In the early 1920s, the Villanova baseball team had a distinct central Maine flavor on its roster. Five of the players on the team at the Pennsylvania college attended Hallowell High School, among them Chick Meader, a pitcher who averaged 18 strikeouts a game in high school.

This is just one of the tidbits discovered by newly-hired Hall-Dale High School athletic director Colin Roy in a quest that began by wondering who the people were in a picture he came across.

“I got sidetracked a little bit,” said Roy, a 1971 Hall-Dale graduate and three-sport athlete. “I came across people who did some spectacular things.”

Roy decided to start a Hallowell/Hall-Dale high school hall of fame and has since conducted countless hours of research. He began in January and later enlisted some help from former Hallowell grads Duke Dulac, Dick Bachelder, Fred Wingate and Cam Brown.. Roy recently brought in about 15 more people and established nominating and selection committees.

Roy knows of at least one other high school — Mt. Desert Island — that has established a hall of fame, and believes it’s an important addition to the community.

“We have a lot of people who still live here, whose grandparents live here,” he said. “We should remember the past, remember how we got to where we are.”

Inductees will belong to at least one of three categories: athletes, coaches or contributors. Roy mentioned Frank Hewins as an example of a contributor. When Hall-Dale High School was in the planning stages in the early ’60s, there was no gymnasium included in the budget. Hewins started a fundraising campaign that included the donation of pennies. Funds were raised, the gymnasium was built and then named Penny Memorial Gymnasium.

Earlier in his career, Hewins, an undertaker, would transport members of the basketball teams to games in his hearse.

Roy said the committee has come up with 30 to 40 names for consideration for the inaugural class. So far, they’ve concentrated on those before 1962 when Hall-Dale High School replaced the Old Hallowell High.

“I think it’s important for people to know this is the inaugural class, not the only class,” he said.

Roy plans to set up an information booth July 19 on Old Hallowell Day, when he’ll pass out booklets detailing those involved and the criteria for nomination. He’s also interested to hear of any athletes he’s yet to research.

An induction ceremony will be held Sept. 28 in the high school gym and Hall members will be recognized on a perpetual plaque. The ceremony will also include booklets with photos and biographies of the inductees. Individual plaques will be presented to them or their next of kin. A slide show is also planned.

Gary Hawkins — 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @GaryHawkinsKJ

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