Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

Buzzards Bay, Mass.-- The Massachusetts Maritime Academy Athletic Hall of Fame will welcome five new members this spring, as standouts in the sports of volleyball, softball, baseball and football, along with a longtime benefactor of Buccaneer athletics, will be enshrined during ceremonies on campus on Saturday, June 7^th.

Heading this year’s induction class is Academy benefactor Alan S. McKim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Clean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc., which he founded in 1980 and has built into the leading provider of environmental, energy and industrial services throughout North America.  A longtime supporter of the mission of Massachusetts Maritime Athletics, McKim was the driving force behind the renovation, expansion and construction of what has become undoubtedly the finest intercollegiate and recreational athletic facilities in the region in Clean Harbors Stadium and the Clean Harbors Athletic Center, which were both christened in 2010.  A graduate of Northeastern University, McKim received an honorary doctorate from Massachusetts Maritime in 2010 and has been an active member of the South Shore community in several endeavors, including the expansion of bed space and treatment programs at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

Christine Ratches ’94 becomes the third female inductee into the Buccaneer Athletic Hall of Fame, joining crew standout Meghan Carter Duggan ‘99 and four-time all-conference softball star Melissa DeValles ’03.  A resident of Bourne, Mass., Ratches became the first female all-conference performer in Massachusetts Maritime history as a junior in 1992 when she was named to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference volleyball all-league squad, and she ranks among the program’s career leaders in several categories, including matches played, kills, digs and attack percentage.  On the softball diamond, Ratches was a dual threat both at the plate and inside the circle, as she batted .454 over her final two seasons in a Buccaneer uniform, including a .531 clip with a team-leading 17 hits and 12 runs scored during her junior campaign of 1993.  The Academy’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1994, Ratches has served as Massachusetts Maritime’s head volleyball coach for 10 seasons, earning MASCAC Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and ranking as the second winningest mentor in school history.

Jim Cabucio ’82 still ranks as the winningest pitcher in Buccaneer baseball history more than 30 years after his graduation, as he posted a stellar four-year mark of 27-11 with a 2.62 earned run average in 246 innings pitched.  A resident of East Freetown, Mass., Cabucio, who served as Regimental Commander of the Academy’s Corps of Cadets during his senior year of 1981-82, established Massachusetts Maritime’s single-season wins mark as well during both the 1980 and 1982 with eight triumphs, and his 27^th and final career victory came in a 6-5 win over Bates that gave Head Coach Bob Corradi’s Buccaneers the 1982 ECAC Division III Championship.  Over the course of his career, Cabucio helped lead Massachusetts Maritime to the 1982 MASCAC championship as well as its best four-year stretch in program history, as Corradi’s crew went 98-43-1 (.684) from 1979-82.  Cabucio, whose best statistical season came during his junior year of 1981 when he went 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA, has served as the longtime athletics director and head boys basketball coach at Apponequet Regional High School in Lakeville, where he shined as a standout for the Lakers in the mid-70’s before matriculating at the Academy.

Peter Higginbotham ’85 was another gem on the diamond for Corradi in the mid-80’s, as he earned a pair of all-MASCAC and all-New England honors while representing the Buccaneers at the 1985 New England All-Star Game at Fenway Park.  A resident of Houston, Tex., Higginbotham, who also helped lead Massachusetts Maritime to the 1983 New England Football Conference crown on the gridiron as a junior, batted a team best .417 with 48 hits (six for extra bases), 11 stolen bases and 24 RBI during his senior season, as he followed up a 1984 campaign that saw him bat .403 with 12 extra base hits (triple, six doubles and five homers) and a school-record tying 41 RBI, matching the mark that fellow Hall of Famer Phil White ’84 set in the previous spring of 1983.  Higginbotham, who was a freshman on the 1982 MASCAC & ECAC title squad, helped the Buccaneers amass 81 total victories during his tenure, including three straight ECAC tournament berths, and he became the sixth member of the Massachusetts Maritime program to represent the Academy in the New England All-Star Game.

The final member of this year’s induction class was a standout both on the gridiron and in the classroom, as David Mik ’86 was an all-conference performer on the defensive side of the ball for fellow Hall of Famer Don Ruggeri and helped lead the Buccaneers to their second New England Football Conference crown as a sophomore in 1983.  A resident of Danville, Calif., Mik excelled in the classroom as well, earning both the Hal Chalmers Award as the NEFC’s most outstanding student-athlete and the MASCAC’s Howard C. Smith Scholar-Athlete Award.  A team captain during his senior season of 1985, Mik led Massachusetts Maritime to a 25-11 (.694) record during his career, including an 8-2 slate during the Buccaneers’ NEFC title run in 1983 that featured an appearance in the inaugural ECAC New England championship game against Plymouth State.

The purpose of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Hall of Fame is to honor former athletes, Academy staff, alumni and individuals that have made a significant contribution to Academy athletics. Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the oldest continuously operating maritime academy in the nation, has maintained a reputation of excellence for over 120 years. Student-athletes shall be eligible for consideration and induction into the Hall of Fame beginning no less than five years after graduation from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

“The contributions that these five individuals have made to the tradition of Massachusetts Maritime Athletics are something that the entire Academy takes great pride in,” Corradi says of the Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2014.  “Their legacy of excellence has made them an integral part of our athletic family, and I congratulate them all on this great honor.”

With the addition of the Class of 2014, the Massachusetts Maritime Athletic Hall of Fame will boast of 75 inductees after this year’s 15^th annual ceremony.  For more information on the Buccaneer Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, June 7^th, please contact the Massachusetts Maritime Department of Athletics at (508) 830-5053 or log-on to www.mmabucs.com.