Ashland June 2016

Page 18 Local Town Pages www.ashlandtownnews.com June 2016
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Sports
7 Players, 1 Team to Enter Ashland Hall of Fame
By Ken Hamwey,
Staff Sports Writer
The Ashland Athletic Hall of
Fame now has eight members
and one team.
The selection committee
voted to add seven individuals
and one team to join the first
inductee — Harold “Grump’’
Walker — who was inducted
posthumously last year for his
coaching excellence. Ashland’s
Hall of Fame, which is only two
years old, plans to honor its newest
members at a dinner that will
be held on Nov. 20 at the Crystal
Room in Milford. The time has
yet to be determined.
“I’d like to thank the selection
committee for its time and
effort in reviewing all the candidates,’’
Peter Zacchilli, the Hall
of Fame chairman, said. “The
new members no doubt are very
deserving to be included for induction,
and I urge residents in
the community to continue to
submit candidates’ names for
induction.’’
The seven members and one
team selected are Atilio Ferdenzi,
Robert “Buddy” Kokins,
Gus Carlson, Hugo “Scooch”
Giargiari, Lou Mancini, Julie
Phipps, Kevin Maines, and the
1996 softball team. A look at the
new inductees follows:
Atilio Ferdenzi (class of
1933, posthumously) was a
three-sport star in football,
basketball and baseball, and
captained the basketball and
football teams. Ferdenzi excelled
in the Clockers’ backfield
through the early 1930s, competing
as a running back and
Atilio Ferdenzi
quarterback. He led Ashland
to its first undefeated season in
1932 and is most remembered
for scoring all the points in a
24-6 rout of Hopkinton that
season. Ferdenzi later played
at Boston College where he
starred in football and baseball.
Robert “Buddy” Kokins
(class of 1944, posthumously)
earned 12 varsity letters starting
for the Clockers in football, basketball,
and baseball (freshmen
through senior year). Kokins
captained the 1943 undefeated
squad and was a star player in the
backfield. He really left his mark,
however, in basketball, playing
at center and scoring 227 points
in the 1944 season. This was in
an era of 15 game seasons and
no three-point baskets. His point
total set a new single-season record
at Ashland.
Gus Carlson
Gus Carlson (class of 1951,
posthumously). Considered by
many to be the best athlete to
have ever worn an Ashland uniform,
Carlson starred as a shooting
guard in basketball and a
catcher in baseball. He earned
first-team, all-star honors in
baseball as an eighth-grader and
started at guard in basketball as
a freshman. He was admired for
his play at quarterback, fullback,
linebacker, and kicker in football.
He captained the football team
that snapped Weston’s 19-game
win streak.
Hugo “Scooch” Giargiari
(class of 1954). A three-sport captain
as a senior, Giargiari started
every varsity game for four years.
In basketball, he played forward
and averaged 14 points. In baseball,
he played centerfield and
hit .415 as a senior. He started at
quarterback for the undefeated
Hugo “Scooch” Giargiari
1952 team and also led Ashland
to the school’s longest win streak
of 19 games (1951-1953). He
won the MetroWest scoring title
(96 points in 8 games) and scored
32 career touchdowns. Giargiari
enrolled at Holy Cross where he
played football and baseball. He
later coached Ashland’s football
teams (1973-1979) and his 1977
squad finished 10-0 in the regular
season and captured the Tri Valley
League (TVL) title.
Lou Mancini (class of 1967)
lettered in football, gymnastics,
wrestling, and track and is most
recognized for his success on
Ashland’s first varsity wrestling
team (1967). Mancini never lost
a dual meet, going 11-0 for Ashland
in just one year of wrestling.
He capped off his season as Ashland’s
first
state champ
and finished
as runnerup
in New
England.
Wrestling
for Boston
State, Man-
Lou Mancini
cini continued
his
dominance
by compiling
a dual-meet record of 42-0.
He has since given back to his
hometown, serving as a teacher
and coach in the district for almost
40 years.
Julie Phipps (class of 1996).
A two-time TVL all-star in volleyball,
Phipps also was a threetime
all-star in track. She set the
school shot-put record and the
Class D meet record in 1994
while capturing the Class D
state championship. In softball,
she starred as a pitcher and first
baseman, earning TVL MVP
honors in ’94, ’95, and ’96. She
was also a two-time Globe and
Herald All-Scholastic. Phipps
compiled a 60-7 record and had
586 strikeouts in four seasons.
Julie Phipps
In 1996 as captain, she led Ashland
to a Division 3 state title
and earned the Boston Globe’s
Division 3 Player of the Year
Award. Phipps played at Merrimack
College, then Assumption
where she became the National
Collegiate Athletic Association
(NCAA) Division 2 batting
champ, hitting .576.
Kevin Maines (coached
from 1991-2002). Taking over
the football program in 1991,
Maines led Ashland to its first
winning season in almost a decade
with the 1993 squad. Two
years later in 1995, he guided
Ashland to its first Super Bowl
crown. That team captured the
TVL championship and the
Eastern Mass. Division 6B title.
Maines also served as head baseball
coach from 1995-2002. In
2000, he led Ashland to a 24-2
record, a TVL title, and the Division
3 state championship. A positive
example for all high school
coaches, Maines now is principal
at Douglas High School.
HALL OF FAME
continued on page 19