John Hawkins
Graduating class: 1924
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2013
Hall of Fame Category: Athlete
Football in which he excelled on both sides of the ball on his way to winning All Bristol County League honors.
But John Hawkins was more than just a football player. During his four years at Fairhaven High School, Hawkins competed in every sport the school had to offer – football, basketball, baseball, track and tennis – and in 1923 was one of three Fairhaven athletes to earn varsity letters in all five sports.
Hawkins was the fullback on a strong 1923 team and the strong, aggressive running back had some memorable games, like scoring a touchdown and intercepting three passes in a 20-0 victory over Bridgewater. He also found the end zone twice and added a pair of conversion points in a key game against Attleboro. But his best game may have come against Roxbury when his excellent play on both offense and defense helped hand the Boston District Champions their first loss in nine seasons.
These heroics and many more earned him a spot on the All BCL Team in a year in which Hawkins was labeled the ‘best fullback in Southeastern Massachusetts. His most cherished award, however, came following his senior year when Hawkins was presented the Sparrow Cup which was awarded annually to a Fairhaven senior who “has rendered the best service to the school in all branches of its activities.” Hawkins was a four-year member of the football, track and baseball teams, a three-year participant with the basketball squad and played tennis for two seasons.
Following his graduation from high school, Hawkins enrolled at New Bedford Textile School and was later employed in foreign and domestic service for Saco-Lowell Shops, a textile machinery company of Biddeford, ME and Easley, SC.
At the close of World War II when the Swiss and U.S. textile and machinery companies were vying for the South American market, Hawkins was sent to Brazil on loan to Glossops and Sons, agents for Saco Lowell Shops where he supervised the installation of spindle mills. He remained in Brazil for eight years, later going to Colombia, Venezuela and Europe. In Spain, he entered for exhibit in the 1956 Barcelona Trades Fair the new model of Saco Lowell’s Comber and remained in Europe on loan to Saco Tex of Milan, Italy, the European agents for Saco Lowell machinery. Three years later Hawkins returned to the United States and lived in Greenville, SC carrying out company-ordered assignments in various southern states, Mexico and Canada. After 37 years of service, Hawkins retired and returned to Fairhaven. Hawkins was a member of both the Fairhaven Historical Society and the Old Dartmouth Historical Society and passed away on March 17, 1989 in Fairhaven at the age of 84.