Our Speakers

November 14, 2024

Gene Defillipo

DeFilippo was hired as director of athletics at Boston College in 1997. During his 15 years as athletics director, he led BC athletics to a period of unprecedented growth and success. DeFilippo’s stated goal of keeping the student-athlete at the heart of the program produced undeniable results under DeFilippo’s leadership, Boston College student-athletes’ achievements in the classroom were an immense source of pride for the university and its supporters. Year in and year out, BC student-athletes achieved some of the highest Graduation Success Rate (GSR) scores, consistently ranking in the top-10 in the country. DeFilippo undertook an impressive overhaul of BC’s athletics facilities that included new football practice facilities and new soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse stadiums on the BC campus.

In athletics competition, DeFilippo oversaw one of the most successful decades in Boston College athletics history. In 2012, the men’s ice hockey team won its third NCAA Championship in five seasons, its fourth since 2001 and fifth overall. The women’s hockey team returned to the Frozen Four in 2012, and the sailing team won 11 national team or individual titles in five years. In football, BC produced an unprecedented 12-straight winning teams (1990-2010), capturing 103 victories during that streak.

In recognition of his years of leadership and achievement in intercollegiate athletics, he was selected for enshrinement in the Boston College Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 2011, and the NACDA Hall of Fame in 2014.

This year, in recognition of all his accomplishments, he was selected by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) as the recipient of the 58thJames J. Corbett Memorial Award, the highest honor one can achieve in collegiate athletics administration.

October 10, 2024

Dr. Charles Steinberg

Dr. Charles Steinberg is the current President of the Red Sox AAA affiliate the Worcester Red Sox. Dr. Steinberg also worked in the Red Sox front office in various positions from (2002-2007) and from (2012-2016) with his primary areas being Public Relations, Community Relations, Ballpark Entertainment, Advertising and Marketing.

February 8, 2024

Dana Barros

Dana Barros played high school basketball at Xaverian Brothers High School  and is in the Xaverian Brothers ”Hall of Fame”. He went on to a standout college career at Boston College and is in the BC Hall of Fame and his number 3 was retired at Boston College. In 1989, he was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Seattle Super Sonics with the 16 th overall pick. During his almost 14-year career in the NBA, he played for the Super Sonics, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics. Dana Barros was selected to play in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game and at season’s end was voted the league’s Most Improved Player. He also set an NBA record by making at least one three-pointer in 89 consecutive games from December 23, 1994 until January 10, 1996. He retired from the league with career averages of 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a career three-point average of 41.1%.

Since retiring from the NBA, Dana has stayed in the game of basketball in many ways. He has worked in several coaching and teaching positions and currently owns the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton. He is very involved in AAU youth basketball with several teams including the Dana Barros Gladiators

He is also currently with the media relations department for the Boston Celtics and serves as a “basketball insider”; for New England Sports Network and offers analysis and insight on the NBA on the show NESN Daily.

January 11, 2024

Mike Regan

Regan was promoted to Director, Baseball Administration and Special Projects after serving as Assistant Director, Baseball Administration beginning November 2016. A native of West Roxbury, MA, Regan began his career with the Red Sox in 2010 as an intern in the Baseball Operations department. He has also served as Coordinator, Baseball Operations from 2014-16 and Assistant, Baseball Operations from 2012-13. A graduate of Trinity College, Regan was the captain of the school's Division III National Championship baseball team in 2008.

December 14, 2023

Paul Nardizzi

Paul Nardizzi began his comedy career in 1990, quickly becoming a Boston area favorite and a national headliner within four years. Paul Nardizzi has made numerous appearances on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Comedy Central, NESN Comedy All Stars. Paul also won the Boston Comedy Festival Competition, HBO's U.S. Comedy and Arts Festivaland is one of the most requested acts on XM Satellite Radio. As a top stand up comedian in Boston and the New England Area, he is known for his rapid-fire comedy, ability to engage the crowd, and tailor material to audiences. Paul can be seen performing in clubs nationwide in addition to providing corporate entertainment and working at charity events and parties. 

November 9, 2023

Leon Powe

Leon Powe Jr. (/ˈpoʊ/; born January 22, 1984) is an American former professional basketball power forward. Drafted in 2006 by the Denver Nuggets, Powe grew up in Oakland, California, and played college basketball at the University of California, Berkeley. He played his first three years in the NBA with the Boston Celtics and won a championship with the team in 2008. From 2009 to 2011, Powe played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also had a stint with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2011. After a stint in Puerto Rico, Powe announced his retirement in 2014 citing multiple injuries and his desire to become a businessman.

Powe attended Oakland Technical High School along with former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, where he averaged 27.4 ppg, 14.2 rpg and 3.1 bpg as a senior. With Powe in the roster, Oakland Tech won the CIF Oakland Section Championship and also reached the CIF State Championships in 2002 and 2003. He was named a first-team Parade All-American and the Gatorade California Player of the Year during his senior year. A highly rated prep star, Powe was selected to play in the McDonald's All-American game and became the first Oakland Tech athlete to have his number retired by the school.[

Powe played college basketball for the California Golden Bears from 2003 to 2006. Although he was present for three seasons, he did not play in his sophomore year (2004–05) due to a serious knee injury.[3] During his freshman season, he was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, leading the conference in rebounding.

Questions abounded about whether Powe would return to form following his knee surgery, but he worked hard and rehabilitated to become a dominant force on the interior as he continued to improve his game. He produced 20.5 PPG and 10.1 RPG while leading Cal to a 20–11 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Powe was named California's most valuable player during a banquet in April 2006. Powe, who also was selected Cal's MVP as a freshman in 2004, averaged 20.5 ppg and 10.1 rpg to become just the sixth player ever to pace the Pac-10 Conference in both categories. Named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press, the U.S. Basketball Writers and ESPN.com, he was chosen to the All-Pac-10 First Team for a second time in 2006.

After his junior year, Powe decided to enter his name in the 2006 NBA draft.[3] Powe was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the second round as the 49th overall pick. The Nuggets subsequently traded him to the Boston Celtics. After playing for the Celtics summer league team, Powe was signed by the team to a 3-year contract. Although Powe did not reach the sum of 14 in his per game points, rebounds, and assists necessary to guarantee the second year of his contract, that second year became guaranteed when Boston did not waive him by July 1, 2007. Powe had a similar hurdle of 16 for the sum of the three statistics to guarantee the third year of his contract (2008–09).

October 12, 2023

Dave McGillivray

Dave McGillivray is the current race director of the Boston Marathon and has increased the self-esteem of millions of people through his work as an entrepreneur, philanthropist, motivational speaker, author, and athlete. Dave is best known for his athletic feats including his 80-day trek across the United States, running the 3,452 miles from Medford, Ore., to Medford, Mass. in the summer of 1978 to benefit the Jimmy Fund. In addition, he’s received great acclaim for directing or consulting on more than 1,400 events throughout the world including the Boston Marathon, the Olympic Marathon trials, and the Olympic Games.

His running resume includes completing the World Marathon Challenge (seven marathons in seven days on seven continents,) nine Ironman Triathlon World Championships, a 1,250 mile run along the U.S. East Coast in 1980 to again benefit the Jimmy Fund, a 24-hour run (120 miles,) a 24-hour bike (385 miles,) and a 24- hour swim (27 miles.) He triathloned around the six New England states by swimming one mile, biking 80 miles and running 20 miles every day for 32 consecutive days. Dave has run 167 full marathons, including 51 consecutive Boston Marathons. Over the span of his life, he estimates he’s run more than 160,000 miles Dave is the founder and president of DMSE Sports, a full-service event-management organization, providing a full range of event and race production, management, and consulting services to support events of all sizes. Dave is also the founder of the Dave McGillivray Finish Strong Foundation, which seeks to inspire and empower youth across New England and beyond to increase physical activity, expand literacy, and build community and self-esteem through running, reading, and performing acts of kindness.

Dave is the author of four books: The Last Pick, Dream Big: A True Story of Courage and Determination, Running Across America: A True Story of Dreams, Determination, and Heading for Home, and Finish Strong: Seven Marathons, Seven Continents, Seven Days.

He has been inducted into the USA Triathlon Hall of Fame, the Running USA Hall of Champions, and the Road Runners Club of America Long Distance Running Hall of Fame. He’s been named to the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center’s 2011 100 list and Runner39’s World’s 50 Most Influential People in Running list.

Dave is a graduate of Medford High School and Merrimack College. Dave was born and raised in Medford, and now resides in North Andover, Mass. He is married to wife Katie and has five children: Ryan, Max, Elle, Luke, and Chloe.

September 14, 2023

Tom Curran

Tom Curran has covered the Patriots and the NFL since 1997, beginning at the MetroWest Daily News before going to the Providence Journal, NBCSports.com, and finally NBC Sports Boston where he’s been since November 2009.

He’s hosted the Emmy-Award winning Quick Slants for 14 years and also hosts Tom Curran’s Patriots Talk Podcast while appearing regularly as a guest on WEEI and several national shows.

He’s originally from Pembroke, was an English major at St. Anselm College and now lives in Lakeville. He has a wonderful wife, three sons, and a beagle named Bo, and he putts with one hand.

May 11, 2023

Clark Ewen

Clark Ewen grew up in Arlington and graduated from Arlington High School in 2016. While at the high school he was a three-sport athlete, three-sport captain, and a member of the National Honor Society. Clark represented Arlington High School at the MIAA Sportsmanship Summit as well as at MIAA leadership trainings. He completed various service projects throughout the community and was named a Middlesex League football all-star and member of the MBCA All-Academic team. During the annual Arlington High School Touchdown Club Awards Banquet, Clark was the recipient of the prestigious Ostergren Award as the top male athlete. Clark went on to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) where hegraduated with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. He was also a wide receiver on the WPI football team for four years. During his time at WPI, Clark did an internship with the New York Football Giants and after graduating, was hired full-time by the Giants as a data analyst, utilizing tech and data to advance the sport.

April 13, 2023

Michael Hurley

Michael Hurley grew up in Arlington, where he attended Arlington Catholic High School and set the Hurley family record in touchdowns ... with one. After studying journalism at Roger Williams University, he covered high school sports in Eastern Mass before landing a job at NESN. He’s worked for WBZ since 2012, and he’s been a regular guest and co-host on NBC Sports Boston and 98.5 The Sports Hub. Throughout his career, he’s been able to talk to Tom Brady, David Ortiz, Bill Belichick, Pedro Martinez and many other legends, and he’s been lucky enough to cover four Super Bowls, two World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals and -- hopefully -- much, much more.

March 9, 2023

Dana Barros

Dana Barros played high school basketball at Xaverian Brothers High School  and is in the Xaverian Brothers ”Hall of Fame”. He went on to a standout college career at Boston College and is in the BC Hall of Fame and his number 3 was retired at Boston College. In 1989, he was selected in the first round of the NBA draft by the Seattle Super Sonics with the 16 th overall pick. During his almost 14-year career in the NBA, he played for the Super Sonics, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics. Dana Barros was selected to play in the 1995 NBA All-Star Game and at season’s end was voted the league’s Most Improved Player. He also set an NBA record by making at least one three-pointer in 89 consecutive games from December 23, 1994 until January 10, 1996. He retired from the league with career averages of 10.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and a career three-point average of 41.1%.

Since retiring from the NBA, Dana has stayed in the game of basketball in many ways. He has worked in several coaching and teaching positions and currently owns the Dana Barros Basketball Club in Stoughton. He is very involved in AAU youth basketball with several teams including the Dana Barros Gladiators

He is also currently with the media relations department for the Boston Celtics and serves as a “basketball insider”; for New England Sports Network and offers analysis and insight on the NBA on the show NESN Daily.

February 9, 2023

Steve Buckley

Steve Buckley is an American journalist and long-time sports writer who formerly wrote for the Boston Herald. In 2018, he joined the sports website The Athletic.

Buckley started his career at the Westfield Evening News and later moved to the Portland Press Herald. He was a regular columnist with the Boston Herald from 1995 to 2018, contributing to the paper's Sports section. In 2018, he joined the sports website The Athletic. His columns often used historical perspectives drawn from a diverse variety of sources. He joined Boston Sports radio station WEEI in 1993 and has been a regular on the station's The Big Show since its debut in 1995. He also makes regular appearances on New England Sports Tonight on CSN New England and on WBZ-TV's "Sports Final". Prior to joining the Herald, he was a columnist with the National Sports Daily. Buckley is a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

In 1999 he wrote and produced I'll be Seeing You: An American Story of World War II, a one-hour documentary, for NECN. He received a New England Emmy for best sports feature in 1998. He has been a frequent guest on SportsDesk on NESN.

In addition to his regular columns, he has written numerous articles for Boston Magazine, Yankee Magazine, and other periodicals, as well as several books. Red Sox: Where Have You Gone? appeared in 2005. With Jim Caple, he authored The Best Boston Sports Arguments (2006). His book Wicked Good Year (2009) chronicled the Celtics, Red Sox, and Patriots during the 2007 season.

January 12, 2023

Ben Crockett

December 8, 2022

Paul Gilligan

Paul Gilligan is one of the most requested comedians in Boston, bringing down the house with an attitude first developed as a high school class clown, and with material culled from his life as a blue-collar worker, husband, and father. In addition to headlining in Boston clubs, golf tournaments, fundraisers, roasts, and other events, Gilligan has appeared on NESN's Dirty Water TV and is a regular on the network’s Charlie Moore Outdoors with the Mad Fisherman.

Among the national headliners, he's performed with are Pat Cooper, the Amazing Johnathan, Dom Irrera, Dave
Chappelle, Brian Regan, Gilbert Godfried, and David Alan Grier, as well as Boston-boys-gone-national Dane Cook, Lenny Clarke, Nick DiPaolo, Joe Rogan, John Pinette, and Maine's Bob Marley. At one point, he hosted his own weekly shows at two Nick's Comedy Stop locations, in Framingham and Saugus.

A licensed electrician, he is often requested to work for trade association groups, including as master of ceremonies at the Boston Construction Awards. While not on the comedy stage, Gilligan is devoted to his
family and community, where he's particularly active in youth sports.

November 10, 2022

Jerry York

Jerry York is an American former ice hockey coach who was the men's ice hockey coach at Boston College. York is the winningest coach in NCAA hockey, and leads the all-time list as the only Division I head coach with over 1,000 wins. He has won the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey title five times as a coach, at Bowling Green State University in 1984 and at Boston College in 2001, 2008, 2010 and 2012, tying him with Murray Armstrong for second-most all-time behind only Vic Heyliger. York received the Spencer Penrose Trophy for being named Division I Coach of the Year in 1977. On June 25, 2019, York was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders Category.

York's coaching career began at Clarkson as an assistant coach. In 1972, York became the head coach when he took over the job from Len Ceglarski who had accepted the head coaching job at BC. York coached at Clarkson for 7 years, winning the ECAC regular season title in 1977.

In 1979 York moved from Clarkson to Bowling Green, taking over from Ron Mason. In 15 seasons at the school, he compiled nine 20-win seasons, 4 CCHA regular-season titles, 1 CCHA tournament title, 6 NCAA tournament appearances, and a National Title in 1984.

York returned to his alma mater, Boston College, in 1994, and began rebuilding the program. In the 1997–98 season, Boston College surprised the college hockey world by reaching the NCAA title game. In 27 years, York has led the Eagles to eleven Hockey East regular-season titles in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020, nine Hockey East tournament titles in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012, nine Beanpot titles in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016, eighteen NCAA tournament appearances, twelve Frozen Four appearances and four national titles.The four championships came in 2001 by beating North Dakota, 2008 over Notre Dame, 2010 against Wisconsin, and in 2012 defeating Ferris State University.

His 2001 title was BC's first national title since 1949, and only the second in the storied program's then 81-year history. York's Boston College teams have had twelve Frozen Four appearances in fifteen years from 1998 to 2016. During that span, Boston College has played in the national championship game eight times. Boston College lost four national title games – to Michigan in 1998, to North Dakota in 2000, to Wisconsin in 2006, and to Michigan State in 2007.

During the 2014–15 season at Boston College, York passed legendary John "Snooks" Kelley, whom he played under as a student-athlete, for most programs win all-time at Boston College. Kelley had 501 victories for the Eagles.

York became the winningest men's college ice hockey coach in history after passing Ron Mason's 924 wins on December 29, 2012.

On January 22, 2016, York earned his 1000th career win as a head coach, becoming the first coach in NCAA Division I ice hockey history to reach this milestone. He again achieved a new milestone of 1,100 wins on January 23, 2021.

After coaching his 28th year at Boston College and 50th year overall in the NCAA, York announced his retirement on April 14, 2022.

October 13, 2022

Peter Yetten

Coach Peter Yetten was born and raised in Waltham MA where the Yetten Family is widely known. In fact, the Waltham High School baseball field is named after Peter’s parents, Ray and Barbara Yetten. Peter was a three Sport Athlete at Boston University where he played Football, Hockey, and Baseball. Coach Yetten’s accomplishments at BU are immense:

• He was the last Athlete at BU to have played three Varsity Sports

• He played on BU’s first National Championship HockeyTeam in 1971

• He played on two Beanpot Championship teams

• Peter was also the starting Quarterback for BU’sfootball team

• Peter and his entire 1971 Baseball team were inducted into BU’s Hall of Fame

Peter also had a long and successful coaching career at Bentley University. He served as Bentley’s Head Football Coach from 1979 until his retirement in 2008, elevating the program to a Division II New England Powerhouse. His record at Bentley is an impressive 225 wins, 81 Losses, and 2 Ties. His wins are the most in New England Division II history.

Yetten had the longest winning streak by a New England football team in the 1900’s, which is 30 games.

Bentley had five unbeaten regular seasons under Coach Yetten, as well as National Club playoff titles in 1982 and 1983. He also won a New England Conference playoff championship in 1987.

Coach Yetten was inducted into Bentley University’s Hall of Fame in 2000.

He was the Head Hockey Coach for ten years at Waltham High School, for which he was inducted into both the Mass State Hockey Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Waltham High School Hall of Fame.

Yetten received numerous Coach of the Year awards during his three decades at the helm at Bentley. He was the Northeast 10 Coach of the Year three times. He was also given the BU William French Memorial Award for Coaching Excellence.

After Bentley, Peter held football coaching positions at Curry College, The Rivers Prep School, and Belmont Hill. In 2009 Peter was distinguished as the 58th recipient of the George C. Carens Award, presented annually by the New England Football Writers for lifetime contributions to New England football.

A celebration of 50 years of Bentley Football took place at the September 10, 2022 game where hundreds of former loyal Bentley players returned. Bentley honored Coach Yetten and formally announced that the football field will be named Peter Yetten Field in recognition of his years of service and success of Bentley Football.

Peter resides in Westford, MA with his wife Susan, a retired school teacher. He has three grown children, all graduates of Bentley, as well as four grandchildren.

The Touchdown Club of Arlington welcomes Coach Yetten to their October 13, 2022 monthly dinner meeting as their special guest speaker.

September 8, 2022

Paul Stewart

Paul Stewart is an American former professional ice hockey player and referee. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2018.

Stewart played in both the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League. He played with Mark Messier for the Cincinnati Stingers.[1] His last season of top-level professional hockey was 1979–80 with the Quebec Nordiques.

After his playing days ended, he had a lengthy career as an NHL referee. He officiated 1,010 regular season games (including Guy Lafleur's final NHL game), 49 playoff games, the 1987 Canada Cup, the 1991 Canada Cup, and two All-Star games. He never wore a helmet during his officiating career. From the 1994–95 NHL season until his retirement in 2003, he wore uniform number 22.

Stewart is the Men's and Women's League Director of Officiating for ECAC Hockey, and in 2012, he also took on duties as a judicial and discipline consultant to the Kontinental Hockey League.

May 12, 2022

Barbara Stevens

In the history of NCAA women's basketball, only six coaches have amassed at least 1,000 career victories, an elite group that includes Bentley University's Hall of Fame coach, Barbara Stevens.

Stevens, the only non-Division I coach in that exclusive club and a 2020 selection for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and joined the 1,000-win club when her team dispatched Adelphi University, 78-66, on Jan. 17, 2018. Stevens retired in June 2020 fourth all-time in career victories with a 43-year record of 1058-291.

The pinnacle of Stevens' coaching career came on March 28, 2014, when her 28th Bentley team capped off a perfect season, 35-0, with a come-from-behind 73-65 win over West Texas A&M for the program's first-ever NCAA Division II national championship.

Her accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Stevens has been the WBCA Division II National Coach of the Year an unprecedented five times (1992, 1999, 2001, 2013, and 2014) and has been voted Northeast-10 Coach of the Year 16 times (1988-89, 1991-93, 1996-2001, 2003, 2011, 2014, 2017 and 2019) She was also named the Division II Coach of the Year by the American Women’s Sports Federation following the 1988-89 season, and was the WBCA District One Coach of the Year annually from 1991-93, again from 1999-2001, in 2003, from 2012-14 and in 2017.

Stevens was one of 100 members of the charter induction class into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in October 2002, and both the Clark and Bridgewater State Halls of Fame have also called her name.              

In 2002, Stevens was presented with the prestigious Carol Eckman Award from the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, given for sportsmanship, commitment to the student-athlete, honesty, ethical behavior, courage, and dedication to purpose.              

In July 1994, she traveled to France and Israel as an assistant coach for the USA Select Team, marking the second straight summer she was involved in USA Basketball. In 1993, she was an assistant coach for the West team at the U.S. Olympic Festival.        

Barbara is a native of Southbridge. She resides in Waltham.

April 14, 2022

Jack Fultz

In 1976, Jack won the hottest Boston Marathon in history, with temperatures topping 100 degrees.  His winning time was 2:20:19 on a day when over 40% of the competitors dropped out.  That marathon was named the “Run for the Hoses” because the runners were cooled by water sprayed by spectators using garden hoses.

Two years later Jack recorded his personal best time of 2:11:17 at Boston and finished in 4th place.

Jack’s other accomplishments are immense:

• He qualified for 3 Olympic Marathon Trials in 1972, 1976, & 1980

• He was a 1981 Newport RI Marathon Champion

• He was inducted into the Georgetown Athletic Hall of Fame, Franklin High School Hall of Fame, and the Washington DC Road Runners Hall of Fame

• Jack received recognition for his achievements from President Gerald Ford & President Bill Clinton

• Jack has also competed in the Pan Mass Challenge where he has raised over $176,000 for Dana-Farber

• Jack has raced throughout the US, Japan, New Zealand, Europe, Mexico, and Canada

Since 1990, Jack has been the Training Advisor for the Dana-Farber Marathon & Running Programs which has raised an incredible $100 million to date.

 He has also served as an instructor of Sports Psychology at Tufts University as well as a Motivational Speaker.

March 10, 2022

LEIGH MONTVILLE

LEIGH MONTVILLE is the author of nine books, mostly biographies, on subjects that range from baseball greats Ted Williams and Babe Ruth to NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, seven-foot-seven basketball player Manute Bol, boxing great Muhammad Ali, motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel and the Mysterious Montague, a forgotten golfer from the Thirties. A sports columnist at the Boston Globe for 21 years, a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated for nine years, Montville also delivered  commentaries for the CNN/SI television network and has written for a range of other publications.

In his long career, he has interviewed Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, O. J. Simpson, Andre the Giant and most of the famous and infamous sports page names of the past 50 years. Montville has covered over 20 Super Bowls, at least a dozen World Series, numerous big prizefights, eight Olympic Games, the Tour de France, NASCAR, the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500 and the First Gulf War.

A Cable Ace Award for television commentary, a National Headliners Award for local feature columns, the Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of 2004, and an award from the National Association of Black Journalists for Best Magazine Article are among the honors he has received. He has appeared on radio and television shows ranging from the Howard Stern Show to Charlie Rose to ‘Mike and the Mad Dog’ to ‘The Jim Lehrer News Hour’ to ‘Morning Joe.’ He has spoken at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Fenway Park in Boston and at local Barnes and Noble affiliates everywhere. In 2009, he was named to the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, North Carolina. In 2016, he was given the Red Smith Award, sportswriting’s biggest honor.

Montville lives outside Boston and is the father of a grown son and daughter and the grandfather of two very active little boys. He is a 1965 graduate of the University of Connecticut. 

February 10, 2022

Bob Ryan

Robert P. Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons, and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published on August 12, 2012.

Awards:

• National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association National Sportswriter of the Year four times (2000, 2007, 2008, 2009).

• College Basketball Writers and New England Basketball Halls of Fame.

• 1996 Curt Gowdy Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame

• 2000 Associated Press "National Sportswriter of the Year"

• 2006 Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism

• 2015 PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing

December 9, 2021

Pete Brock

Pete Brock was a 6’5” 275-pound center and guard who played twelve seasons and 154 games for the New England Patriots. Pete attended the University of Colorado where he was a first-team All-American by The Sporting News as a senior in 1975.

A first-round draft pick by New England in the 1976 NFL Draft; he was the 12th overall pick; it was the highest-ever a Colorado offensive lineman was selected in the draft at that time.

Although mainly a center, Pete played every offensive line position at one time or another during his years with the Patriots.

Pete was also the starting center for the Patriots in Super Bowl 20.

He was the recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award in 1985 and the NFL Lineman of the Year in 1986

Named to the Patriots’ All-Decade Team for the 1980s, Patriots Football Weekly named him a member of the Patriots Team of the Century … He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

Pete was an analyst on New England’s radio network for 20 seasons.  Now in his 22nd year as the President of the Patriots’ Alumni Club, he is heavily involved in motivational speaking and productivity programs for people of all ages.

In 2018, Pete was honored and inducted into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame, where he joined his younger brother, Stan.

November 11, 2021

October 14, 2021