The Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame will induct eight individuals at the hall’s ninth annual induction banquet at the Rockland Elks Lodge, Saturday, Oct. 24.
Those individuals selected by the hall’s board of directors for induction include: Peter “Rabbi” Henderson, Karl Henrickson, Caitlin Hynes, Adelbert “Red” Norwood, Phil Page, Don Shields, Barry Sprague, and Dana Verge.
Peter “Rabbi” Henderson was a 1975 graduate of Camden-Rockport High School where he was the manager/trainer for the soccer team and the 1973 Western Maine Champion boys basketball team and 1974 state championship team.
He then went on to Prince Edward Island University where he became involved in ice hockey and served as the equipment manager for the PEI Panthers.
From there Henderson went on to serve as equipment manager for several professional hockey teams at the IHL, AHL and NHL. He has been employed by the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins, In 2011, he was awarded a Stanley Cup ring for his service with the Bruins.
Henderson has worked over 2000 professional hockey games, which is 300 more than the closest person to him.
Karl Henrickson was a 1974 graduate of Georges Valley High School where he led the boys’ basketball team in scoring, rebounding, shooting percentage, free throw percentage and blocked shots during his senior year.
Henrickson went on to USM where he played varsity basketball, served as team captain during the 1978 season, and helped lead the Huskies to a 22-6 record and a trip to the national tournament in Kansas City.
Henrickson then went on to coach at the high school, prep school, college and foreign professional level. He is currently the head coach of the mens’ basketball team at USM, a position he has held for the past 12 years.
Caitlin Hynes was a 2006 graduate of Rockland District High School where she played field hockey, basketball, and softball. Basketball was her best sport. She remains the only female to score 1000 points in Rockland high school history.
She was selected All KVAC all four years of high school. After graduating as valedictorian of her class Hynes went on to Bowdoin College where she was a standout on the Polar Bears basketball team. She played all four years, serving as captain her senior year and leading the team in scoring. Bowdoin went to the NCAA Tournament three times during her career and recorded a 95-23 record.
Adelbert “Red” Norwood will be inducted posthumously. He was a graduate of Warren High School in the late 1940s and was known for his “rifle” arm as a baseball pitcher. “Red” signed his first minor league contract in the early 1950s and compiled an impressive record of wins and strikeouts, pitching for minor league teams of the Boston Red Sox in San Jose and Roanoke.
After a stint in the military, he returned to the Red Sox organization in 1954. In 1960 Norwood had to decide whether to pursue a career in professional baseball or accept a job as head baseball coach at Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School. He accepted the coaching job and went on to serve in that position for 28 years, winning 19 district titles and 14 regional championships.
Phil Page was a 1970 graduate of Lincoln Academy where he was an outstanding athlete in cross country, basketball, and track & field. In 1970 he was presented the prestigious Balfour Award as Lincoln Academy’s top athlete.
Page went on to the University of Maine at Portland/Gorham, where after his 1975 graduation he entered the teaching/coaching field. He has served in positions coaching at Medomak Valley High School then returned to his alma mater, Lincoln Academy, in the early 1980s where he remained for the duration of his career.
Page coached boys varsity basketball coach for 11 years, winning the state championship in 1989. He built a tremendous feeder program for youth basketball that still is in place today. He also served as a trainer, teacher, assistant athletic director, and finally athletic director for 30 years.
Don Shields was a graduate of Camden-Rockport High School in the late 1970s where he served as manager of the boys’ varsity soccer, basketball, and baseball teams all four years.
After graduation, Shields went on to Northeast Broadcasting School in Boston. His first broadcasting job was in Linesville, Penn. for WVCC radio.
In 1980 he returned to Maine to take a position at WCME in Wiscasset and then in 1985 was hired by WRKD/WMCM in Rockland. Presently working for 105.5 Frank FM, Shields has been the voice for Midcoast sports for over 30 years. In 2007, Shields was also hired by Learfield Sports/Black Bear Sports Properties to be the voice of the University of Maine Women’s’ Basketball Team.
He has received numerous broadcasting awards, most recently receiving the Ron Brown Media Award presented by the Maine Basketball Coaches Association and this past June he was selected as the Maine Sportscaster of the Year.
Barry Sprague was a 1982 graduate of Camden-Rockport High School where he ran cross country and was very involved in many school activities.
Sprague was a major student worker for C-R TV, the school television station, which broadcasted all basketball games over cable TV. He thoroughly enjoyed his work with this media and after graduation went on to a career in television.
He started with several Maine stations before moving on to New York City and a career with NBC Sports. Sprague has earned five Emmy Awards for his work as technical director on several Olympic Games all over the world plus has served as technical director for NBC sporting events in the NFL, NBA, PGA, and MLB, plus 2004 election coverage and Iraqi Freedom War coverage.
Dana Verge was a 1958 graduate of Waldoboro High School where he ran cross country and played varsity basketball and baseball. During his senior year, Verge was selected by the faculty as Outstanding Athlete of the Year.
He went on to Thomas College in 1958, where he played varsity basketball and baseball for two years. During his second year at Thomas he averaged 19.2 points per game and received the basketball MVP Award.
Verge has umpired baseball and softball in the Midcoast area for 52 years, calling six baseball state championships, while also being a certified basketball official for 40 years.
Most recently, in 2015, Verge received an award from the Thomaston Recreation Department for outstanding service to the youth of Thomaston plus the Volunteer of the Year Award from Maine Little League for 60 years of service to Little League and 30 years as District Two Administrator.
Also to be recognized at the banquet are 10 outstanding high school athletes, with one male and one female, being announced at the banquet, as Athletes of the Year.
Those selected as outstanding athletes are for females, Miranda Achorn of Lincoln Academy, Emily Gould and Jackie Thorbjornson of Oceanside, Hannah Marks of Medomak Valley, and Rachel Pease of Camden Hills. Male honorees include Nicholas DePatsy and Micah Williamson of Medomak Valley, Nick Mazurek and Zack Roman of Oceanside and Mark McCluskey of Camden Hills.
Tickets for the banquet are $25 each and can be purchased from any Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame Director or by contacting Dave Ames, secretary/treasurer, at 789-5118 or damesref@tidewater.net
The Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame website is www.midcoastsportshalloffame.org
