|
20th Century Top 50
|
|
Rank |
Profile |
|
1 |
Nap
Lajoie, Woonsocket
In 1901, A's second baseman led AL in hits, doubles, home runs, runs, RBIs,
slugging percentage and hit a league-record .422. |
|
2 |
Davey
Lopes, Providence
Spent 16 seasons in majors, batting .263 with 557 stolen bases; two-time NL
stolen base king; four-time
All-Star. |
|
3 |
Joe
Mullaney, Providence
Coached Providence basketball team to 12 straight winning seasons; guided Lakers
to 1970 NBA
Finals. |
|
4 |
Mark van
Eeghen, Cranston
Set Colgate record with 2,591 career rushing yards; ran for 6,651 yards and
won two Super Bowls with
Raiders. |
|
5 |
Ernie
DiGregorio, Providence
Led Providence to Final Four in 1973; NBA Rookie of the Year and assists leader
in
'74. |
|
6 |
Bill
Belisle, Woonsocket
In 22 years as Mount Saint Charles High ice hockey coach has 634-75-22 record
and 22 state
titles. |
|
7 |
Glenna Collett
Vare, Narragansett
Won six U.S. Women's Amateurs from 1922 to '35; trophy for lowest stroke average
on LPGA tour named for
her. |
|
8 |
Vinny
Pazienza, Cranston
Won IBF lightweight title in 1987 and IBF junior middleweight crown in
'91. |
|
9 |
Pat (Doc)
Abbruzzi, Warren
Little All-America at Rhode Island ran for 306 yards in 1952 game; coached
Warren High to nine divisional and state
titles. |
|
10 |
Lou
Lamoriello, Providence
Coached Providence hockey to 12 postseason tournaments from 1969 to '83; as G.M.
built '95 Stanley Cup-champion
Devils. |
|
11 |
Clara Lamore
Walker, Providence
Competed in 1948 Games in 200 backstroke; top masters swimmer, holds 10
world
records. |
|
12 |
Gerry
Philbin, Pawtucket
Two-time AFL all-star defensive end was member of Super Bowl III-champion Jets.
|
|
13 |
Ernie
Calverly, Pawtucket
Led nation in scoring (26.7) for Rhode Island in 1943-44; in '46 was first
player to sign with Basketball Association of
America. |
|
14 |
Steve
Furness, Warwick
Rhode Island fullback passed up 1972 U.S. Olympic Trials in hammer throw to
play defensive line for Steelers; appeared in four Super
Bowls. |
|
15 |
Wilma
Briggs, East Greenwich
First girl in Rhode Island to play high school baseball; hit 25 homers in 1954
for South Bend of All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League.
|
|
16 |
Dave
Gavitt, Westerly
From 1969 to '79 coached Providence basketball team to 209-84 record and a Final
Four. |
|
17 |
Norm
Taber, Providence
Bronze medalist in 1,500 meters at 1912 Olympics; three years later ran
4:12.6 mile to set world
record. |
|
18 |
Brian
Lawton, Woonsocket
Led Mount Saint Charles High to four straight state titles and 121-3-2 mark;
first American picked No. 1 in the NHL draft, in
1983. |
|
19 |
Billy
Almon, Warwick
Three-time all-state infielder at Veterans High played in majors from 1974 to
'88, batting .254 with 128 stolen
bases. |
|
20 |
Chris
Terreri, Providence
Goaltender led Providence to two Final Fours; second in Devils' history in
games, minutes, wins and
shutouts. |
|
21 |
Roland
Hemond, Central Falls
Three-time major league executive of the year took over White Sox in 1970; by
'72 had improved them by 31
wins. |
|
22 |
Frank (Monk)
Maznicki, Warwick
All-state back at West Warwick High played for NFL Bears and Patriots from
1942 to '47; ran for 463 yards and was 65 for 69 on extra
points. |
|
23 |
Hank
Soar, Pawtucket
Two-way star with Giants from 1937 to '46; retired with 14 interceptions,
1,545 rushing yards, 411 receiving yards, 305 passing yards and 14
TDs. |
|
24 |
Ron
Wilson, Providence
Two-time All-America at Providence led nation with 87 points in 1976-77;
coached Capitals to '98 Stanley Cup finals. |
|
25 |
Harold (Chubby)
Gomes, Providence
Won world junior lightweight boxing championship in
1959.
|
|
26 |
Marvin (Bad News)
Barnes, Providence
Providence star from 1971 to '74; ABA Rookie of the Year with St. Louis averaged
24 points and 15.6
rebounds. |
|
27 |
Bryan
Berard, Woonsocket
NHL Rookie of the Year with Islanders in 1996-97; member of the '98 U.S. Olympic
team. |
|
28 |
Janet
Moreau, Pawtucket
Won gold medal as a member of the U.S. world record 4x100-meter relay at the
1952
Olympics. |
|
29 |
Tom
Garrick, Warwick
Rhode Island guard averaged 27.3 points in Rams' 1988 postseason run to round of
16; played four seasons in
NBA. |
|
30 |
Keith
Carney, Providence
Member of 1998 U.S. Olympic hockey team; Coyotes' top defensive
defenseman.
|
|
31 |
Mike
Cloud, Portsmouth
Led Portsmouth High to three Class A state championships from 1991 to '93;
rushed for school-record 3,597 yards at Boston
College. |
|
32 |
John
Dias, Middletown
Scored 610 points at Middletown High from 1963 to '65; basketball coach at four
high schools from 1970 to
'94. |
|
33 |
Joe
Hassett, Providence
All-East guard at Providence from 1975 to '77 averaged 18.8 points as a
senior; was one of the NBA's top three-point
shooters. |
|
34 |
Tom
Mellor, Cranston
All-East defenseman at Boston College won silver medal with 1972 U.S. Olympic
hockey team. |
|
35 |
Clem
Labine, Lincoln
Righthander went 13-5 with a 3.24 ERA for 1955 world champion Dodgers; two-time
All-Star in 13 big league
seasons. |
|
36 |
Lou
Gorman, Providence
Red Sox general manager from 1984 to '94; built '86 American League
champions.
|
|
37 |
John
Parker, Newport
Two-time Olympian won a bronze medal at the 1972 Games with the U.S.
water polo
team. |
|
38 |
Rob
Gaudreau, Lincoln
Scored 55 points at Providence in 1991-92 to lead college defensemen; had 43
points for Sharks in
1992-93. |
|
39 |
Jerry
Kapstein, Providence
Early agent represented 11 of 24 baseball players eligible for free agency in
1976, including Don Gullett and Joe
Rudi. |
|
40 |
Gerald
Kilmartin, Providence
Won silver medal as member of 1952 U.S. Olympic hockey team; played for U.S. in
'47 and '49 world
championships. |
|
41 |
Brad
Faxon, Barrington
Has won six events in 17 years on the PGA Tour, including New England
Classic in
1992. |
|
42 |
Brian
Amaral, Providence
Led East Providence High to 1997 state football title, running for 699 yards and
12 scores, passing for seven TDs and intercepting three
passes.
|
|
43 |
Chet
Nichols, Lincoln
Reliever led the National League with a 2.88 ERA as rookie with Braves in 1951;
had 34-36 career
record.
|
|
44 |
Dana
Quigley, Barrington
Won three PGA Senior tour events; seven-time New England PGA player of the
year. |
|
45 |
Roland
Rodrigues, Bristol
All-state back at Bristol High in 1959 set school records for single-season and
career rushing yards; coached Bristol wrestling to 100-10-1 record and football
to 46-32-1
mark.
|
|
46 |
Sara
DeCosta, Warwick
Goaltender for the gold-medal-winning 1998 U.S. Olympic women's ice hockey
team. |
|
47 |
Hugh
Duffy, River Point
Was a career .324 major league hitter who played mostly in 1890s; managed four
teams to 535-671
mark.
|
|
48 |
Julie
Greene, Barrington
Eleven-time state Women's Golf Association champion; won her first title in
1963, her most recent in
'98. |
|
49 |
Jimmy Van
Alen, Newport
Best known for devising and promoting tennis tiebreaker; founded the
International Tennis Hall of Fame in
Newport. |
|
50 |
Bobby Doyle, Central Falls
Seven-time Ocean State marathon champion; finished seventh in the 1979 Boston
Marathon in
2:14.04. |
