In Honor of Dick Williamson
The former team members of the Bates College Hockey Club, c.1975-1985, and with the support of players spanning four decades, today honor Professor Richard C. “Dick” Williamson for his many contributions to the Club, the College and the lives of dozens of past players. In October of 1975 Dick, then a brand new professor at Bates, was announced as our new coach at a team meeting in the lounge of Hedge Hall. By the time the Hockey Club gathered at the sacred Central Maine Youth Center for the start of the ’75-’76 season, things were remarkably different than they had been in previous seasons. With new Assistant Coach Wayne Loosigian and a bumper crop of freshman players, Dick began to transform the Bates College hockey experience. And, as a former hockey player at Yale, he proved to be a “hands on” coach, often filling one of the blue liner slots himself. We had regular, organized practices; we played with 3 or 4 set lines. We learned positions. We passed; we scored; we had fans; we even occasionally back-checked; and for a big change, we started winning games. But most of all, we had tremendous fun. Dick brought a passion for the game and a passion for fun.
Despite the demands of being a full-time professor, department chair, husband to Debbie, and father to Vanessa, Melissa, Christopher, and Dustin, Dick continued to coach the Bates College Hockey Club for a full ten seasons. At a school where hockey remained a club sport and a campus rink was a distant dream, he did so in relative anonymity. But to those of us who played for him, Dick was anything but anonymous. Dick’s class, sense of humor and warm spirit ensured that all of his teams were clearly products of a very special individual. Dozens of young men had their Bates experience enriched by the opportunity to compete together on a team where the primary measures of success were camaraderie, teamwork and fun. His leadership gave us a spirit that for many of us represented a highlight of our college years.
To help ensure that future Bates College hockey players will forever remember those attributes of a sport which are truly meaningful, as well as a man who believes in those values and dedicated a decade of his life to creating a tradition reflecting them, we are today creating the “Bates Alumni Ice Hockey Award”.
This Award will be presented annually in perpetuity and is engraved as follows:
In honor of Professor Richard C. “Dick” Williamson; whose spirit, guidance and commitment gave life and permanence to the Bates ice hockey club, and whose coaching and life-mentoring profoundly inspired players throughout his coaching years; 1975 to 1985. The alumni players from the Dick Williamson Years proudly and joyfully gather this January 15, 2005 to inaugurate this Alumni Ice Hockey Award in his honor. This Bates Alumni Ice Hockey Award will be annually presented by team mates to the man and woman who exhibit the qualities Dick Williamson shared with all of us: leadership, spirit, skill, dedication, humor, and sportsmanship, both on and off the ice.
We hope that this award repays, at least in part, the great debt that we all owe Dick. It is our wish that future Award winners will have similar success in positively influencing the lives of others.
-The Bates College Hockey Club Alumni
