University Of Rhode Island To Induct 10 Into Athletic Hall of Fame
Oct. 1, 2003
KINGSTON, R.I. - A total of 10 former Rhode Island greats will be inducted into the University of Rhode Island Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 11.
Jennifer Eaton Burkhardt ('91), Clay Clatur ('65), Tony DiMaggio ('86), Steve Godin ('85), Charlotte Waters Mapes ('34), Tracie Yrigoyen ('92), Tom Mut ('83), Les Nichols ('42), Bob Taylor ('55) and Norman O. Wilcox ('42) make-up the Hall of Fame's Class of 2003.
The induction ceremonies are scheduled to commence at 5:00 p.m. following Rhode Island's Homecoming football game with Villanova. The event is slated for the Ryan Center. In addition, the Hall of Fame exhibit will be unveiled in the Ryan Center. Previously, a plaque with the names of all inductees displayed in the lobby of Keaney Gym, the new Hall of Fame will include pictures and biographies of each inductee.
A total of 287 University of Rhode Island student-athletes, coaches, administrators and athletic boosters have been enshrined in the University of Rhode Island Athletic Hall of Fame since 1959. To qualify for induction, a person must have been an outstanding performer or have provided tremendous service to the athletic program at the University.
For ticket information, contact Bill Bowers at (401) 874-4513.
Jennifer Eaton Burkhardt ('91)
Jennifer Eaton Burkhardt enjoyed a stellar career on the Rhode Island field hockey team as a four-year starter from 1987-1990 and two-time All-American (1989-90). She set every significant scoring record during her career in Kingston, including goals in a single game (5), goals scored in a season (12), assists in a season (6), career goals (39), career assists (14) and career points (92). Most of her records still stand today. She finished her junior year with a then school-record 12 goals on her way to being recognized as an All-American in 1989 and followed that up with 10 goals and another All-American selection as a senior in 1990. She earned All-Atlantic 10 honors and All-Northeast honors in both 1989 and '90. In her senior year she was named the Hanes-Her-Way Scholar Athlete of the Year and received the Holmes Award, the highest honor the University bestows upon a student-athlete. She currently resides with her husband and two children in Harrison, N.Y. where she has taught physical education and health for the past 12 years.
Clay Clatur ('65)
Clay Clatur came to Kingston as a non-scholarship athlete, but left the University of Rhode Island in 1965 with the school, Yankee Conference and New England record in the pole vault. Clatur cleared 14-feet in the pole vault at a time when that height was a rarity. He lettered three years in indoor and outdoor track, but as a senior he excelled in pole vaulting. He was undefeated in 1965, setting meet records at both the Yankee Conference and the New England Championships. He was only the fifth Rhode Island track & field athlete to set a New England Championship record. Clatur came to Rhode Island in 1961 as an electrical engineering major and had to deal with the death of both parents before his sophomore year, but credits former track coach Art Sherman for keeping him on the path to success. A 1965 graduate, he earned a master's degree in computer systems design from the University of Wisconsin. A computer design engineer, he was a Vice President with four different firms, retiring in 2000. His last assignment was as Vice President and General Manager, European Operations, of a PC software company, based in London, England.
Tony DiMaggio ('86)
Tony DiMaggio was a three-year letter-winner for the Rhode Island football team during one of the most successful stretches in school history. DiMaggio helped lead coach Bob Griffin's Rams to a 26-10 mark, a pair of Yankee Conference titles and two NCAA playoff bids. Regarded as one of the best tight ends in school history, DiMaggio earned All-Yankee Conference honorable mention honors in 1983, second-team All-Yankee Conference accolades in 1984 and first-team recognition in 1985. During his senior season in 1985, DiMaggio was ninth in the NCAA in all divisions in receiving with 72 receptions for 800 yards. His four touchdown receptions against Akron on Nov. 30, 1985 in Rhode Island's 35-27 victory in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs is still an NCAA record for most touchdown receptions in a game. He currently ranks sixth on the school's all-time list for receiving yards with 1,724 while his 149 career receptions ranks him fifth all-time. Upon graduation, DiMaggio played for the Cincinnati Bengals and the New England Patriots in the NFL until his retirement in 1990.
Steve Godin ('85)
Steve Godin made his mark on the Rhode Island baseball record books during his three years as a starter. The Lincoln, R.I. native finished his career with the second-highest career batting average (.330), and held school records in career runs (74), career stolen bases (22) and most stolen bases in a season (12). He served as a tri-captain his senior year, finishing with a .353 batting average, second best on a Rhode Island team that finished 22-18, at the time the best record in school history. On April 11 of his senior year, he had the distinction of ranking sixth in the country with a .487 batting average. He led the team in triples (4) and total bases (69), and was second in runs scored (33), hits (48) and walks (24). He hit seven doubles, two homers, drove in 22 runs and had a slugging percentage of .507. As a sophomore, Godin led the Ram's with a .360 batting average, which included a team-high 40 hits in 111 at-bats. He tied for the team lead with 22 RBIs and was one of the team's toughest players to strike out. He currently lives in New London, N.H. and is the director of International Business Development for The Claremont Co.
Charlotte Waters Mapes ('34)
Charlotte Waters Mapes was a three-sport letterwinner during her four years at Rhode Island State College from 1930-34. Nicknamed "Charlie" while attending URI, she starred in hockey, basketball and rifling, a sport for women at the time. A popular student, she was named Best All-Around Athlete and Best All-Around Student as a senior, as well as Most Versatile. She averaged 16.4 points per game, an incredible achievement at the time, under women's basketball coach Winifred Keaney, wife of legendary men's coach Frank Keaney. She was the first Kingston coed to simultaneously hold the presidencies of both the Women's Student Government and Pan-Hellenic Association, the inter-sorority governing council. She served as director of homemaking at the Girl Scouts' school in Providence from 1934-38 and was an agent at-large for extension services for Cornell University. She went on to serve as a Lieutenant in World War II. The Rumford, R.I. native currently resides in Leesburg, Fla. with her husband Sherman Mapes.
Tracie Yrigoyen Morenberg ('92)
Tracie Yrigoyen Morenberg graduated from Rhode Island in 1992 and finished her career as the fifth all-time leading scorer in Rhode Island soccer history. A two-time captain for the Rams, she scored 35 career points with 17 goals and one assist. Her 17 career goals still rank fifth on the school's all-time list. She was named an All-New England performer and a WICA All-Star in 1991 and again in 1992. As a sophomore and junior, she helped lead Rhode Island to a pair of seven-win seasons under coach Wendy Veeder. After graduating from Rhode Island, she went on to play for the Long Island Lady Rough Riders from 1994-96, helping the squad to the USISL Women's Semi-Professional soccer championship in 1994 and again in 1996. As the head girl's soccer coach at Commack High on Long Island, she has guided the team to a pair of conference championships in 1999 and 2000. She also serves as a coach in the Empire State Games and is a coach in the Long Island junior soccer league. She received her master's degree with a near-perfect 3.99 G.P.A. from SUNY Stony Brook in 1997.
Tom Mut ('83)
Tom Mut was a four-year letterwinner on the University of Rhode Island football team from 1978-82 leading the Rams in receiving in both 1981 and '82. Mut earned first-team All-Yankee Conference honors in 1981 and '82 (he was the league's only unanimous selection in '82) and also earned All-New England honors in '82. His 803 receiving yards in his senior year of 1982 set a new school record and currently is eighth on the all-time list for single-season receiving yards. He helped the Rams to a 6-6 record as a junior in 1981 and then a 7-4 mark as a senior in 1982 under coach Bob Griffin, the winningest coach in Rhode Island annals. Mut, who played one year in the USFL for the Orlando Renegades, was named to URI's All-Decade Team for the 1980's. He participated in two training camps with the New England Patriots, surviving six weeks before being cut in 1983 and making it to the last cut in 1984. Mut currently resides in Port Charlotte, Fla. where he is the dean of students at Charlotte High. He served as head football coach at Port Charlotte High for five years and currently is an assistant football coach at Charlotte High.
Les Nichols ('42)
A native of Cranston, R.I., Les Nichols was a cross-country and track star who helped lead Rhode Island State College to the school's only NCAA Championship, when the Rams won the cross-country national title in 1941. He joins his brother Bob as the fourth member of the '41 national championship team in the University of Rhode Island Athletic Hall of Fame. The 1941 Rams are still the only team in URI history to post an undefeated season, and they capped that season by winning titles at the New England Championship, the IC4As and the NCAAs in three consecutive weeks. A three-year letterwinner in both track and cross-country, he was a member of two NEICAA and two IC4A (the school's first ever) championships in 1940 and '41 in cross-country. Nichols finished fifth at the 1940 NEICAA and 18th in the 1940 IC4A meet. He helped the Rams to a third-place finish in the 1940 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Following service in World War II, Nichols worked as a professor of plan pathology at Penn State from 1950-82. Nichols did his sabbatical work at URI and the Lester P. Nichols Memorial Plantation at East Farm is named in his honor. After his retirement he returned to Kingston. He passed away in 1986.
Bob Taylor ('55)
Bob "Big Moon" Taylor was a four-year standout track & field performer from 1951-55. As a freshman, he competed solely in track & field for coach Fred Tootell. After notching a second-place finish in the hammer throw at the Yankee Conference Championship as a freshman, he won the event as a sophomore and again as a junior. In addition, he was the starting offensive tackle on the football team, however he did not play as a senior. In 1955, Taylor proved himself one of the top hammer throwers in the country when he set a Yankee Conference record with a throw of 172-2.00, topping the existing mark by more than 12 feet. Taylor followed that performance by winning the event and setting a new collegiate record at the prestigious Penn Relays. He was an Olympic Trials Qualifier in 1956 and also won the Silver Medal at the Armed Forces All-Service Meet and a Gold Medal in the First Army Track & Field Meet. After leaving the military, Taylor spent the next 42 years as both a physical education and biological sciences teacher. He was also a legendary football coach at Warwick Veterans Memorial High, Bishop Hendricken High and Eats Providence High. He was inducted into the R.I. Football Coaches Hall of Fame and the Providence Grid Iron Club Hall of Fame.
Norman O. Wilcox ('42)
Norman O. Wilcox earned nine letters in football for legendary coaches Frank Keaney and Bill Beck and in track & field for Fred Tootell, all Rhode Island Hall of Famers. Wilcox was a three-year letter winner in football from 1939-41 and also starred in indoor and outdoor track from 1940-42. During his junior season in 1941, Wilcox was the New England Intercollegiate Athletic Association hammer throw champion. At the 1941 IC4A Championship, he captured the 35-pound weight throw and placed second in the hammer throw, leading Rhode Island to a fourth-place finish, the highest any URI team has placed at the IC4A Championship. In 1942, he was the NAAU hammer throw champion and was named an All-American. During his three-year stint on the track team, both the indoor and outdoor teams were undefeated in dual meet competition. After graduation, Wilcox served in the Merchant Marines and the United States Army from 1942-45. Wilcox was tabbed as one of the top six American hammer throwers favored to make the 1944 Olympic team. But squad that never materialized because of World War II.
