WORCESTER—The inception of the Worcester Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame aimed not only to celebrate outstanding athletes but highlight the rich tapestry of diversity and sportsmanship embodied by these players.
Established in 2007 under the stewardship of Athletic Director David Shea, the Hall of Fame has been a beacon of athletic excellence, except for the years 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic. Notably, this marks the inaugural year in which the Worcester Educational Development Foundation assumes leadership of this esteemed event.
“The current committee is made up of members of the past committee as well as members that WEDF has asked to join,” McHala Brophy, executive director of the WEDF, told the Worcester Guardian. It has been a smooth and cohesive transition.”
The committee to pick the inductees is chaired by Tom Murray, who also chairs WEDF’s Distinguished Alumni event and is the vice president of the WEDF board. Shea and other Worcester Public School employees sit on the committee, along with Brophy, three WPS Hall of Fame members, and members of the Worcester community.
“It is not always the same number of inductees each year,” said Brophy. “People need to be nominated to go through the process. According to David Shea, the honor is that you are part of an elite group (coach, player, or team) based on your athletic or coaching achievements.”
This year, for the first time, the Hall of Fame is honoring an outstanding WPS boys and girls team, and Dr. Lee Mancini and Angela Rufo from Family Medicine/Sports Medicine at UMASS Memorial Health will also be honored as outstanding contributors.
Meet the inductees for 2024:
Andrew H. Hunter is a 1936 graduate of North High School and a six time letterman in indoor and outdoor track. He was a 1936 individual state champion in the high jump for both indoor and outdoor track and the long jump for outdoor track. In 1935, Hunter was also the state champion for the high jump in indoor track. Hunter furthered his studies at Dartmouth College where he competed in indoor and outdoor track earning six letters. After graduating from Dartmouth in 1941, he served in the U.S. Army (1941-45) working stateside in intelligence during World War II. He became an executive in a local greeting card company. He passed away in 2006 at the age of 87.
John Creamer is a 1988 graduate of South High School and a six time letterman in football and tennis. In 1987, John led the Colonels to the Central Massachusetts Super Bowl championship, capping off four years of a resurgent South HS football program during his time on Apricot Street. John led the team in tackles in both his Jr. and Sr. campaigns. He recorded a remarkable 26 tackles in South’s 9-8 win over crosstown rival Doherty in 1986.
Creamer received more than ten Division 1 football scholarship offers, eventually choosing UMass, becoming a four year starter on the gridiron for the Minutemen. After graduating from UMass in 1992, John continued a Creamer family tradition and embarked on a career in education. He is a vice principal at Doherty Memorial High School.
Delaney M. Sylvester is a 2014 graduate of Doherty Memorial High School where she starred on the softball, field hockey and basketball teams. She was the Inter High MVP for softball in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. Delaney was also named to the T&G Super Team after her senior campaign. She also lettered in field hockey for three years and basketball for two seasons. Her Highlander basketball teams earned Inter High crowns in 2013 and 2014.
Sylvester holds the Doherty softball record for most career hits (129) and remarkably only struck out four times in her four years as a Highlander. Her Doherty softball teams qualified for postseason play in each of her four seasons in the maroon and gold.
She went on to Suffolk University where her academic and athletic success continued. She still calls Worcester home and works as a research biologist for Avencia Life Sciences.
Jackie Malm is a 2014 graduate of Burncoat High School, where she lettered for the Patriots in field hockey, softball and indoor track in each of her four years. She is the all time leading field hockey scorer for Burncoat amassing 109 total points in her high school career. She was the Inter High field hockey MVP and a member of the T&G Super Team in 2013. Malm was second in scoring in Central Massachusetts in her senior campaign and was voted a “Best of 60” top high school field hockey players in the state. In her final season with the Patriots, her team advanced to the CMass district semifinals.
She was also a standout softball player for Burncoat, earning Inter High all star honors in her sophomore, junior and senior seasons. She was a stellar center fielder and finished her senior campaign with the third highest batting average in the Inter High.
An outstanding student who graduated seventh in the Burncoat Class of 2014, Malm furthered her education at URI where she played club field hockey. Jackie lives in Worcester and is a speech pathologist for the Worcester Public Schools.
Daron Brown is a 1997 graduate of Doherty Memorial High School where he lettered in football and basketball in his Jr. and Sr. years. He was a standout two way football player, joining the Highlanders in his Jr. year after his family relocated to Worcester from Georgia. In his first season at Doherty, he rushed for 1,176 yards and recorded 112 tackles on defense. During his senior. campaign he gained 1,280 rushing yards and notched 123 tackles. He also starred on the hardwood and his Highlander basketball teams won Inter High crowns in the 1995-97 and 1996-97 seasons.
Brown was a football T&G all star in 1995 and 1996 and was voted a member of the T&G Super Team in 1996. He was a CMass Div. 1 football all star in his Jr. and Sr. years and was also chosen to play in the Mewhiney Shriners All Star Game in 1996. In his senior year he received “All State Team Top 26” honors in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments on the gridiron.
At Merrimack College, Brown lettered in football for the Warriors. He resides in Worcester and works as a continued care specialist for Spectrum CLS, Inc.
Isaac Yiadom is a six-year veteran of the NFL and a defensive back for the San Franciso 49ers. He is a 2014 graduate of Doherty Memorial High School where he earned 12 letters in football, indoor track and outdoor track collectively.
On the gridiron for the Highlanders, Yiadom was a three-time Inter High all star, earning MVP honors in his senior year. He was a two-time CMass all star and T&G Super Team member. Isaac was named the T&G Fall 2013 Player of the Year, an honor given to the best CMass athlete amongst all fall sports. A football captain in his senior year, he led Doherty to the Division 4 state championship in a win over Dennis Yarmouth HS. He finished his Highlander career with more than 2,500 receiving yards, 800+ rushing yards, 27 touchdowns, 300+ tackles and 11 interceptions.
Yiadom holds school track records in the 400m, 600m, Triple Jump, 4×200 (indoor), and the 4×400 (outdoor). He was CMass Div. 1 champion in the 400m and the 400m in 2013. He was named a T&G All Star for track in 2013. He furthered his academic and athletic career at Boston College where he was a four year starter for the Eagles. He earned 1st team All ACC honors in his senior year and was recognized with the Jay McGillis Award.
He was drafted in the third round of the NFL in 2018 by the Denver Broncos and his six-year NFL career has included time with the Broncos, Giants, Packers, Texans and 49ers.
The Burncoat Boys Basketball Team 1996-1997 finished the season as Div. 1 state finalists with a 22-2 record. Coached by Jim Diamontopoulos, this talented squad recorded three game sweeps during the season of archrivals Doherty and St. John’s.
Led by future NBA player Mike Bradley, the Patriots survived a central Massachusetts district tournament notching a big win against the Pioneers to set up an all city district final showdown vs. the Highlanders. The Patriots outlasted Doherty to win the CMass Division 1 crown. In the state semi-finals, Burncoat downed a talented Springfield Cathedral team at the Mullins Center in Amherst to secure a berth in the state championship game vs. Taunton. Burncoat lost to Taunton in the state championship, but this 1996-97 squad will go down in the annals of history as one of the city’s best of all time.
Michael Flynn is a 1968 graduate of Burncoat High School. He coached football, basketball and baseball for Abbot Street School from 1972 to 1982. During that time, he also worked as an elementary physical education teacher for the Worcester Public Schools.
In 1979, Coach Flynn led Abbot Street School to city championships in football, basketball and baseball. During his service to the Worcester Public Schools, he not only achieved great success on the fields of play, but instilled in hundreds of young people the values of hard work, dedication and respect for others. Many of his former players and students went on to enjoy great athletic and professional success, due in no small part to the life lessons imparted upon them by Mr. Flynn.
A standout All City baseball and football star at Burncoat during his playing days, Coach Flynn’s tenure in the Worcester Public Schools was cut short by the budget cuts brought upon by
Proposition 2 ½ in 1982. Flynn continued his teaching and coaching career at Grafton High School, where he coached track and was the first coach of the girls’ soccer team. In 2003, he coached the Grafton girls soccer team to the state title. Mike is now retired and resides in Brewster.
John Stolberg is a 1988 graduate of South High School where he was a four year letterman in football. John was a team captain in his Jr. and Sr. seasons and was leader in the resurgence of South High football in the 1980s. He was recognized as an Inter High All Star in 1986 and 1987 and a T&G All Star in his Sr. campaign.
Stolberg’s 1987 Colonel team reached the pinnacle of high school football success in Massachusetts by winning the Central Massachusetts Super Bowl. His success on the gridiron caught the attention of many Div. 1 college football programs resulting in more than 10 college scholarship offers. Stolberg accepted a football scholarship to Boston College, where he became a four-year starter for the Eagles.
After graduating from Boston College, John attained great professional success in the staffing industry. He is now retired and resides in Moorsville, North Carolina.
Scott Fenner is a 1989 graduate of South High School, where he was a standout member of the basketball and baseball teams. He was a baseball captain for the Colonels in his junior and senior seasons, starring as pitcher and shortstop. In his senior year, South’s success was buoyed by Fenner’s effort on the mound (8-1 record, .064 ERA). That same season, he recorded a no-hitter (with 10 Ks) and two one-hitter outings. He was also formidable at the plate, hitting .443 in his senior campaign.
Fenner also excelled as a member of the South basketball team. In his junior year, the team finished 17-3, earning an Inter High crown. That same year, South also won the Inter High Holiday Tournament in which Scott earned tournament MVP honors. Scott averaged 15 points per game in the 1987-88 season. In his senior year, he averaged 19 points per game and 7 assists, leading the Colonels to a CMass District championship crown. That same year, Fenner recorded a triple double vs. St. Peter- Marian (43 points, 15 assists, 11 steals).
Continuing his education at Worcester State University, Fenner lettered in baseball and basketball. Scott resides in Worcester and is professionally employed at the United States Postal Service.
Lauren Fitzgerald is a 2015 graduate of Burncoat High School where she collectively earned 12 varsity letters in cross country, track (indoor and outdoor) and soccer. She is the school record holder for indoor track in the mile, two mile and 4X800 relay. She was a state qualifier in the mile (2013), 1000 (2014) and the 2 mile (2015). Lauren was also the Inter High champion in the mile in her Soph., Jr. and Sr. seasons. In outdoor track she is the school record holder in the mile, 2 mile and 4×800 relay.
Fitzgerald continued her studies at Westfield State University where she lettered in indoor/outdoor track and cross country. Her teams won three MASCAC championships in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. WSU also won the Alliance Championship meet in outdoor track in 2019. Additionally, Lauren was a qualifier for cross country regionals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The 2024 Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony event takes place at the Hogan Center at the College of the Holy Cross on Friday, May 17. The event starts at 5 p.m. with a reception followed by the dinner and ceremony at 6 p.m. Tickets are $75 each or $700 for a table of 10. The event is open to the public.
Send your news, tips and thoughts to Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
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