive the idea, however, after talking with PHS teacher and boys’ track and cross-country coach Shaun Horgan, and Mike Lunney, a former athletic director at the school who’s now the assistant executive director of the R.I. Interscholastic League.

He didn’t want to waste any more time. “These guys aren’t getting any younger. I wanted to honor them when they could still enjoy it,” said Mr. Blaess.

‘Good start’

He also stressed that this is just the beginning. The inaugural inductees represent the early days of Portsmouth High School athletics — “I call them the pioneers,” Mr. Blaess said — but many more coaches, individual athletes and teams will be recognized in the future.

After the first inductees were posted on the Hall of Fame’s website and Facebook page, the committee started receiving “some flak right away” regarding perceived omissions, he said.

“People are getting confused; they think this is one and done,” said Mr. Blaess. “This is going to happen every year, around the same time every year. I think this is a good start.”

Judging by the early response on social media, the ceremony should have a healthy turnout, he said.

“People are nostalgic; they want to see them again,” said Mr. Blaess. “And, I hope the inductees will see the interest in this and say to themselves, ‘Yeah, I guess my career meant something and touched other people’s lives.’”

For more information about the new Portsmouth High School Hall of Fame, visit www.portsmouthathletichof.com or contact John Blaess at johnfblaess@yahoo.com.