Four men with local ties will be part of the second induction class into the Maine Basketball Hall of Fame when it is enshrined this summer.
The selections of players Paul Fortin of Lewiston and Denis Clark of Winthrop, University of Maine at Farmington coach Dick Meader, and referee Mike DiRenzo of Auburn were announced Wednesday.
Fortin, Clark and Meader will be welcomed as players and coaches, while DiRenzo is lauded as a “Legends of the Game” contributor. Twenty-nine players/coaches and six Legends were presented as the 2015 class, which will receive its official recognition August 23 in Bangor.
Fortin led Lewiston High School to its most recent state championship in 1960. The Blue Devils were undefeated that year and lost only one game in Fortin’s final two seasons. They also participated in the New England championship. Fortin went on to play at Hardin-Simmons University in Texas, where his coach proclaimed him “the best 6-foot-5 player in college basketball.” Fortin died at age 47 in 1989.
Clark captained Winthrop to an undefeated season and state title in 1964. In college, he was an All-American at Springfield, averaging more than 27 points per game his senior campaign.
Meader continues to lead the men’s program at UMF. In 23 years there, preceded by 17 at Thomas, he has logged more than 450 victories. He also played at Farmington and is widely known for launching the Pine Tree Basketball Camp with fellow Hall of Famer Dick Whitmore, directing it for 38 summers.
DiRenzo turned to officiating after his playing career, then became Maine’s basketball commissioner for the Maine Principals’ Association after hanging up the whistle.
Other headliners in the Class of 2015 include legendary high school coaches Roger Reed (Bangor and Bangor Christian), Dick Barstow (Presque Isle and Central Aroostook), Art Dyer (Westbrook and Medomak Valley), Gene Hunter (Morse and South Portland) and Dwight Littlefield (Valley), as well as former University of Maine standouts Bob Warner, Wayne Champeon, Keith Mahaney, John Norris, Steve Condon, Liz Coffin and Emily Ellis.
Rounding out the list are inductees Bruce MacGregor, Gary Towle, Dan Drinon, Edward “Bo” MacFarland, Maureen Burchill Cooper, Ted Shiro, Peter Kelley, Nick Scaccia, Marcie Lane Schulenburg, Ray Bishop, John Edes, Jack Coyne, Peter Webb and Ed Marchetti; and “Legends of the Game” Bob Whytock, David Dorion, Kim London, Marcia Adams and George Hale.
Ellsworth’s 1954 basketball team will be honored collectively. It lost the New England final by one point before 13,000 fans at Boston Garden.
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