Year Inducted: 1986
Brother Adelard Beaudet - Brother Adelard Beaudet, 1884-1990, was "The father of Schoolboy Hockey in Rhode Island", and became the first coach of the sport at Mt. St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket in 1930. As a teacher and coach, his MSC teams won ten state championships and two national titles in thirty years. Adelard Arena in Woonsocket is named…
Dr. Eleanor M. McMahon - Dr. Eleanor McMahon, 1929-2002, was the Rhode Island Commissioner of Higher Education and former Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rhode Island College. A Brown University Alumni Trustee, she has been the recipient of five honorary doctoral degrees and is the author of twenty treatises on education. Beginning her distinguished career as a…
Dr. Joseph Conte - Dr. Joseph Conte was a renowned music director who had a long and eventful career as a concertmaster, conductor, bandmaster, violinist, and teacher. He was concertmaster of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra for twenty-one years. Conte was the founder and conducted The Young People's Symphony of Rhode Island for sixteen years. He also served as…
Edward Harris - Edward Harris, 1801-1872, was considered the City of Woonsocket's most prominent citizen in the 19th century. His contributions are found in the economic, political, and social fiber of his native city, as Woonsocket's first millionaire, and in helping to establish the area as the state's leading textile center. A leading philanthropist, he donated numerous buildings…
Edwin C. Brown - Edwin Brown, 1910-2010, was one of the foremost proponents of organized labor in the State. He was elected Secretary-Treasurer of the RI AFL, and later was a key negotiator in the merger of the AFL with CIO. He served on the State Board of Education and later the Board of Regents for twenty-eight years, being…
Eugene J. Buonaccorsi - Eugene Buonaccorsi was sports editor of the Providence Journal-Bulletin, spending forty-six years in sports journalism. He began his career as a Journal schoolboy reporter and copy editor, and was named assistant sports editor in 1946, after serving as a U.S. Army Airborne test glider Captain in WWII. He retired in 1984 after assembling one of…
John E. Moran - John E. Moran, 1913-1997, served as President and Co-founder of McLaughin & Moran Distributors, which was a recognized leader in its' field for over fifty years. An outstanding all-state athlete out of LaSalle Academy, he starred for Manhattan College in football and baseball. For the next fifty years, with time out for U.S. Naval service,…
Philip J. Holton - The late Philip J. Holton, 1899-1976, was Chief Engineer for the Providence Water Supply Board for thirty-five years. He built the city's water system into one of the largest in New England and one of the most modern in the world. He was appointed superintendent of the Scituate Reservoir in 1933, and became its' chief…
Rev. Msgr. Charles W. McConnell - The late Very Reverend Monseignor McConnell was Diocesan Director of the Rhode Island CYO for twenty-five years, where he supervised the activities and influenced the lives of more than 25,000 youth. As pastor of St. Teresa's Parish in Providence, he served for many years as State Chaplain for the Rhode Island Chapter of the Boy…
