PORTLAND — Cheverus High will induct three individuals and one team into its Athletic Hall of Fame on March 24 at the Portland Regency Hotel.

The inductees are Richard Ashley, class of 1955; John “Jack” Brennan, class of 1970; Richard Whitmore, class of 1933; and the 1961 Cheverus baseball team.

Ashley was a three-sport standout (football, basketball, baseball) who earned 12 varsity letters from 1952-55. Ashley went on to attend St. Francis Xavier College in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where he played football. He played for the Portland Sea Hawks, a semipro football team. Ashley is the father of the current Cheverus High girls’ basketball coach, Richie Ashley. Ashley lives in South Portland.

Brennan played basketball and baseball for the Stags from 1966-70. He played football when the school revived the sport in the fall of 1969. He received the Pierre Harnois Athlete of the Year Award from Cheverus in 1970. Brennan played basketball and football at Bowdoin College from 1970-74. After college, he began a long career in education as a teacher-coach at New England prep schools. In 1992, Brennan received the Bowdoin College Distinguished Educator Award. Brennan lives in Millis, Mass.

Whitmore is a posthumous honoree. He earned 10 varsity letters from 1929-33. Whitmore was a member of the Stags’ 1930 state title basketball team and was named all-Southwestern Conference in football. Whitmore played football at Fordham University for Jim Crowley, one of Notre Dame’s famed Four Horsemen. He was head coach of Cheverus football, basketball and baseball teams from 1939-46 and won a state championship in basketball in 1940. He went on to a successful high school coaching career in Massachusetts.

The 1961 Cheverus baseball team will be honored. The Stags were the first team in the long history of the Telegram League to go through a 16-game schedule undefeated. The ’61 team has four players and a coach in the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame, four members in the Cheverus Hall of Fame and individuals in three other halls of fame. The team was coached by Hank Stillman.

Team members were Tom Brown, Bucky Casale, Santo Cimino, Joe Cloutier, Pat Feury, Daniel Ginty, Dick Goss, Gary Higgins, Dick Joyce, Charley Kerrigan, John Kerry, Ray Landry, Stan Liberty, Bob Murphy, Jeddy Newman, Bill O’Brien, Phil O’Sullivan, Paul Sullivan, Tom Thornton and Dick White.

A reception will begin at noon, followed by a buffet luncheon and the induction ceremony. Tickets are $30. Reservations and payment can be made at www.cheverus.org. The deadline is March 18. For more information, contact Brian Hallisey at 774-6238, ext. 20 or at hallisey@cheverus.org.

 

Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at: tchard@pressherald.com

Twitter: TomChardPPH

 

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