University of Massachusets Athletics
Five Inductees Named For UMass Hall of Fame, Class Of 2008
August 04, 2008 | General
Aug. 4, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. - The University of Massachusetts Athletic Department has announced five new members will be inducted into the George "Trigger" Burke UMass Athletic Hall of Fame, making up the class of 2008. The quintet will be honored on Friday, October 3, 2008 at a dinner held at the UMass Student Union Ballroom at 6 p.m., they will also be recognized at the UMass-Delaware football game the following day at 3:30 p.m. Contact the advancement office at 413-545-4290 to attend. UMass will induct these legends: Jack Canniff (ice hockey coach 1967-79), Thomas Coburn (Class of 1974, men's soccer), Jack Foley (Class of 1957, men's basketball), Edward McGrath (Class of 1949, soccer, basketball, baseball), Ron Wayne (Class of 1971, cross country, track and field).
Canniff served as the hockey coach from 1967-79, leading UMass to its only conference championship in program history, as the then-Redmen won the ECAC Division II title in 1972. A fixture on the bench, Canniff is UMass' all-time leader in career victories with 120. Canniff was named the ECAC Coach of the Year in 1972 as he led the squad to a 19-7-0 overall record. UMass captured the ECAC crown with an 8-1 win over Buffalo on March 11, 1972 in Amherst. Canniff ranks second all-time in career win percentage among all hockey coaches and second among all coaches in career playoff appearances. He developed three All-Americans, all from the 1972 team (P.J. Flaherty, Pat Keenan and Brian Sullivan). Canniff graduated from Boston College in 1954.
Coburn was a soccer star at UMass from 1971-74. He was named an honorable mention NSCAA All-American in 1974. Coburn was a three-time All-Yankee Conference selection (1972-74) and a two-time All-New England pick (1973-74). He is currently the fifth all-time leading scorer in UMass history with 87 points on 37 goals and 13 assists. He left Amherst in 1974 as the program's all-time leading scorer, goal-scorer and assist-maker. He now ranks third in career goals and tied for ninth in career assists. He also ranks ninth on the school's single-season list for goals in a season with 12, set in the 1973 season. That mark was third at the time of its achievement. Coburn led the Yankee Conference in scorer in 1973 and scored nine more goals as a senior in 1974, earning his All-American accolades. He owns the second-best single-game goal scoring mark in UMass annals with four goals against Boston University in 1973. He added an assist in the win over the Terriers for a nine-point showing, the second-best one-game performance in program history. UMass was 24-12-7 overall in his career. He graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Food and Natural Resources in 1976.
Foley, who will be honored posthumously, played basketball from 1955-57. He earned All-Yankee conference first-time honors in 1957 and second-team in 1956. A three-year letterwinner under coach Robert T. Curran, Foley became the first 1,000-point scorer in UMass history, needing just 71 games to reach the milestone. He finished his career as the school-all-time leading scorer with 1,081 points, a mark that lasted seven years. That mark is now 30th all-time. As a guard, he averaged 15.2 points over his career, which was a record at the time. Foley led UMass in scoring as a junior and senior and was the squad's top free throw shooter in each of his varsity seasons. He scored 16.4 points and grabbed 5.5 rebounds as a senior captain in 1957. He tallied career-best of 17.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg in 1956. UMass posted a 40-31 record in his tenure with the Redmen, including a 17-6 mark in his junior year of 1956. The 17 victories, stood as a team record at the time, and would stand for 13 years until the 1969-70 team went 18-7. Foley tallied a career-best 32 points against Trinity College on Feb. 28, 1956. He graduated from UMass in 1957 with a Bachelors of Science in Business.
McGrath was a three-sport athlete at UMass during the 1940s, playing soccer, basketball and baseball. He was All-American soccer goalkeeper in 1947 and 1948. He career was interrupted by World War II, as he played basketball in 1943, and then again from 1947-49. McGrath also suited up in baseball in 1947 and 1948. He was a three-year starter in basketball, at forward in 1943 and 1947 and then at center in 1948. He came off the bench in basketball as a senior captain in 1949 in winning the Richards Memorial Cup. On the diamond, he was a starting shortstop in 1947. Following his college career, McGrath was invited to the Pam-Am Games in 1950 as a soccer goalkeeper. While in school, he served as vice president of the senior class in 1949, was president of his fraternity and a member of the UMass Senate. McGrath earned his Bachelor of Arts in History in 1949 and a Master's in Physical Education in 1951. He was invited to the UMass graduation procession in 1999.
Wayne was one of UMass' top distance runners of all-time, competing in cross country and track and field from 1968-71. As a senior in 1971, he won all seven cross country meets and then went on to win the Yankee Conference and New England Championships. As a senior in track, he won the mile at the Yankee Conference championship, with a time of 4:16.9. He was also second in the two-mile at 9:32.4. As a junior, he won the two-mile at the Yankee Conference championship at 9:01.7. Following his 1971 graduation with a degree in Physical Education, Wayne went to compete in many national marathons. He twice finished second in the Honolulu Marathon and finished in the top 10 of the Boston Marathon two times. He came in a career-best fourth in the 1977 race, the top time for an American that year at 2:18.18. He also finished eighth in the 1974 Boston Marathon with a time of 2:16.58. Wayne, remains close to the sport, working for Mizuno as the Running Promotions Manager.