FHS HALL OF FAME INDUCTS 8 NEW MEMBERS
The 28th class of Honored Members of the FHS Hall of Fame were inducted in a ceremony after the annual banquet at the Century House on Sunday, June 25, 2023 in front of a large crowd who also saw the three teams that played the first seasons in the Bart Leach Gymnasium 25 years ago. The three team were the 1998 Girls' Volleyball, 1998-99 Boys' Basketball and 1998-1999 Girls' Basketball teams. (Photo: (L-R: Brent Almeida '06, Alden Lumbard [for his brother Eliot Lumbard '42], Karin (Knutsen) Barrows '03, Coach Jim Lanagan, Carol (Renaud) Ryland for her brother Ron Renaud '78, Keane Costa '09 and Aaron Matteos '98). [Photo courtesy of Jim Mahaney '68] See attachment below containing the entire program booklet for the evening.
RAYMOND “RAY” LAW
CLASS OF 1933
Raymond “Ray” Law graduated from Fairhaven High School in 1933 where he was a three-sport standout in football (two seasons), basketball (three seasons), and baseball (two seasons). In football he was an offensive end and was named to the All-Bristol County Second Team as a senior. In baseball he was the team’s starting catcher for two seasons. But his best sport was basketball where he was an All-Bristol County First Team selection in both his junior and senior seasons. He capped off his schoolboy athletic career by winning the cherished Sparrow Cup as the school’s top all-around senior athlete.
Dubbed the “ultimate team player”, Law lived up to that reputation at the start of his senior year and final basketball season. After leading the Bristol County League in scoring as a junior forward in the 1931-32 campaign, Law was asked to make the switch to guard in an attempt to make the team stronger. With his title changed to “floor leader,” the County’s defending scoring champion was asked to shift his focus, and he succeeded in leading his team to the best record in recent school history, and at 15-2, the best record among the seven schools in Bristol County which also included New Bedford (8-7), Holy Family (7-7), Dartmouth (4-7) and Taunton (2-12).
Although no team from Bristol County was invited to compete in the 1932-33 MIT Tournament, Ray Law was hailed as one of the top players in Southeastern Massachusetts. Despite the change of positions, Ray led his team in scoring for the third consecutive season, finished second in the Bristol County League and ranked among its leaders in assists and steals.
ELIOT H. LUMBARD
CLASS OF 1942
LIFETIME ACHIEVER
Eliot was born in Fairhaven, MA on May 6, 1925 and attended the Anthony School before entering and graduating from Fairhaven High School in 1942. After graduation from FHS in 1942 with war raging Eliot entered World War II as one of the first graduates of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, NY, and he sailed on Liberty ships as a 3rd and 2nd mate carrying troops and bombs.
After the war ended Eliot enrolled in the Wharton School of Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and then graduated from Columbia Law School. Eliot held a number of prominent positions in New York State law enforcement and was an advisor to Governor Nelson Rockefeller as well as Scotland Yard. But none of his work produced more headlines that his pursuit of the mob in the 1950’s and 1960’s.
In the late 1950’s as an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of N.Y. Eliot had been prosecuting corruption inside the IRS when he joined the newly formed State Investigation Commission that had been created to fight organized crime and improve policing. Eliot went on to become the chief counsel for the New York State Commission of Investigation, directing a select unit of 50 state troopers in battling corruption and organized crime, including a raid on the mob’s Apalachin Meeting, in which he and his troopers surrounded a meeting of 100 Mafia bosses from around the nation, held in a house in the woods of upstate New York. It is said that the FBI’s J. Edgar Hoover refused to acknowledge the existence of the Mafia until 58 Mafia bosses, including Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino and Joseph (“Joey Bananas”) Bonnano were captured in the raid.
Eliot was next appointed as Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s Special Assistant Counsel for Law Enforcement. While in that position Eliot proposed the creation of a School of Criminal Justice, eventually established at the State University of NY in Albany, and he created the New York State Information and Intelligence System, which allowed the police of jurisdictions across the United States to share information about the activities of highly mobile and well-organized criminals. Other states and the United Kingdom’s Scotland Yard hired Eliot as an advisor as well.
Throughout most of these years and beyond Mr. Lumbard practiced law in downtown New York City as a litigator, an expert in maritime law and as a trustee in large and complex bankruptcies. In retirement Eliot launched the American Maritime History Project from an office at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, King’s Point. The project has thus far produced two books, “The Way of the Ship” and “In Peace and War,” on the key contributions of our merchant marine throughout American history.
Eliot Lumbard died on November 6, 2013 at the age of 88 at his home in Nashua, NH. He is survived by a brother Alden who graduated from FHS in 1953 and lives in South Yarmouth, MA and a son John, and two daughters: Ann and Susan, as well as four granddaughters.
RONALD “RON” RENAUD
CLASS OF 1978
Ron Renaud was a member of the FHS Varsity Football team and saw enough playing time to score a key touchdown that helped secure a 14-6 victory at Durfee High School midway through his senior season in 1977. It turned out to be the only touchdown of his football career and came in the team’s final victory that season. The team would score just three touchdowns and a total of 22 points over the final five games of that 1977 season turning a hot 4-1 start into a rather not-so-cool 4-5-1 overall record.
But in the spring there was nothing mediocre about the athletic Ronnie Renaud who was a dominant force on the baseball diamond. Pitching was his claim to fame, and in the Greater New Bedford area there was no better high school pitcher than the Fairhaven hard-throwing right hander. Ron Renaud established himself during his sophomore season when he struck out more than 80 hitters while compiling an earned run average of 1.90 on his way to fashioning a record of 8-2 to earn a spot on The Standard-Times All-Star Team. And this was just the beginning of his brilliant baseball career.
Following a better-than-solid junior season, Ron Renaud continued to dominate by going undefeated on the mound (8-0) while swinging the bat at a productive .380 clip to help power Fairhaven into the post season tournament. Following the season, he was a unanimous selection for The Standard-Times All-Star Team.
But all-star performances seemed to be the norm for the 5 foot 10 powerfully built right hander. Ron had raised eyebrows the summer before entering high school when he retired all 18 batters that he faced, striking out 14 of them, in leading his Morse Twist Drill team to a victory over the Panthers Club in a pony league game.
After putting the finishing touches on his high school baseball career, which included pitching Fairhaven to its only victory in the post season tournament, Ron was back on the mound a week later hurling his New Bedford Wallpaper team to an 8-1 win over the Exchange Club in a Greater New Bedford Teener League contest.
Ron went on to attend Southeastern Massachusetts University (as it was then named) in North Dartmouth, and continued to play baseball on the collegiate level. After leaving SMU he became a commercial fisherman, and unexpectedly passed away in 1989.
AARON MATTEOS
CLASS OF 1998
During his four years at Fairhaven High School Aaron Matteos was involved in four sports, football, basketball, winter and spring track while accumulating eight varsity letters. Aaron also had the prestigious honor of being named as the captain of the football, winter and spring track teams. As well as his achievements in athletics, he was also committed in the classroom where he received the National Student Athlete Day Award for his excellence in academics, athletics and community service.
Although small in stature, Aaron always showed the aggressiveness and intensity that it takes to play Blue Devil football, playing running back on offense and a shutdown corner back on the defensive side. He always seemed to save his best for the Thanksgiving Day game. Aaron put up great numbers: 227 yards and two touchdowns in the 1996 and 1997 games versus arch rival Dartmouth High School. S-T sports writer Buddy Thomas wrote that ”if Fairhaven can be considered explosive then Aaron Matteos should be dubbed the fuse.” At the end of the season Aaron was named to the South Coast Conference All-Star Defensive Team.
As good as Aaron was on the gridiron, it was on the running track that he really excelled. After contributing to the FHS Basketball program for his first three years, he chose to take his athletic abilities to the winter track team. In his one season of winter track in his senior year Aaron broke the school records for the 50-yard dash as well as the 50-meter dash which still stand 25 years later.
As a multi-sport athlete, Aaron’s most significant achievements were during the spring track seasons. In 1998 he was a consistent 20-point getter, meaning that he competed in, and won, all four events in which he was entered. While competing in ten different events over the course of the spring season, his best event was the 110M high hurdles where his 15.4 time was the best in the area. In this same event he finished 5th in the State Class D Meet. During this dominant spring season Aaron was considered to be one the area’s best all round performers. He was a two-time All-Star in the 110M high hurdle event.
After graduation from FHS Aaron enlisted in the United States Air Force, and upon completion of his service duty, he earned his Masters in Business Administration from Salve Regina University, and currently he works at Gold Medal Bakery as a strategic sourcing manager. To this day Aaron remains very active in local youth sports.
KARIN (KNUTSEN) BARROWS
CLASS OF 2003
Karin (Knutsen) Barrows was an outstanding athlete who excelled as a four-year starter on the Girls’ Soccer Team where she scored 58 career goals and added 31 assists for a total of 89 career points. Coach Sam Galvam stated that Karin “was the team’s best player up front and a very tough competitor who knew no fear”. Karin was selected for the Standard-Times Girls’ Soccer Super Team during both her junior and senior seasons.
On the basketball court she was also a fierce competitor who was known for her aggressive defensive play averaging just under five steals per game. She captained the basketball team during her senior season and was nominated by her coach for the annual Dave Cowens Award for the outstanding girls’ basketball player on the south coast.
In the spring seasons of her freshman and sophomore years Karin was a member of the Spring Track teams, and then in her junior and senior seasons she played for the Girls’ Tennis team and she captained that team during her senior season. Karin was chosen as the recipient of the Mel Entin Award as the outstanding senior female athlete after serving as team captain for all three of her senior year squads.
Karin went on to play soccer at Framingham State College where she was a four-year starter and team captain during her senior season. She was named to the All-Conference Second Team of the Mass. State College Athletic Conference. Karin went on to earn a Master’s Degree in Education at UMass-Boston specializing in Orientation and Mobility Training for the Blind. She is employed by the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and teaches Orientation and Mobility to both children and adults. She currently lives in Mattapoisett with her husband Colby and their two children, Bodie and Reagan.
BRENT ALMEIDA
CLASS OF 2006
The righthander was a key performer in six of his eight combined varsity seasons with Fairhaven High School’s basketball and baseball teams in his four-year schoolboy athletic career. In his first season on the hardwood, Brent scored a total of 38 points in a dozen games for a team that finished the season with a dismal record of 2-18. As a junior, he picked up the pace by averaging 5.9 points a game for the 2004-05 basketball team that finished with an overall record of 6-14. Brent’s most productive basketball season came during his senior year when the six-footer averaged just under 12 points a game in his role as co-star for a team that compiled a record of 12-8 and qualified for the postseason tournament. Over the course of the 20-game regular season Almeida scored in double figures 13 times with a career-high 23 points coming in a 67-45 victory over Seekonk.
Brent Almeida’s dominant sport, however, was baseball in which he was named to The Standard-Times All-Star Team in all four post seasons. As a freshman Almeida hit .452 and drove in 20 runs. The following season, the pitcher/infielder slugged the ball at a .450 clip and won three games as a pitcher, setting the stage for two big final seasons on the mound. As a junior his pitching record was 6-2 with a 2.18 ERA, and in his final year, Brent compiled an earned run average of 2.17 while holding opposing hitters to a combined batting average of just .213. Offensively, Brent was just as impressive, banging the ball at a .406 clip while driving in 19 runs on his way to earning his fourth consecutive berth on The Standard-Times All-Star team.
After graduation Brent attended Division I Bryant University in Rhode Island on a baseball scholarship. He pitched for four years at the collegiate level, and in his senior season he was selected as the Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year. Brent also was chosen for the Division I Northeast First Team and started in the annual D-1 vs D-2/D-3 All-Star game at Fenway Park for the D-1 team. At Bryant University he ended his career in the top 10 in career ERA.
After college Brent began working in the insurance field for Delta Dental of RI. He has worked there for over ten years and is currently the Senior Director of Operations & Analytics. He and his wife Kaleigh live in Fairhaven with their two children Sophia (10) and Brody (3). Brent stills stays active in sports with his participation on the Board of the Fairhaven/Acushnet Softball League and he coaches the 10 & Under Firestorm Travel Softball Team in Fairhaven.
KEANE COSTA
CLASS OF 2009
Former Standard-Times sports writer Buddy Thomas called Keane Costa “the best right-handed hitter I’ve ever seen in my half-century of covering high school baseball.” At Fairhaven High School the two-sport athlete swung into action in the fall as a member of the golf team. But he produced his biggest numbers in the spring as a four-year starter for the Blue Devil squad. Costa absorbed the spotlight as a freshman when the sweet-swinging right-hander was primarily used in the role of designated hitter, and he responded by driving the ball from foul pole to foul pole and various places in-between against mostly upper-class, flame throwing pitchers from throughout the area. And he only got better.
Over his career Keane hit safely in 79 of 89 games, finishing with a four-year combined batting average of .475. As a senior he hit a robust .502 and drove in 27 runs while clubbing 4 of his 13 career homeruns. His many highlights included a 39 game hitting streak compiled over his junior and senior seasons and being named Most Valuable Player in the South Coast Conference and being hailed as the Standard-Times Baseball Player of the Year following his final high school season.
After graduation Keane went on to Bridgewater State University and was the baseball team’s starting catcher for all four years. At the conclusion of his sophomore season, he earned all-conference honors after helping his team win a MASCAC championship and a second-place finish in the New England regionals. After his junior season he once again earned all-conference honors while being the starting catcher for all 45 games, a BSU record. A month before his senior season Keane had multiple severe surgeries due to illness and was advised by his doctors to sit out the season. However, he was determined to play and worked his way back into the starting lineup eight games into the season, and finished his collegiate career by being named to the all-conference team for the third time.
After graduating from Bridgewater State Keane went to work at Granite Telecommunications in Quincy on the sales team for eight years selling IT Infrastructure to enterprise businesses. He currently oversees and manages the relationship of Granite’s largest customer. Keane and his wife Rachael are newlyweds who were married on May 26th and live in South Weymouth with their Australian Shepherd dog.
COACH JIM LANAGAN
Jim Lanagan wrapped up his 15th season at Bishop Stang High School in November of 1995 which marked his 37th season of walking the sidelines as a head football coach. He left Bishop Stang as the winningest football coach in that school’s history with an overall record of 90-55-5. It was the final stop in a head coaching career that included stints at Monsignor Coyle High School of Taunton, Wareham and Fairhaven High School. Coach Lanagan’s overall 37-year coaching record is 178 wins, 110 losses and 8 ties. He won back-to-back Southeastern Massachusetts Conference Div III championships at Wareham High School in 1972 and 1973, and then made it three consecutive titles by leading Fairhaven High School to the SMC Div II championship in his first year there in 1974.
Jim began his head coaching career at Coyle in 1964 where he remained for seven seasons before taking the reins at Wareham in 1971. After three years with the Vikings, Coach Lanagan replaced Kevin Cadieux as the head coach at FHS in March of 1974 and he directed Blue Devils’ football teams for the next seven seasons, the final two while serving as the school’s Director of Athletics. Jim won a title in his first year at Fairhaven, taking 29 returning team members from an 0-9-0 1973 team and turning the 1974 team into an 8-2-0 championship squad that produced three all-star players and earned Coach Lanagan the title of SMC Defensive Coach of the Year.
His record at Fairhaven High School is as follows:
1974: 8-2-0
1975: 8-1-0
1976: 5-5-0
1977: 4-5-1
1978: 5-5-0
1979: 7-2-1
1980: 2-8-1
TOTAL: 39-27-3