It’s been a while since I have found the time to put together one of these All-Time teams and for that I apologize. The fall season, and then the month of December is always extremely busy. So below I have put together the All-Time Tewksbury Memorial High School Baseball team. I still have softball, boys soccer, girls and boys track and football remaining.
As always when we compile these teams, the picks are not easy whatsoever. As I said before, it’s impossible to compare athletes of different generations, so my objective here is selecting the players who made the most impact during their careers, while taking into account their accolades, accomplishments, overall talent, while learning a lot about each candidate through archives and historians. For this TMHS Baseball team, I selected the 27 players, who I think are the best of the best. There’s certainly a long list of people who got squeezed out. This team is absolutely loaded with talent, especially with pitching.
The program has won 15 league titles and ten of them happened from 1996 to 2008, so that decade-plus brought many players to this list.
Anyway, here goes:
CONNIE BARRY, 1963
Regarded as one of the school’s all-time greatest athletes and said to be one of, if not the best hitter the baseball program has ever had, Barry’s claim to fame was he played at Fenway Park in 1963 as part of the traveling All-Scholastic team.
As a hitter, one Lowell Sun writer said during the time that he played that “Barry hit the ball further than any high school player I have ever seen.” Barry, an outfielder, was also a remarkable pitcher, including striking out 15 in a win against Burlington.
He was also a tremendous outfield, with a cannon of an arm. He did see time in the infield as well.
Barry, a TMHS Hall of Famer, was also regarded as the best or one of the top running backs in the history of the Football program.
DJ BETTENCOURT, 2003
There’s been a great history of phenomenal catchers in the program and Bettencourt, who was a first baseman as a freshman, is considered by many as one of the best.
Bettencourt went on to become a two-time Merrimack Valley Conference League MVP, who led the MVC in hitting three straight years, including a whopping .509 average as a senior, which included 20 RBI. He finished his career with over 100 hits, an absolute amazing achievement.
He was named a Boston Herald and Boston Globe All-Scholastic two years each, was the Lowell Sun’s Player of the Year as a senior and was a member of the Massachusetts/Connecticut All-Star team. He was part of four straight league championship titles.
He earned a scholarship to play at UMass-Amherst, played one season before transferring to UNH, but gave up baseball.
BERNARD “SQUID” CARROLL, 1946
Inducted into the TMHS Hall of Fame in 2000, Carroll is regarded as one of the top three-sport athletes during his generation. He was outstanding in football, basketball and baseball.
On the diamond, he was excellent defensively as a center fielder, while he also was an ace on the mound, including tossing a no-hitter once. At the plate he batted .444 and was considered “a heavy hitter”. He was the only Greater Lowell Suburban Leaguer to be named to the 1945 All-Star team.
He was recruited to play at baseball at the University of Pennsylvania, which he declined in order to join the Armed Forces.
KEN CHANDLER, 1991
Chandler was a big part of the back-to-back league championship titles in 1990 and ’91. A southpaw pitcher, he was extremely durable, and just a gutsy competitor. As a sophomore, he was 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA.
As a junior, he went all ten innings in a 2-1 state tournament win over Danvers, and then as a senior, he went all 11 innings in a 3-2 state tournament loss to Reading. He ended up winning 18 games in his three years.
PAT DEVLIN, 2008
He played just two years of varsity, but made an incredible impact on those teams with his bat, his defense at third base and he always seemed to have a flare for the dramatics. During his junior year, he batted .342 with 3 home runs, 14 RBI and 22 runs scored, while leading the Redmen to the MVC D2 Championship. In the state tournament, he blasted a key solo home run against North Andover ace pitcher Matt Hashem.
As a senior, he earned his second Lowell Sun All-Star selection after batting .410 with 2 home runs, 19 RBI and 26 runs scored. In addition he was named to the MVC All-Conference team and Eastern Mass All-Star team.
He went on to play at UMass-Lowell, and despite some tough injuries, he still made an impact as an outfielder and with his bat, including batting .290 one season.
BJ DOHERTY, 1990
An outstanding three-sport athlete who is a member of the TMHS Hall of Fame, Doherty was named to both the Globe and Herald All-Scholastic team as a senior, was the Lowell Sun and MVC Player of the Year. He finished that season with a 3-0 record, two saves and a 1.50 ERA as a pitcher, while also posting a .447 batting average with four home runs and 27 RBI coming from the shortstop position.
He was a huge part of the 1990 team’s league championship title and is said to be among the all-time greatest players to ever suit up for the Redmen.
DEREK FAVREAU, 1999
In the 25-plus years of covering the program, there hasn’t been a better second baseman. Favreau defined that position – extremely smooth around the bag, great with the glove and at the plate he was a contact hitter, who sprayed the ball around the field and had great speed.
A three-sport athlete who was named a Town Crier Male Athlete of the Year, Favreau was a two-time MVC All-Conference selection in baseball, including being named the MVC D2 Player of the Year as a senior, when he helped lead the team to a league championship title.
SCOTT FAVREAU, 2001
Certainly among one of the top three pitchers in the history of the program, Favreau, younger brother of Derek, was inducted into the TMHS Hall of Fame in 2016.
During his senior year, he has the distinction of being named the MVC League’s MVP in both baseball and ice hockey, an incredible accomplishment. He was selected as the Lowell Sun’s Player of the Year, to both the Globe and Herald All-Scholastic teams also during his senior year. He was a two-time All-Conference selection, a two-time Lowell Sun First team All-Star, who helped lead the Redmen to four straight MVC Division 2 league championship titles.
On the mound he finished with a 24-4 record and a 2.24 ERA, tossing 173 innings. His 24 wins are a school record. Among his highlights included finishing 11-0 as a sophomore and tossing a no-hitter in the state tournament win over East Boston as a freshman.
He went on to pitch for Bridgewater State where he finished with a 13-5 overall record, including being named the MASCAC Rookie of the Year.
PETER FREND, 1990
Frend was one of the premier pitchers in the league during his career, making multiple MVC All-Conference teams. He was a huge presence on that league champion 1988 team, which included finishing the season with a 6-3 record for a team that finished 16-4. During the season, he tossed three straight shut outs, had 27 consecutive scoreless innings, and that came after losing 2-1 to Lawrence where he didn’t give up a hit.
He went on to play a year at Princeton University.
DEREK HEALD, 1996
Out of all of the great players Tewksbury has had over the last 25-plus years, Heald easily had the best hands and footwork. I once compared him to Cal Ripken defensively as I thought he was so great going to his backhand and reminded me of him.
Heald was a two-time All-Conference selection, a MVC League MVP, a Herald All-Scholastic and was a Division 1 Scholarship player, going to UNH until they dropped the program.
WILLIAM HOULIHAN, 1936
Elected as the captain of the first TMHS Baseball team in 1936, while he also holds the distinction of scoring the first touchdown for the football team, Houlihan was a first-team all-star in baseball, while he also received varsity letters in track, football and basketball.
According to his Hall of Fame write-up, throughout his high school baseball career, Houlihan was a professional prospect. He once had a tryout for the Boston Bees, who later became the Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves. The Scout, Jack Onslow, said that if wasn’t for a bone chip in the elbow of his throwing arm, he would have been signed to a contract.
Later in life, he resided in Peabody and was one of the founders of the town’s Little League program.
GARY JENKINS, 1973
Jenkins, a left-handed curveball specialist, was once a back end pitcher in his earlier years, before putting it all together as a senior, arguably the great individual pitching season in program history. He finished the regular season with a 5-0 record and a 0.40 ERA, which included tossing back-to-back no-hitters, one against Wilmington.
That season, he was voted as the MVC Most Valuable Player after leading the Redmen to a 11-5 regular season record and the league championship title. Despite a sore arm, he was the losing pitcher in the state tournament game against Gloucester, striking out ten in a 7-6 loss.
CHRIS LEOS, 1976
A third baseman, Leos, referred to as “Cappy,” was more known for his bat, said to have struck out just one time in his career. He was named to multiple league all-star teams and was regarded as the Merrimack Valley Conference’s top hitter in both his junior and senior seasons.
TOMMY LORETTE, 2003
Certainly the most dominating left-handed pitcher in the program over the last 25 years. A true gamer, who took the ball whenever called upon, Lorette was a two-time All-Conference selection and during that time, he constantly had Major League Baseball scouts tracking his every move.
He was instrumental in two league championship titles.
SEAN MACKEY 1991
A three-year starter, who pitched, and also saw time at shortstop, third base and center field, Mackey, a TMHS Hall of Famer, is certainly considered one of the top all-time players among his peers.
A switch-hitter, he had a career average of .373 with 58 RBI and also swiped 51 bases in 52 attempts. On the mound, he finished with a career record of 16-3, posting a 2.19 earned run average.
He was named a Boston Globe All-Scholastic, was a two-time Lowell Sun First Team All-Star and was named the MVP of the MVC All-Star game as a senior. He was also a key player in the team’s two straight league titles.
As good as he was in baseball, he went on to play football at Fordham University for two years.
CHRIS MADER, 1988
His story was told last year in the Town Crier’s ‘Where Are They Now’. Mader was the first player from TMHS to go on to play professionally, as he had a four-year career in the minor leagues, playing for mostly the Chicago White Sox Organization.
At TMHS, he had a lifetime batting average of .450, with 65 RBI, 44 walks, 25 stolen bases, 81 hits, 28 of them for extra bases and at one time he had 11 hits in 11 consecutive at-bats. As a catcher, he caught every inning over a three-year span.
He was named to the Boston Globe All-Scholastic team, was named to multiple Lowell Sun All-Star teams, was one of 64 players in the entire country to be selected to the Jr. Olympic team and he was also named the Massachusetts “Amateur Baseball Player of the Year” during his senior year.
After TMHS, he had a terrific four-year career with Rollins College in Florida and helped lead the team to the World Series during his freshman season.
JIMMY MANLEY, 1966
Manley was among our top all-time running backs in football when we ranked our best 25 several years ago and now he makes here as one of the best TMHS Baseball players. A Tewksbury sports historian told me that Manley “is in the top five baseball players who ever played here”.
A member of the TMHS Athletic Hall of Fame, Manley was versatile, playing the infield and outfield and was said to have a terrific arm and bat. He played a lot of baseball post high school, including being a star player on the local Legion team before going south to play in college and eventually got a professional tryout.
STEVE MARSH, 1980
After finishing his junior year with a 7-0 record in the mound, the southpaw had another terrific season as a senior, finishing 6-2 with a 1.87 ERA including 84 strikeouts in an incredible 81 innings, while helping to lead the team to the state tournament for the first time since 1973. He also batted .344 at the plate.
During that final season, he had a 14-strikeout performance in a 4-1 win over Central Catholic and then pitched all 14 innings in a 5-4 loss to Methuen.
He went on to play at UMass-Lowell.
MATT MONICO, 2006
Monico was the star pitcher on the team that went the furthest in team history in 16 years, reaching the sectional semi-finals back in 2005, losing to eventual state champion Lincoln-Sudbury. During the regular season that year, he was 5-2 with a 1.25 ERA and then went on to toss a 1-0 shut out victory over Winchester in the state tournament.
As a sophomore, he was named the MVC Player of the Year after finishing with a 7-2 record and a 1.64 ERA. He was also named the Lowell Sun’s Player of the Year and was a two-time All-Conference selection.
After TMHS, Monico went on to have a stellar career at UMass-Lowell.
SCOTT OBERG, 2008
Oberg is the only player in the history of the program to reach Major League Baseball, now about to begin his eighth season with the Colorado Rockies. Among his accolades include being a two-time MVC Player of the Year, a Boston Globe and Herald All-Scholastic selection and Lowell Sun Player of the Year. Oberg was also recently inducted into the TMHS Hall of Fame.
As a pitcher, he finished with a career record of 16-3 and a 1.09 ERA, while leading the team to back-to-back league championship titles. During that run as a senior, he tossed three shut outs and never allowed a base runner past second base. He was also the runner-up Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year.
He earned a baseball scholarship to UConn, where he finished with a 14-2 record and a 1.59 ERA, while at the time of his graduation, he ranked ninth all-time in program history in ERA, fourth all-time in appearances and fifth all-time in saves.
MATT PETROS, 1997
An outstanding defensive outfielder, who also had a sweet swing at the plate, Petros was named a league all-star as a junior, an all-conference player as a senior, and also was named the school’s Most Outstanding Male Athlete, which included an outstanding football career, as well as playing basketball.
He certainly was among the best outfielders the program has had over the past 25 years.
He went on to have a terrific four-year career at UMass-Lowell, Division 2 at the time. In his senior year, he was a key player in the team’s run to the Division 2 College World Series.
JAY RIDEOUT, 1988
A three-year starter at first base, and also a tremendous football player, who ended up attending Harvard, Rideout was part of the 1988 team that qualified for the state tournament for the first time in six years, reaching the second round and part of the first league championship team since 1974.
That season he batted .412, led the league in stolen bases with 22, broke a school record of clubbing four consecutive doubles and was named to the MVC All-Conference team.
MIKE ROCCO, 2003
To this day, it still blows my mind that Rocco threw right-handed as a quarterback, including throwing six TD’s in a win over Billerica, and then threw left-handed as a baseball pitcher, where he was a three-year starter, who also played the outfield. He was also named as a League All-Conference player as well as to the Lowell Sun’s All-Star team multiple times.
Rocco had a career batting average of .324 and was a key part in the Redmen’s three straight state tournament appearances.
He earned a scholarship to play baseball at Bryant University and was a four-year starter. He ended his career, holding the school record for games player. At the time of his graduation, he also held the NCAA Division 2 record for put outs in a season, while helping the team reach the College World Series.
After his college graduation, he got into the coaching ranks, and has been the head coach of the Assumption College team since 2013.
LARRY RODGERS, 1992
One of the all-time greatest middle infielders, and ballplayers, Rodgers was a complete stud on the diamond. He was a two-time MVC Division 2 Player of the Year, a two-time Sun All-Star, and was part of three straight league titles and deep state tournament runs.
He played shortstop, had a potent bat, could run, could play defense and was just a complete gamer.
TOMMY SULLIVAN, 2000
In my almost 30 years with the paper, Sullivan in my mind was one of the more underrated athletes. He excelled in baseball but also as the quarterback of the football team, who had an absolute cannon of an arm.
On the diamond, he followed in line of having terrific catchers, behind Mader and Surprenant and before Bettencourt. Sully was tremendously defensively and he could also knock the cover off the ball at the plate. He was part of two league championship teams, was named an All-Scholastic as a senior.
He went on to have a terrific career at Amherst College, including being named a captain.
JOE SURPRENANT, 1997
I’ll always remember doing a story on “Soup” for two reasons: 1). I spelled his last name wrong in the story; 2). I remember calling ESPN to find out the time it took catchers to throw to second base, and he was better than what they had suggested.
Another defensive wizard, who could block anything and throw out runners at will, Surprenant went on to have a fabulous career, playing all four years at Tufts University, including being named a captain.
RONNIE WALLACE, 2009
Believed to be the only player in the history of the program to earn All-Conference honors all four years, Wallace had a superb career both on the mound and at the plate.
During his sophomore season, he was 4-2 on the mound with a save and then was 6-2 as a junior, giving him a 16-8 record through his first three seasons before winning a handful of games as a senior. He batted .339 as a sophomore and .404 as a junior.
He was named the MVP of the MVC/DCL Small School All-Star game as a senior.
After TMHS, he went on to play four years at UMass-Amherst, and after that he spent a few years as the General Manager of the Nashua Silver Knights organization.
COACH: RON DROUIN
Drouin spent 21 years as the head baseball coach and had one of the premier Division 2 teams in the area year-after-year. He won 243 games, 10 MVC D2 Championship titles, reached the D2 sectional semi-finals, the best season at the time in 16 years, and reached the state tournament – while competing in the toughest public league school in the state – 18 of his 21 years.
In addition, he was a five-time Coach of the Year, was inducted into the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame, and will/should be inducted into the next HOF Class here in Tewksbury.
No one will ever match Drouin’s passion, drive and intensity as a coach. He was extremely prepared, he developed talent as good as I have ever seen, he had trick plays that were successful. He was a gamer, a true winner and one of the school’s all-time best coaches.
LINE-UP:
As I have done for the other teams, I play manager/coach and put together my own line-up. Some of these are tricky and I bend the rules a little bit by moving players around, and need to on this team because there’s so many pitchers/shortstops. I do think on paper, this would be one of the best public high school baseball teams in the area.
My line-up would be:
1. Connie Barry LF
2. Larry Rodgers 2B
3. BJ Doherty SS
4. Chris Mader C
5. Squid Carroll CF
6. Jimmy Manley 3B
7. DJ Bettencourt DH
8. Sean Mackey RF
9. Jay Rideout 1B
SP: Scott Favreau
Closer: Scott Oberg
