Raymond Canastra
Graduating class: 1976
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2016
Hall of Fame Category: Athlete
A three season athlete at Fairhaven High School, Raymond Canastra played football, and ran indoor and outdoor track. A three season athlete Ray gained the most notoriety on the football field. Ray was a mighty anchor of both the defensive and offensive line for Fairhaven High School football in the years 1974 and 1975. During this time Fairhaven High School won back to back Southern Massachusetts Conference Division II Championships. Along with achieving team success, Ray was also recognized for his personal achievements. Ray was selected by the Standard Times as all-Southern Massachusetts Conference All-Star, selected by the Taunton Gazette as an All-Star, and also selected by The Courier to the Southeastern Massachusetts Conference All-Star squad. He earned each of these honors in both his junior and senior seasons. Ray was also selected as a captain of the football team during his senior year.
After graduating from FHS, Ray has spent his time on the New Bedford waterfront. In 1994 Ray established the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction. The auction provided an orderly open market giving fisherman more exposure to buyers and the buyers a more predictable supply of seafood. Later in the same year Ray created BASE an electronic auction house. This business connected buyers and sellers from different locations opening the seafood market. Ray also contributed his time with numerous local youth sports. He not only sponsored many teams and organizations, he also helped run St Mary’s Catholic Youth Organization basketball program, as well as coaching many other youth sports teams.