NAHANT — It was a night full of memories, celebrations and all things Lynn Classical Saturday night at Nahant Country Club, as the Lynn Classical Alumni and Athletic Hall of Fame inducted 16 former Rams and two past Classical teams into the Class of 2021.
Those inducted Saturday night were Joseph Abelon, Michael Burke, Cynthia Christ, Thomas Curran, David Dempsey, Thomas Dill, Antonio Johnson, Thomas Kimber, Richard Knight, Gary Leja, Harry Mazman, Stephen Merrill, Alex Mora, Joseph Nicholson, Nadine Pitcher Murkison and Geraldine Stafford will all be inducted, as well as the 1979 football team and the 1980 basketball team.
The event was emceed by Dr. Daniel J. Dill, a longtime Classical coach and the Chairman of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The rest of the selection committee is made up of Classical Principal Amy Dunn, Classical Athletic Director Bill Devin, Classical Alumni Association President Gene Constantino and Classical Hall of Famer Cathy Ellis.
After a social hour and a dinner, the festivities got started by honoring the two teams that were inducted. First up was the 1979 football team, which had two other members of the Class of 2021 — Kimber and Leja — on its roster. The 1979 team was a force to be reckoned with in Division 2 that year, winning the Northeastern Conference before eventually rolling to a 31-13 win over Scituate to take home the Super Bowl trophy that year.
The 1980 basketball team was famous for its starting lineup, which was dubbed “The Classical Five.” In the 1979-80 season, Classical won the Northeastern Conference Championship by finishing 18-0 before going on to win the Division 2 Championship with a 25-0 record. The Rams then played a unification game against the Division 1 champion Cambridge Rindge and Latin — led by future NBA No. 1 overall pick and 11-time NBA All-Star Patrick Ewing. Classical won the game 94-73, becoming the State Champions of Massachusetts.
Following the team honors, the ceremony turned to the individual inductees.
Abelon was a two-time Essex County one-mile champion during his running days at Classical, eventually moving on to Northeastern University as a walk-on. He later became president of the Massachusetts Track and Field Officials Association, developing a system to determine the order of finish at high-volume races that was adopted by the Boston Athletic Association and the New York Marathon. He coached track and cross country at Lynn Classical, Lynn Tech, St. Mary’s and Northeastern, and he founded the annual Lynn Woods Summer Race Series in 1970.
Burke was a three-sport athlete at Classical, playing football, basketball and baseball before graduating in 1964. After being named the Outstanding Classical Basketball Player of the Year as a senior, Burke went on to play semi-professional baseball for the Lynn Jets. He later became a coach in Pine Hill Little League, Lynn Babe Ruth and Lynn Youth Soccer for more than 18 years.
Christ was one of three inductees that didn’t play sports at Classical, but rather were inducted into the Hall of Fame for their outstanding service to the community. Christ spent 34 years as the CEO of Gregg House before retiring in 2018, spearheading major financial growth and expanding the annual budget from $150,000 to more than $5 million. She expanded Gregg House’s mission of service to Lynn families and children through the delivery of high-quality and affordable programs, including the Gregg House Preschool Program and Project Children.
Curran was also not an athlete at Classical, although he was named Class Actor for the Class of 1963. Following graduation, Curran spent 28 months on the Horn of Africa serving at the U.S. Army Security Agency in the public information unit. After receiving the Army Commendation Medal for his work, Curran returned to Massachusetts and earned a number of New England Press Association awards for his writing and photography. He later shifted his focus to the nonprofit sector, serving in positions for United Cerebral Palsy of the North Shore, the United Way, Roca, the United Fund and Council of Greater Lynn and the Scleroderma Foundation of New England.
Dempsey graduated from Classical in 1970, earning Daily Item All-Star honors for football and also running track. He later returned to the Rams in 1983, where he served as an assistant football coach for three years before taking over the head job in 1986. He coached Classical for 10 years, winning the NEC Championship in 1991 and earning Coach of the Year awards from the NEC, the Daily Item and the Boston Globe. He coached the Agganis All-Star Football Game in 1986 and 1992, and he left the school with the second-most games coached all-time behind only the great Bill Joyce.
Tom Dill graduated from Classical in 1974, eventually moving on to work for GE for 23 years. After retiring, Tom Dill served the community in a number of ways, from serving as a coach and president for Wyoma Little League, a board member and coach for Lynn Babe Ruth, a board member and coach for East Lynn Pop Warner a coach for Challenger Little League. He has been named a Hall of Famer by the Lynn Boys and Girls Club and the Lynn Area Chamber of Commerce, and he opened up the Lazy Dog Sports Bar in 2006 — allowing him to give back to the city even more by fundraising for and contributing to Lynn youth sports.
Johnson is the youngest member of the Class of 2021, graduating from Classical in 2008 after a stellar football career. He earned numerous awards following his senior year, including the Harry Agganis Award, the Lynn Classical Defensive Player of the Year and a Boston Herald All-Scholastic. An All-NEC pick, he was selected to play in the 2008 Shriners All-Star Game. Johnson also lettered in basketball and track during his time with the Rams, and after a collegiate career at Merrimack College he earned short professional stints with the Baltimore Ravens and the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.
Kimber was a two-time Daily Item All-Star on the football field (1980, 81), notching 18 receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns as a junior before catching 37 passes and making seven interceptions as a senior. After graduating, Kimber took his passion for martial arts to the next level — eventually becoming the New England middleweight champion as an amateur. He turned professional shortly after, winning the East Coast and North American middleweight titles. He won three world middleweight titles in 1998 and 1999 before moving up to the light heavyweight division in 2000 — where he won the North American and Intercontinental titles.
Knight was a three-sport athlete before graduating in 1966, playing football, basketball and baseball. Already in the Classical Hall of Fame as a member of the 1964 football team, Knight also captained the baseball team in 1966 and won the Lynn Parks Department Sportsmanship Award in 1965.
Leja was a standout football and baseball player for the Rams, taking home a number of awards including Agganis Football All-Star, Daily Item All-Star, Daily Item Defensive Player of the Year, Coca Cola Defensive Player of the Week and Elliot Anderson Thanksgiving MVP. He went on to a collegiate baseball career at the University of Mississippi and the University of South Alabama, eventually signing with the St. Louis Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent.
Mora played football and basketball as well as ran track at Classical, graduating in 1999. He enlisted in the United State Marine Corps after graduation, serving in Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Following his deployment, he returned to Washington, D.C. in 2016 to serve as the Secretary of the Navy’s White House Liaison Officer. He was promoted to his current rank of Major in 2018.
Mazman played football at Classical from 1949-52 and played on the 9-1 state runner-up team in 1951. He had another great year at fullback as a senior, eventually earning a scholarship to Wake Forest University. He also ran track during his time with the Rams, and following his career he moved to Saugus and eventually joined the Boosters Club — serving as its president for 40 years.
Merrill was a star in the pool for the Rams, as he was the highest individual point scorer in each of his four years at Classical. He was the team’s Most Valuable Swimmer all four years, was a three-time NEC All-Star and qualified for states and sectionals all four years. Following graduation in 1994, he went on to Salem State University — where he still holds records in the 500 freestyle, the 1000 freestyle and the 1650 freestyle.
Nicholson played hockey, tennis and soccer for the Rams, eventually playing hockey at prep school and later in college at AIC. He graduated with 77 points, the most by any defenseman during his four-year span. Nicholson later accepted a position with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, eventually receiving a personal commendation letter from then-Attorney General Janet Reno for his role in Operation Zorro II — which aimed to take down Colombian and Mexican cartels in the cocaine trade.
Pitcher Murkison played basketball, sang in the chorus and played powderpuff football, but her main claim to fame was being a part of the 1977 Classical softball team — the first Classical girls team to win any title. Pitcher Murkison starred on the field, hitting .455 and leading the Rams to an NEC title and a Division 1 state title.
Stafford was known as the unofficial “mom” of many Classical teams in the 1980s, as she was very active in most social activities of the decade. The wife of Classical teacher Paul Stafford, she took many Classical seniors on their yearly graduation trip to Florida and was affectionately known as the “Classical Mom” for many students. She later served as a trustee and treasurer of the Alumni and Friends of LCHS and maintained the financial records of the Alumni and Friends Scholarship program for many years.
