LEWISTON, Maine – Bates College has announced the Athletics Hall of Fame class of 2026, celebrating five inductees and seven legacy honorees. 

Bates established the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025 to honor, pay tribute, and perpetuate the memory of individuals and teams who, either through participation, support, or interest, have made outstanding contributions in the field of intercollegiate athletics and who have helped bring recognition, honor, distinction, and excellence to Bates College.

Bates student-athletes are eligible for the Bates College Athletics Hall of Fame at any time beginning ten years after their matriculating class has graduated. Coaches, trainers and administrators are eligible beginning five years after the end of their involvement in Bates athletics in a capacity other than as a student-athlete. 

“The individuals inducted into the Bates Athletics Hall of Fame represent the very best of our tradition—not only for what they accomplished, but for the impact they had on those around them," Director of Athletics Stacey Bunting, P’29 said. "Their achievements, leadership, and dedication helped strengthen their teams, elevate their programs, and leave Bates athletics better than they found it. We are proud to honor their remarkable contributions and enduring legacy, and we look forward to celebrating this outstanding Hall of Fame class during Back to Bates Weekend this fall."

Selected from more than 400 nominations by a nine-member Athletics Hall of Fame selection committee, the class of 2026 features five athletes, spans five decades, and represents 12 different sports.

They are, in alphabetical order:

• Ahmed M. Abdel Khalek ’16, men’s squash: Two-time national champion… Career record of 89-2… Four-time NESCAC Player of the Year… Ended career on a 66-match winning streak.
• Jason M. Coulie ’00, baseball, football, men’s track and field: One of two Major League Baseball draft picks in Bates College history (9th Round, Angels, 2000)… Tied for most career home runs at Bates… All-America wide receiver… Lettered in four sports in one year.
• Bud Schultz Jr. ’81, men’s tennis, men's basketball: ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame inductee… National runner-up in 1981 NCAA Division III men's singles tournament… First All-American in Bates men's tennis history… Played professionally and reached as high as No. 40 in the world in singles.
• Elizabeth Ann Wanless ’04, women’s track and field, volleyball: Four-time All-American and two-time NCAA Division III champion in the shot put… Still holds the school record in the indoor and outdoor shot put… Competed at the U.S. Olympic Trials and the World Championships… All-American in volleyball.
• Priscilla A. Wilde ’77, field hockey, women’s basketball: Only Bobcat to have her jersey number retired in two sports… Holds records for goals scored in a career and in a single season that will never be broken… First 1,000-point scorer in Bates women's basketball history.

“The Bates Athletics Hall of Fame continues to be a meaningful and long-awaited tribute to generations of Bobcats.” Vice President for College Advancement Eric Foushée, P’22, P’26 said. “It truly honors the rich history, pride, and success that athletes have had over many decades. The second class to be inducted represents some of our best student-athletes, while showcasing the breadth and depth of Bates athletics. Go Bobcats!" 

The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at 5 p.m. in the Olin Arts Center.

At the ceremony, Bates will also acknowledge seven legacy honorees, individuals whose athletic achievements and historical contributions to the college community occurred more than 50 years ago. By recognizing their enduring spirit, the Hall of Fame celebrates not only their individual legacies but also the rich history and foundational impact they have had on shaping the college’s athletic program for generations to come. 

The seven legacy honorees this year are:

• Ellen Craft Dammond ’38, Bates Women’s Athletic Association, tennis, basketball, volleyball: Third Black woman to graduate from Bates and the first Black woman to live in a Bates dorm… Also served as a judge and coach for athletic competitions… Long-time Civil Rights advocate… Later served on the board of the YWCA.
• Thom H. Freeman ’63, baseball, men’s basketball: Maine Baseball Hall of Fame inductee… Led Bates basketball to the NCAA Regional Finals in 1961 and Bates baseball to the Eastern NCAA Finals in 1962… First All-American in Bates baseball history… Pitched 18 complete games and struck out 181 batters, both Bates records… Signed by the New York Yankees.
• Allen N. Harvie ’65, men’s track and field: Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee… Four-time Maine College State Meet champion in the 120-yard high hurdles… His record in the 110-yard high hurdles stood for 39 years… The “Voice” of Garcelon Field for decades.
• Robert W. Hatch, P’73, P’81, coach and administrator: Maine Sports Hall of Fame inductee… Head football coach: 1952-1972… Director of Athletics: 1974-1991… Worked to ensure that Bobcat athletics reflected the very best qualities of the college as a whole, including a spirit of egalitarianism and fairness toward both men and women athletes.
• Frank W. Keaney, Class of 1911, men's basketball, baseball, football, track and field: Basketball Hall of Fame inductee… College Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee… Inventor of the fast break… Legendary basketball coach at Rhode Island State… Rejected an offer to coach the Boston Celtics… Played on the first Bates varsity basketball team… Outstanding baseball player who earned a tryout with the White Sox.
• Milton L. Lindholm ’35, L.H.D.’04, P’64, GP’20, football, dean of admissions: Revered admissions dean from 1944-1976… Played center for the football team in the famous 0-0 tie against Yale in 1932… Recipient of the Distinguished American Award from the Maine Chapter of the National Football Foundation.
• Harry D. Lord, Class of 1908 (Elected in 2025, being celebrated this year with family able to attend), baseball, football: Starred for the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox, 1907–14... Played football at Bates in 1904 and baseball in 1905... Returned to coach baseball in 1918.

The Bates Athletics Hall of Fame committee comprises men’s basketball head coach Jon Furbush ’05, athletics historian Richard Johnson ’78, six-time All-American thrower Vantiel Elizabeth Duncan ’10, field hockey and women’s lacrosse captain Carolyn Campbell-McGovern ’83, assistant field hockey coach Kelly McManus ’12, football co-captain Ira Waldman ’73, P’08, P’11, Director of Athletics Stacey Bunting, P’29, Associate Director of Athletics and Senior Woman Administrator Adrienne Shibles ’91, P’26, and Assistant Athletic Director for Communications Chris McKibben. 

Joining Foushée as staff liaisons for the committee are Senior Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Cameron, Associate Director of Alumni Engagement Stephanie Dumont, and Associate Athletic Communications Director Aaron Morse.

Bates College Athletics Hall of Fame Inductees

Ahmed M. Abdel Khalek ’16
Men’s Squash

Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’16 belongs in the pantheon as not only one of Bates College’s greatest student-athletes of all time, but also as one of the greatest players in the history of collegiate squash in the United States.

Abdel Khalek’s jaw-dropping rookie season at Bates set the stage for the greatness to come. Never playing anyone but the competition’s best player from his first day in a garnet uniform, Abdel Khalek assembled an incredible 23-2 record in the 2012–13 season, culminating in a loss to Princeton’s top-seeded Todd Harrity (the 2011 individual champion) in the semifinals of College Squash Association Individual Nationals — two rounds further than any Bates player had ever progressed in the tournament. His only other loss that year came against the defending national champion, Ali Farag of Harvard. Abdel Khalek was named not only NESCAC Rookie of the Year but NESCAC Player of the Year, too, in the sport’s best conference outside of the Ivy League.

The loss to Harrity was the final one of Abdel Khalek’s college career.

He finished his sophomore season with an injury keeping him out of CSA Individual Nationals, but with a 17-0 record and additional NESCAC Player of the Year honors.

The victories piled up into his junior year, which he finished on a personal 42-match winning streak and the first individual squash championship, also known as the Pool Trophy, in Bates history. For this achievement, Abdel Khalek came back from a 2-0 deficit in the championship match against Columbia’s Osama Khalifa to win 3-2 (12-14, 9-11, 11-9, 11-2, 11-8). 

Shortly after winning NESCAC Player of the Year honors for an unprecedented fourth time, Abdel Khalek became the 21st player ever to repeat as Pool Trophy winner to conclude his senior campaign, with a hair-raising 3-1 (11-5, 6-11, 15-13, 13-11) triumph over Rochester's Ryosei Kobayashi. The win was the 66th in a row for Abdel Khalek, who concluded his career with an 89-2 record over four years and a permanent place in Bates’ athletic lore.

Related: Shot by shot, an inside look at Bates squash champ Ahmed Abdel Khalek’s road to victory

Jason M. Coulie ’00
Baseball, Football, Men’s Track & Field

Jason Coulie ’00 did not have an auspicious start to his Bates career, fracturing his ankle on his first career catch on the football field. 

But by the time he was done, the record books in three different sports would never be the same.

Coulie is the greatest slugger in Bates baseball history. His .705 slugging percentage has not been topped. Coulie's 21 home runs are tied for the most in team history and his 123 hits and 225 total bases were both program records when he graduated from Bates in 2000. He led the team in both batting average and home runs in each of his final three seasons as a Bobcat. Coulie could run too, stealing 42 bases in his career.

A three-year starter in center field, an All-ECAC pick as a senior and a two-time All-NESCAC selection, Coulie's prowess on the baseball diamond was such that he was a ninth round draft pick of the Anaheim Angels in 2000. He and Kevin Murphy ’77 (18th round, Yankees) are the only two Bates baseball players ever selected in the MLB draft, which dates back to 1965. Coulie is one of just 10 NESCAC players to be selected in the first 10 rounds of the draft and no outfielder has ever been drafted higher out of the NESCAC than Coulie. 

Coulie spent a total of four years in the Angels and Cardinals systems, advancing as far as high single-A and finishing his professional baseball career with 33 home runs. He was a member of the Angels organization when they won the World Series in 2002.

On the gridiron, Coulie's senior year of 1999 was one to remember, as he was named a Honorable Mention, USAFootball.com All-American. He ranked 11th in NCAA Division III in receptions per game and 19th in receiving yards per game. Coulie broke the Bates records for receptions (63) and receiving yards (852) in a single season, marks that still stand today. Despite only playing three seasons, Coulie ranks second all-time at Bates in both career receptions (146) and receiving yards (1,957). He twice made 12 catches in a game, tying a Bates record that stood until 2022. His 84-yard catch against Hamilton in 1999 was the longest in school history for more than two decades. 

With Coulie as their star wide receiver, the 1999 Bobcats also experienced a lot of team success, winning the CBB series title outright for the first time since 1986 and picking up their most wins in one season since 1982. Coulie was a key contributor on Special Teams as well, serving as the team's long snapper, kick returner, and punt returner. In fact, he broke the school record at the time for punt returns in a single season with 23. 

Coulie's name is also still in the Bates track and field record books, as he helped the Bobcats set an indoor sprint medley relay record of 3:35.70 in 2000. He earned a pair of Ossie Chapman awards as Coulie also helped the Bates All-NESCAC 4x100 relay team set a new school record during the outdoor season. Coulie was an All-New England performer in the pentathlon as a junior and won the state title in the long jump. He lettered in four sports (football, indoor track, outdoor track, and baseball) as a senior, joining Frank Vana ’61 as the only two Bates men’s sports athletes to pull off that feat in a single year.

Related: A League of His Own

Bud Schultz Jr. ’81
Men’s Tennis, Basketball

William "Bud" Schultz ’81 came to Bates College in 1977 as a basketball recruit who "happened to play tennis." Forty-eight years later, he was inducted into the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame.

When Schultz achieved All-American recognition at the conclusion of the 1981 season, it was the culmination of the most illustrious tennis career in modern Bates history. In four years of competition playing at the number one position, Schultz never lost a match on Bates courts, or to any player from a Maine college or university. He won the state intercollegiate singles title four consecutive years, and was a finalist in the New England intercollegiate tournament twice, the champion in 1981. He was a participant in the NCAA Division III tournament three times and in 1981 Schultz finished off his Bates career with a flourish.

Bates went 8-1 as a team that season but at the time NESCAC schools were not allowed to compete as teams at the NCAA Championships. Schultz and teammate Bert Cole ’84 qualified as a doubles team and as singles players. Schultz finished as the national runner-up in singles, becoming the first All-American in Bates men's tennis history.

Schultz and Cole did so well as a duo that the Bobcats finished in third place overall, despite technically not sending a team to nationals. 

At the time, if a player qualified for the singles final of the NCAA Division III Championships, they then got to compete in the NCAA Division I singles tournament. Schultz lost to a player from UCLA in straight sets. A few years later, he would beat the same player on the professional circuit.

Schultz went to graduate school for a year at Boston University before embarking on his professional tennis career. In seven years of pro tennis, Schultz played in all four Grand Slam tournaments — he reached the third round of the U.S. Open and Australian Open — and reached as high as No. 40 in the world in singles. He reached one ATP Tour final and two in doubles.

Upon graduation from Bates, Schultz held the following school records:

Singles
Most wins, season 23 (23-5)
Most wins, career 78 (78-15)

Doubles 
Most wins, career 42 (42-13)

Singles & Doubles
Most wins, season 39 (39-7)
Most wins, career 120 (120-28)

Schultz was no slouch on the basketball court either. As a senior in 1981 he captained the team and set a new college field goal percentage record at the time of .590, while averaging 15.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He shot 11-11 from the floor against in a game against Babson, the best shooting performance in a single game in the college's history. Bates finished with a record of 12-11, their most wins in one season since 1964-65.

Related: Bud Schultz '81 to be inducted into ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame

Elizabeth Ann Wanless ’04
Women’s Track and Field, Volleyball

One of the most dominant athletes in Bates history, Liz Wanless ’04 broke the school record in the indoor shot put in her first track and field meet as a Bobcat. By the time she was done, she was a two-time NCAA champion and a four-time All-American in the shot put, while also earning All-America honors in volleyball. 

As a sophomore, she broke her own record by more than four feet and qualified for the NCAA championships. Named All-New England in Division III and All-ECAC, she also received the first of her three Bates Female Athlete of the Year awards - a distinction highlighting her success as a three-sport athlete in indoor and outdoor track and volleyball. In her first year throwing the shot put for the outdoor track team, Wanless won the NESCAC championship and was named All-New England Division III and All-ECAC. She set Bates' outdoor record at 44 feet, 1.25 inches, a mark she would best by nearly 11 feet her senior year. 

Voted captain by her teammates, Wanless earned All-America honors her junior year, finishing second at the NCAA Indoor Championships where she briefly held the Division III shot put record at 50 feet, 10 inches. En route to the NCAA championships, she won the Division III New England crown, throwing 49 feet, 7 inches, to set a new meet record. Competing against all divisions, she finished second at the Open New England meet. Her success at the NCAA meet qualified her to compete in the USA Track & Field Indoor Championships, where she made the final cut and finished seventh in the country. She repeated as NESCAC champion during the outdoor season, setting a meet record in the process. She finished second at the New England Division III Championships and was also runner-up at the NCAA championships, earning All-New England and All-America status.

Wanless repeated as an All-American and won the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships her senior year, setting the indoor meet record at 53 feet, 2.75 inches and the outdoor record at 52 feet, one-half inch. Her dominant performance led Bates to a third-place finish at indoor nationals in 2004 and qualified her for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Finishing sixth at the USATF meet her senior year, Wanless was also the shot put champion with record-setting throws at the ECAC championships and the New England Division III championships. In those meets she also competed in the 20-pound weight throw, an event she didn't pick up until her senior year. She finished second in both meets and her performance at the ECAC championships landed her second on Bates' all-time weight throw performance list. 

Wanless also won her third NESCAC title her senior year and the New England Division III and ECAC shot put titles. She received All-New England Open honors, finishing second in the meet open to all collegiate divisions. At the ECAC championships Wanless set a meet, facility and Bates record, throwing a career-best outdoor mark of 53 feet, one inch.

Ranked No. 23 going into the U.S. Olympic Trials, Wanless finished 13th in the country. 

After Bates, Wanless earned Division I All-America honors in the shot put in her final year of eligibility at the University of Florida, then went on to compete in the 2005 World Championships for Team USA.

Wanless was an outstanding volleyball player as well. As a rookie in 2000, she led the NESCAC in kills on her way to NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors and the Bobcats posted a record of 31-9. Bates made the NESCAC championship game and reached the regional finals of the NCAA tournament. A four-time All-NESCAC selection, Wanless capped off her career in 2003 by once again leading the conference in kills while earning third team All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association as Bates went 26-9 and made the NESCAC championship game for the second time in her career. All told, the volleyball team went 105-41 over her four seasons as a Bobcat. 

Related: Catching up with Liz Wanless '04

Priscilla A. Wilde ’77
Field Hockey, Women’s Basketball

The late, great, Priscilla Wilde ’77 is without question the most dominant field hockey player in the college's history and she was the first Bobcat to reach 1,000 career points in women's basketball. 

Her Bates field hockey records are simply unbreakable. 

120 career goals in 61 games. 35 goals over the course of 17 games in 1976. 

In 1975, she was the leading goal scorer on a Bates team that went 13-2-2 and won the state championship. That stood as the most wins in program history for the next 49 years. Her 33 goals that season earned her a spot in Sports Illustrated's “Faces in the Crowd.” Wilde's 120 career goals are the second-most in the history of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women, a precursor to the NCAA. She once scored six goals in one game against the University of Maine at Farmington, another Bates record. 

Wilde's prowess on the basketball court is not to be overlooked. She finished her career with 1,079 points, the 18th-most in Bates history. And she did it in 67 games. Wilde and the Bobcats had their best year in 1976-77 when they went 14-8. That stood as the most wins in program history for the next 12 years. She earned the Scholar-Athlete Award from the Maine State Hall of Fame, an invitation to the trials for the U.S. Collegiate Women's Basketball Team, and a selection to the All-Maine Team.

Wilde also tried out and earned a spot on the United States handball team, despite having never played the sport before. 

She died of cancer in 2004 at the age of 49 after a career as a critical care nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland. Her excellence lives on as Wilde's number 43 is retired in both field hockey and basketball. She is the only Bobcat to have her jersey number retired in two different sports.

Bates College Athletics Hall of Fame Legacy Honorees

Ellen Craft Dammond ’38
Bates Women’s Athletic Association, Tennis, Basketball, Volleyball

Ellen “Kay” Craft Dammond ’38 — seen in her senior Mirror portrait and seated second from right with her tennis team — was a leader in Bates women’s athletics as a student and in civil rights work as an alumna.

In 1970, Dammond, by then a YWCA board member, challenged the association to adopt the elimination of racism as its prime goal.

“We are solidly united in determination to close the gap between YWCA ideals and YWCA practices,” said Dammond, chair of the group’s National Conference of Black Women. “We will no longer tolerate false liberalism."

At Bates, Dammond was as active as possible in the era long before Title IX, when women’s college athletics emphasized wide participation over intercollegiate competition. The motto of the Bates Women’s Athletic Association was “a sport for every girl and a girl for every sport."

But there was some competition, in the form of a variety of intramural sports. Dammond played basketball, tennis, and volleyball, earning her WAA letter and, as an experienced athlete, serving as a coach and judge for competitions.

Dammond, who came to Bates from the Sugar Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, was also an active debater and vice president of the Christian Association and the Politics Club. She won the Freshman Speaking Contest in 1935 in her first year.

The third Black woman to graduate from Bates, she was “the first colored girl,” as she once described herself, to live in a Bates dorm. At the time, it was common for colleges that admitted Black students to prohibit Black female students from living on campus. 

After Bates, Dammond had a successful career as the personnel counselor at B. Altman, the New York City department store; she was one of the few Black female retail executives, according to The New York Age in 1955. She was a prominent figure in the “Wednesdays in Mississippi” advocacy group that brought Northern and Southern women together to work on issues significant to the Black community.

Related: African American History at Monticello

Thom H. Freeman ’63
Baseball, Men’s Basketball

You can find Thom Freeman ’63 all over the Bates baseball record book. He pitched 18 complete games in three seasons and struck out 181 batters -- both are program records to this day.

Freeman led Bates baseball to the Maine State Series title and the Eastern NCAA Finals in 1962. Then he was named second team All-American for his body of work by the American Association of College Baseball Coaches in 1963. Freeman was the first Bates baseball All-American. He finished his career with a 2.47 ERA, the second-lowest in Bates history. Meanwhile, Freeman's 186.1 innings pitched in his career are the second-most ever thrown by a Bobcat. 

His 1962 season was something to behold. The baseball team posted a record of 9-5 and Freeman won 7 of those games, with only one defeat on the mound. He struck out 77 batters that year in 68 innings pitched – both remain Bates single-season records. 

Freeman starred on the basketball court too, helping Bates advance to the NCAA Regional Finals in 1961. The 1960-61 Bobcats went 15-9, setting a standard for wins that stood for three decades. 

He signed with the New York Yankees after graduation and played four seasons in their farm system. Freeman learned from the great Whitey Ford and his height was even the subject of a Yogi Berra quote. The Hall of Fame catcher turned Yankee manager was quoted in The Sporting News as saying "These are the tallest kids I've ever seen in our camps. Good thing we don't pay rookies by the inch."

Freeman recorded a career ERA of 3.01 in 311 innings pitched in the Yankee farm system over the course of four seasons. He stepped away from baseball after the 1966 season and began a long career at IBM. 

In 2016, Freeman was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.

Related: Catching up with Thom Freeman '63

Allen N. Harvie ’65
Men’s Track & Field

A recipient of the Bates Honorary Letter Award in 2017, Al Harvie ’65 has embodied what it means to be a Bobcat for more than five decades. 

Despite running on dirt/cinder tracks over wooden hurdles, Harvie's school record in the 110-yard high hurdles stood for 39 years and he won the 120-yard high hurdles at the Maine State Championship four straight times, an unprecedented achievement. 

During an era where winning dual meets and the state championship was the top priority, Harvie was the ultimate point-scorer, excelling in the sprints, long jump, triple jump, and both the low and high hurdles while also serving as the team's captain.

“Al was one of the top five athletes I coached at Bates over 42 years," Harvie's head coach and Bates athletics Hall of Fame inductee Walt Slovenski said. "He was one of the most dominant athletes of his decade; one of the top five all-time point scorers; and one of the top ten outstanding performers in Bates track history.” 

Harvie started announcing Bates basketball and football games in 1964 and continued as the “Voice of Garcelon Field” for more than 50 years. He became the “Voice of Maine Track” in 1968 and was the announcer for 45 Maine State Track & Field Meets.

Harvie was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Related: Reflections on Bates Track and Field: Al Harvie '65, Keith Harvie '67, and Bill LaVallee '63

Robert W. Hatch, P’73, P’81
Coach, Director of Athletics

As a head coach of football and later as director of athletics, Bob Hatch served Bates from 1949 to 1991 and worked to ensure that Bobcat athletics reflected the very best qualities of the college as a whole, including a spirit of egalitarianism and fairness toward both men and women athletes. 

First hired by Bates straight out of Boston University in 1949 as the freshman football coach, Hatch was a U.S. Marine who served in the Pacific during World War II. He was good enough to get selected in the 13th round of the 1948 NFL draft by the New York Giants. Hatch declined to sign, returning to college for his senior year. He did sign briefly with the football New York Yankees of the short-lived All-America Football Conference, but opted to come to Bates because he was looking for job security for himself and his young family. 

“Bob Hatch was a first-class person and a knowledgeable coach,” recalled Dick Coughlin ’53 in an oral history interview. “We all identified with him because his first year at Bates was our first year at Bates. So when he became the varsity team’s head coach our senior year, it was a natural fit.” 

As the head football coach from 1952 to 1972, Hatch led his teams to three CBB championships and the State of Maine title in 1956. The 1956 Bobcats were the final Bates team to capture the state championship, although the 1957 “Hatchmen” split the series title with Colby and Maine. 

Considered an innovator as a coach, Hatch once deployed an unusual spread formation in football versus the much larger University of Maine team in 1961, stunning the undefeated Black Bears with a 15-15 tie.

Hatch coached the football team for 21 years and won 59 games, both Bates records. He also served as the head baseball coach for four seasons and as the head men's golf coach for 25 years.

In the fall of 1973, Hatch embarked on a tour of 48 colleges to see how they were integrating women's sports into their athletic departments. He produced an in-depth report that would form the basis of his work as the school's director of athletics.  

As director of athletics from 1974 to 1991, Hatch oversaw the creation of Merrill Gymnasium as well as Bates' entry into the New England Small College Athletics Conference. He pushed for the integration of the men's and women's athletics programs, previously two separate departments that were decidedly unequal — to the extent that women could use Alumni Gym only a few hours each week. That all changed under Hatch. 

“At a time when few schools were doing anything, he created opportunities for women athletes,” sad his immediate Bates successor, Suzanne Coffey, to the Sun Journal. “There was no bravado. He thought of it as just the right thing to do.”

Hatch is already an inductee into the Boston University Hall of Fame and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. 

Related: Robert Hatch, icon of Bates athletics, passes away at age 85

Frank W. Keaney, Class of 1911
Men’s Basketball, Baseball, Football, Track & Field

A fascinating, multidimensional man who made an indelible mark as a college athlete, coach and chemistry professor, Frank William Keaney, Class of 1911, is best remembered as the creator of the fast break in basketball, which he devised in the 1930s while the head coach at Rhode Island State College, now known as the University of Rhode Island. Keaney came to Kingston, R.I., in 1920 as a chemistry professor and one-man athletic staff who coached football, basketball, baseball, track and cross country. 

But before becoming a legend at Rhode Island State, Keaney was also quite the athlete at Bates. He played football and baseball, ran track, and was a member of the first varsity basketball team in 1907-08. (The program then went on hiatus until the 1920-21 season.)

An All-Maine football player, Keaney was such a good baseball player that he earned a tryout with the Chicago White Sox before his senior year of college. He had stolen 38 bases and hit well over .400 for Bates baseball. While Keaney did not make the team, he still played professionally that summer for his hometown Cambridge Cubs, giving up his collegiate eligibility. 

By the late 1930s, Keaney had become one of the nation's best known and most innovative basketball coaches. His teams, made up primarily of Rhode Islanders, were high scoring and also wildly popular with their "firehouse" style of wide open play centered around the fast break. Keaney's Rhode Island State team peaked in 1946 after falling to Kentucky by one point in the National Invitational Tournament finals, then recognized as the national championship, at Madison Square Garden. Between 1920 and 1948 Keaney’s Rams won 401 games while losing 124. 

Taking into account his wins in football and baseball, Keaney’s overall record jumps to 707 wins, 322 losses and 14 ties. 

The Boston Celtics wanted to hire Keaney as their head coach, but he had to turn them down due to health reasons.

After retiring from coaching, he remained at the university as athletic director. During his tenure as A.D., Keaney was honored by the university with the dedication of a new basketball gymnasium in his name. In 1960 he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts and in 1972 he was elected to the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He was also part of the inaugural class of the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Frank Keaney died on Oct. 10, 1967, and his legacy will always be remembered. Lovingly known as "The Menty" by his players, Keaney dedicated his life to bettering student athletes on the field and in the classroom.

Related: Frank Keaney, Class of 1911, The Chemist and Coach Who Reinvented the Sport of Basketball

Milton L. Lindholm, ’35 L.H.D.’04, P’64, GP’20
Football, Dean of Admissions

As the dean of admissions for 32 years at Bates, Milton L. Lindholm ’35 achieved a national reputation within the profession for his profound humanity.

While a student at Bates, he was a religion major, played four years of varsity football, was a member of the Christian Service Club and YMCA, and served as president of the Athletic Council, the Student Council, and his class. A center on the football team, he played in the historic 0–0 tie game vs. Yale in 1932 at the Yale Bowl, the first time in the 60-year history of Yale football that the Elis did not win their opening game.

“We arrived in New Haven on Friday morning by Pullman coach,” Lindholm recalled. “Our coach, Dave Morey, was afraid that when we walked into the Yale Bowl on Saturday, it would be an awesome occasion — the Yale Bowl could seat 80,000 people — so after our workout he suggested we go sit in the stands for 15 minutes to get used to it.

“I was next to a substitute fullback, John Dillon. He had this strange expression on his face. Then I heard him say, in sort of a stage whisper, ‘God, there’s nothing like this in Machias.’ That was funny, but he was sincere. You could have put the whole population of Machias into the Yale Bowl 20 times.”

He captained the 1934 team that swept Bowdoin and Colby to cap off his collegiate career.

Lindholm received a master’s in education from Bates in 1939, and he was the last alum to hold three Bates degrees (bachelor’s, master’s and honorary). Bates discontinued master’s degrees in 1955.

Lindholm was famous for playing calculated hunches in his admissions work, and Bates alumni of the Lindholm era often say with great pride, “Milt took a chance on me,” with profound appreciation for the opportunities they were given. He was an honorary member of the Bates classes of 1951, 1958, 1959, and 1962. In 2008, the Class of 1958 dedicated its retrospective 50th Reunion Book to Lindholm with these words: “We offer our stories to you.”

His dedication to Bates athletics stood out, including his service as a track and field official. Once asked why he didn’t go to Florida for the winters instead of staying at Bates, he answered, “Who would pick second place in the 60-yard dash at the track meets?” 

A recipient of pretty much every honor Bates can give, Lindholm was also honored in 1990 with the Distinguished American Award from the Maine Chapter of the National Football Foundation.

In a reflection of his remarkable legacy, the Milton L. Lindholm Scholar Athlete Awards have been given annually at Bates since 1976 to the senior male and female athletes with the highest academic averages.

Related: Milton Lindholm ’35, revered admissions dean with ‘uncanny intuition,’ passes away at 98

Harry D. Lord, Class of 1908
Baseball, Football

A Mainer, Harry Lord, Class of 1908, played just a handful of baseball games for the college before leaving in 1905 to marry, eventually pursuing a professional career at the encouragement of his former Bates football coach Royce Purinton ’00. He went on to become one of the top third basemen in Major League Baseball. 

Lord enrolled at Bates in 1904 and immediately helped the newcomers win the annual the freshman-sophomore baseball game. He then played a full season for the 1904 Bates football team that finished 5-3-1, with wins over the University of Maine and Colby along the way. Lord scored two touchdowns against the Mules, including one that went for 80 yards. He suffered a broken leg in the season finale against Bowdoin, but was once again ready to compete come baseball season.

After playing a few games for Bates, Lord decided to play for the semi-pro Portland of the Pine Tree Athletic Association, even playing against Bates that same season. He had met his future wife, but felt somewhat adrift for the few next months while living and working in Boston. On Christmas Eve 1905, returning by boat to Portland, he happened upon Purinton, his Bates football coach, and vented his frustrations. 

Purinton encouraged him to really commit to a professional baseball career. 

Through Purinton’s connections, Lord played first for the New Bedford Whalers, an entry in the New England League. He later joined the Worcester Busters, where he batted .280 and led them to a pennant.

In September 1907, then with the Providence Grays of the Eastern League, Lord belted a triple during an exhibition game against the major league Boston Americans, who brought Lord up for the last 10 games of the season.

In 1908, the Americans changed their name to the Red Sox, and Lord was a member. Barely a month into the season, “Lord had electrified the entire American League,” the Post wrote.

As captain of the Red Sox in 1909, he hit .315 – fourth in the American League behind three future Hall of Famers, including Ty Cobb – who admired Lord’s intensity. In 1911, as captain of the Chicago White Sox, Lord batted .321. 

Though he never graduated, and even played against Bates after leaving, Lord remains perhaps the best baseball player in Bates history.

He returned to campus in 1918 to coach the baseball team in an abbreviated season to a 6-5 record.

Lord was elected to the Bates Hall of Fame in 2025 but his family could not make the ceremony. Bates is looking forward to welcoming the Lord family back to campus in the fall as we celebrate Lord and the rest of this year's Hall of Fame class! 

Related: Meet Headstrong Harry Lord, Bates' Lord of the Baseball Diamond