Six athletes, one coach, two teams, one contributor, and two athletic legends were welcomed into the Holyoke Public Schools Hall of Fame during a banquet in their honor at Holyoke’s Wycoff Park Country Club on Saturday, October 25.
The athletes include 1975 Holyoke Trade basketball and baseball standout Ron DeRoy, 1985 HHS State ski champion Tina Mertes, 1985 HHS hockey and baseball all-star Mike Levin, 1995 HHS 1,000-point scorer Robert Sisson, 2001 HHS multi-record holder and State champion swimmer Leslie St. Lawrence, and 2001 HHS “Bertelli Award” winning football star Brian Griffin.
Dave Reinhart—the 2015 Cross Country Coach of the Year Dave Reinhart—was inducted in the “coach” this year. Holyoke Transcript-Telegram Sport Editor Bill Keating was inducted as a “contributor.” The 1979 HHS undefeated and the school’s first Superbowl Champion and the 1990 Western Mass champion HHS boys’ tennis team were inducted in the “team” category.
This year’s “Legends” include Roger Marquis, a three-year WMass All-star and the winning pitcher of the 1953 HHS Western Mass Championship and the State DI Championship baseball games, and 1965 HHS swimmer John DeFosses, an “All-American” swimmer and HHS pool, league and WMass record holder.
The Holyoke Public School Athletic Hall of fame was created in 2017 to honor the achievements and contributions to the Holyoke Public Schools athletics. A Hall of Fame banquet is held each year to honor these inductees, with all proceeds used to support Holyoke Athletics.