Steven A. Paquette
Graduating class: 1969
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2010
Hall of Fame Category: Athlete
Steve Paquette was a three sport athlete who earned seven letters in his three years at Fairhaven High School competing in the powerful Capeway League. Steve lettered in football each year and in basketball and baseball in his junior and senior years.
As a junior in basketball, Steve played mostly junior varsity and was “brought up” for several games on the 1968 Capeway League Champions. In his senior year he earned a starting forward position for Hall of Fame Coach Wayne Wilson.
In baseball, Steve was the starting catcher in his junior and senior years keeping pitchers like Gerry Howland on target. Fairhaven baseball write ups in the local paper often include play by play descriptions of Steve “stealing third” or hitting “a screaming homer.”
Steve was a halfback and defensive safety in football under Head Coach Dick Arieta and was selected to the Standard Times All-Suburban Team and the Taunton Gazette All-Scholastic Team in his senior year, a remarkable feat especially after sitting out most of his junior year with a broken arm.
His selection as the Standard Times “Perfection Player of the Week” aptly describes the type of impact player Steve was during his high school career. In what every newspaper described as an “upset” win over New Bedford Vocational High School, Steve “ran a second quarter kickoff 91 yards for a backbreaking touchdown and scored again in the third quarter on a four yard run to secure 25-6 victory.” His 194 yards rushing on 15 carries was an example of the effort Steve brought to every game.
Steve was a co-recipient of the Edmund Andrews Award along with his teammate and friend John Fernandes. in his senior year