B.H.S. Athletic Hall of Fame – Class of 2023
By Michael Connor
Last month, The Bellingham Athletic Booster Club “B.A.B.C.”, in conjunction with the Bellingham Athletic Department introduced you to three Class of 2023 inductees into the Bellingham High School Athletic Hall of Fame: the Bulletin’s own Ken Hamwey, Michael Trudeau, and the 1996 D2 State Champion Field Hockey Team.
This month we showcase two more inductees.
Dave Gibbs enters the H.O.F. as a coach but he is more than that to his players and people who know him. The 1966 graduate of Millbury High School played football (end/defensive back), basketball (guard) and baseball (centerfield) for the Woolies and would go on to graduate from Springfield College.
Prior to joining the BHS coaching staff, he served as defensive coordinator for Medfield football and most notably coached Medfield Varsity basketball where his Big Blue teams were 125-47 in his eight seasons there. He would join the Blackhawks coaching staff and coach another eight seasons compiling a 103-65 record that included a Tri-Valley League title and was named the Mass. State Coaches Association Coach of Year and Boston Globe Division 3 Coach of the Year that championship season.
“I was blessed to coach my two sons, Mike and Matt, at Bellingham,” says Gibbs. “I had cooperative parents and players who bought into the work ethic of Hawk Hoop. I had outstanding assistant coaches in John Clancy and Barry Hutchinson (HOF-2021). And the administration of Roger Canestrari (HOF-2019) and George Anderson (HOF-2018) were cooperative in helping us create the basketball culture we wanted at Bellingham High.”
Current Varsity Basketball Coach, TJ Chiappone, noted that “Coach was a pleasure to play for … he serves as one of his role models in life and certainly a coaching role model who coined the phrase HAWK HOOP“.
Our second showcased inductee for this edition is Roderic “Rick” Smith. The product of Algonquin Regional H.S. where he was a three-sport athlete (football, baseball, & Track) would go on to Fitchburg State College and began a short-lived teaching career before finding his calling in Journalism.
Over a 39-year career which began at what was then the South Middlesex News (later named the Middlesex News) and today known to all as the MetroWest Daily News he was a mainstay on the sidelines at most high schools, yet he admittedly described a career highlight of covering Boston College football during the Doug Flutie years and standing in the back of the end zone for the Miracle in Miami pass.
As a forty-year resident of Bellingham, he had a natural connection to the Blackhawks and relished seeing his sons Brett (Class of 1989- football & basketball) and Greg (Class of 1994 – football, basketball, & baseball) play. His connection to the Blackhawks showed in his writing. He wrote and recounts with ease most, if not all, of the Blackhawks highlights ranging from the early Field Hockey & Football state championships to Basketball and most recently the State Baseball & Softball Championship in 2014; the year he retired.
In retirement, he still contributed to the Milford Daily News and MetroWest Daily News with his “Whatever happened to ….” articles. This fall, Rick can still be found on the sidelines of a Friday night football game. Once a Blackhawk, always a Blackhawk.
Leading up to the induction ceremony on Friday, November 17, 2023 at the Coachmen’s Lodge we will be showcasing six more inductees in coming editions Justin Bernard (football), Beth (Thornton) Cutler (field hockey), Carrie (Leoncavallo) Wernig (field hockey), Bob McManus (hockey), Justin Park (hockey) and Joanne Paquette (field hockey). We are grateful to have the forum of the Bellingham Bulletin.
