The following eleven (11) distinguished athletes, coaches, officials and administrators were inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League High School Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2011 on Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Warwick, Rhode Island.
Jean E. Angell
One of the pioneers of girls’ high school athletics in the state, Angell has enjoyed a long tenure at Scituate High, beginning as a key member of the Spartans’ 1969 state championship basketball team. She coached softball and girls’ basketball, and served as Scituate’s athletic director for 23 years. Angell retired last spring, closing out a 38-year coaching career.
Tim Army
The scion of a great hockey family, Army was a two-time Journal All-State hockey standout while at East Providence High School in the early 1980s. A Providence Journal Honor Roll boy, Army went on to become a hockey All-American while at Providence College. He played for the Mainer Mariners of the American Hockey League, and has coached hockey at both collegiate and professional levels.
Raymond Beattie
A longtime sports official, Beattie has worked prep football, collegiate and prep softball and basketball in both the RIIL and college leagues. He is past president of the league’s Football, Soccer, Boys’ Basketball and softball Officials Associations. Beattie has also worked games in the Babe Ruth Baseball League.
Steve Gordon
Gordon is the doyen of the state’s prep wrestling coaches, having been involved with the sport for 42 years. He founded the program at Cumberland High School in ‘68, and has remained as Clipper mat chief since. His teams won state championships in 1979, ‘05 and ‘10, and have been top contenders in New England competitions. Gordon’s teams have also captured ten RIIL League championships.
John "Jack"Martin (Posthumous)
Martin was The Providence Journal’s first school sports editor, and worked in that capacity for more than three decades in the late 1920s and ‘30s. He was the prime mover behind formation of the RI Interscholastic League, and became its first commissioner in 1928. Martin was also a veteran prep football referee, and has an award in his name, given by the state Football Officials’ Association for service to the sport.
Maria (Nero) Morin
A star softball pitcher while at Classical High in the late 1980s, Morin was twice an All-Stater at that position. On the basketball court, she earned all-division honors, and was team captain in her senior year. Nero currently serves as head softball coach at RI College.
William "Babe" Mousseau (Posthumous)
Mousseau coached Burrillville High School hockey from 1956 to ‘74. His teams won seven state championships, and nine New England crowns. He was also the Broncos’ athletic director for five years. Mousseau was inducted into the Burrillville High Athletic Hall of Fame.
Marilyn Hartley Picerelli
While at Barrington High in the early 1970s, Picerelli excelled in tennis, basketball and track. She earned All-State honors in tennis her senior year, and also led the Eagles’ hoop squad in scoring (1975) as an All-State guard. Picerelli set a state outdoor long jump record (5.40 meters/17 feet, 8 ¾ inches) that stood for ten years. She was a tennis standout while at the University of Rhode Island.
Emily (Selvidio) Scharsu
A 1996 honors graduate of Westerly High, Scharsu was a multiple All-State and All-American cross country and track runner. On the oval, she excelled in every distance, from 1,000 to 3,000 meters. She was a three-time state titlist in both the 1,500 and 3,000 meters, and broke two R.I. indoor marks in the 1,000 and 1,500 meters. Scharsu’s success paved the way for a girls’ indoor track program at the school. In ‘08, Scharsu was inducted into the Westerly High Athletic Hall of Fame.
Mike Traficante
The longtime Cranston High School East football mentor served as coach a total of 11 years (from 1969-75). His grid teams won the ‘72 state football championship. Traficante also served as the ‘Bolt wrestling coach, and was Cranston’s mayor over four terms. He has long been associated with athletic and community affairs in the city.
Tim Walker
While a student at Rogers High in Newport in the mid 1970s, Walker was a multiple All-State track athlete. Significantly, he became the state’s first high jumper to clear the theretofore elusive 2.13-meter (7-foot) mark in the event. His outdoor high jump record stood for 22 years. Walker still holds the R.I. indoor high jump standard of 2.17 meters (7 feet 1 ½ inches). He attended the University of Southern California, and is in the Rogers High Athletic Hall of Fame.
