Rich Bedard and Bob Rutherford, both Springfield natives, and College World Series softball teams of 1996-'97 are part of American International College’s Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019.
They will be enshrined Oct. 5 along with Clem Morrison ’73 hockey; Bob Bramble ’81 football; Chris O’Connor ’84 baseball; Jaime Marques ’01 soccer; Dominic Smith ’12 track and field; Kervelle Redhead ’12 volleyball; Alison Fitzsimmons ’14 soccer.
Bedard will be enshrined as a coach/ administrator. He played baseball at Springfield Tech and Amherst College, then, after a year in professional baseball, was hired in 1973 by athletic director Milt Piepul as AIC's assistant baseball coach at the age of 24. A year later, Piepul named him the head coach.
Ever since then, AIC's athletic department, now headed by Matt Johnson, has been noted for giving young coaches a chance to launch their careers.
Bedard coached for nine years, then served as director of athletics and assistant to the president until his retirement in 2013. In 2014, AIC dedicated its baseball field in his name.
Bob Rutherford was an all-city player for Classical High School before entering AIC, where he played basketball for Bill Callahan on teams that went to three national tournaments, then hosted by the University of Evansville in Indiana.
AIC's honored softball teams of 1996 and '97 were coached by Hall of Famer Judy Groff, who ran the program for 43 years. In making two College World Series appearances, the teams had a combined record of 71-22.
AIC had its first Athletics Hall of Fame induction in 2005 with Henry Butova ‘47, Jim Calhoun ‘68, Jake O’Donnell ‘56 and Lew Randall ‘60 as its charter class. Inductions take place in the Jake and Nancy O’Donnell Hall of Fame room adjacent to Butova Gym, 125 Cortland Street, Springfield.
COUSY WAS HERE: NBA icon Bob Cousy, who was presented the Medal of Freedom by President Trump on Thursday, made several appearances in Western Massachusetts as a player with Holy Cross and the Boston Celtics.
In 1947, when he was a sophomore, Holy Cross defeated Springfield College 66-45 at the Eastern States Coliseum (yes, the "Old Barn" was a basketball venue at times). In 1950, Cousy's senior year, the 15-0 Crusaders beat coach John Bunn's Springfield College team 62-49 before a packed 3,800 at the SC Field House, where Blake Arena now stands.
Sportswriter Dutch Robbins, who covered that game, noted that "Cousy did his magic" and the Springfield team "acquitted itself very well."
Cousy's last local appearance as a collegian happened April 9, 1950, when he led a barnstorming team of Holy Cross seniors to a 94-87 victory over the Holyoke All-Stars at the Holyoke Armory.
In the early years of the Celtics franchise, the team often would play in-season exhibition games as a way of raising money. (Those were the days before the NBA grew into the corporate giant that it is now.)
Cousy made several trips to the Pittsfield Armory for games against the Lenox Merchants. Operated by a dynamic promoter named Butch Gregory, the Merchants really could play the game, and often drew capacity crowds.
FENWAY FLAWS: In 1946, with their stars back from service in World War II, the Boston Red Sox started fast and never let up, winning 104 games and the American League pennant.
Along the way, they set a franchise record for home victories, going 61-16 at Fenway Park. (Those were the days of the 154-game schedule, 77 home, 77 away).
Just three years later, the Red Sox did it again. They went 61-16 at Fenway in that 1949 season, but lost the pennant on the road, where they went 35-42.
Those dazzling 61-16 Fenway Park records come to mind now as we watch the Red Sox struggle to win at home. If they fail to make the playoffs, they can blame it on all those series they lost at "Friendly Fenway."
After Thursday's victory in the completion of a suspended game with Kansas City, the Red Sox had a 34-34 home record. Compare that pace to their home record of a year ago - a glittering 57-24.
If the 1946 and '49 Red Sox produced the best records at Fenway, which team produced the worst? That would be the Red Sox of 1932. On their way to an ugly 43-111 season, they went 27-50 at Fenway Park.
The 2019 Sox have 13 home games left - three with the Minnesota Twins, four with the New York Yankees, three with the San Francisco Giants (and Mike Yastrzemski), three with the Baltimore Orioles.
FAME NOMINATIONS: Anyone interested in nominating an athlete, coach, contributor or team for the Springfield Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame can do so by taking the following steps:
1 - Visit the Springfield Public Schools home page at http://sps.ss18.sharpschool.com/
2 - On left side of the page, click on "SPS Sports Hall of Fame accepting nominations."
3 - That will lead to a story about the nomination process. In the sixth paragraph, click on the capitalized word HERE.
4 - That will lead to instructions for finding the ballot. Click on "click here for Sports Hall of Fame 2019 nomination form." That will lead to the actual ballot.
If further information is needed, call 413 787 7100 ext. 55490
BARTHELETTES BUSY: Since 1987, Bruce and Ann Barthelette of South Hadley have operated a Connecticut franchise in the American Poolplayers Association (APA). That organization, which formed in 1979, now includes branches in Canada and Japan.
"Our Connecticut program goes from Enfield to Milford. We’re the second largest in the country. Only Baltimore has one larger,’’ Barthelette said.
The Barthelettes make it a point to send teams and individuals to national tournaments in Las Vegas, and they do very well. On Aug. 15, their latest entry, Yale Billiards of Wallingford, won the national Masters Division title for the second straight year.
"First time that's happened," Barthelette said. "They did against a field of 256 teams, and they had to win 10 single-elimination matches."
So far in 2019, the Barthelette chapter has sent 28 teams (200 players) to Las Vegas for tournament action.
TODAYS TRIVIA: Although the 1932 Red Sox finished 64 games behind the New York Yankees, they somehow managed to have the franchise's first American League batting champion. Who was he? Answer: First baseman Dale Alexander, who came to them in a June trade with Detroit. He hit .250 in 20 games with the Tigers, then .372 in 101 games with the Sox. His combined .367 average gave him the batting title over Philadelphia's Jimmie Foxx, who hit .364. Alexander's season deprived "Double-X" of the Triple Crown as he led the AL with 58 homers and 169 RBI.
BEST BET for the weekend: Tacitus, in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
Garry Brown can be reached at geebrown1918@gmail.com