Friday, Oct. 19 marked the 16th annual installation of the UR Athletic Hall of Fame. The ceremony featured the individual recognition of each candidate and speeches presented by the inductees themselves. Presenting the candidates were Athletics and Recreation Director George VanderZwaag, Athletics and Recreation Associate Directors Jane Possee and Terrence Gurnett and Athletics and Recreation Hall of Fame Director Peter Stark. This year’s class featured 15 inductees, ranging from the class of 1941 to the class of 1994.
“It was probably one of the nicest affairs the Hall of Fame has had; we’ve had great ones in the past, but this year was special. There was a large group, with 15 Hall of Fame inductees instead of the usual 10 or 12,” Stark said of this year’s class.
The induction criteria stipulated that the candidates had distinguished themselves with UR Athletics as an administrator, athlete, coach, manager or friend; distinguished themselves as alumnus by supporting athletics at the University; distinguished themselves in their chosen career; that they be a five-year alumnus or more; and that they promoted good will for and enhanced the image of the University.
Among the inductees was a familiar name to all those on campus, the namesake of Fauver Stadium, Edwin Fauver, who never actually attended the University but was inducted posthumously for his service as Director of Physical Education and Professor of Hygiene. He was a member of the UR faculty from 1916 to 1945.
Rounding out the rest of the class were Tracey Clancy ’94, Maria Jensen ’87, John Butterworth ’75, Ames Curchin ’41, Eric Fass ’71, Tom Havens ’91, John Loiacono ’84, John Mossel ’55, Thomas Sarro ’52, Wayne Sebastianelli ’79, William Sharp ’53, William Standera ’71, David Taylor ’69 and esteemed coach of three different sports William Boomer.
The inductees represented the men’s football, swimming and diving, track and field and baseball teams and the men’s and women’s soccer and basketball teams. Included among the inductees were several record holders/breakers – basketball single-season scoring record (Fass), single-season record for most rebounds (Taylor), record for career rebounds (Taylor) and record number of RBIs in a game (Sarro).
Also among the distinguished group were All-State players, All-Americans, captains, members of the NCAA All-Tournament Teams and All-UAA teams.
Not to be overshadowed by the inductees’ resounding athletic records were their impressive academic records. The 2007 class of inductees boasted physicians, lawyers, dentists, financial advisors, a professional athlete, coaches, business executives and a military officer. All of the athletes gave credit to their invaluable foundation built at UR.
“The inductees were great; they all gave very impressive speeches that reflected not only their excellence as student athletes but also the success they’ve enjoyed in their post-graduate careers,” Stark said. “All were very appreciative of their undergraduate experience at UR and shared many positive comments about how UR shaped them to be the successful people they now are.”
The only inductee to pursue athletics professionally was Tom Havens, who signed with the Oakland Athletics in 1991 just three months after graduating from UR. He played for the Class A Madison (WI) team for 90 games, leaving with a .222 batting average, nine home runs and 42 RBIs.
This elite induction class of 2007 joins the ranks of almost 200 distinguished athletes already in the Hall of Fame. The ceremony ended with the nomination of nine alumni to be considered for induction next year during Meliora Weekend. The Hall of Fame, along with other athletic memorabilia, can be found in the Goergen Athletic Center.
Stevenson is a member of the class of 2011.
