Just under two years ago, Foxboro athletic director Joe Cusack announced the creation fo the Foxboro High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Cusack’s goal was to recognize and preserve the deep tradition of success of past Warriors. On Thursday afternoon, Cusack and the Foxboro administration announced the inaugural class, highlighted by current football coach Jack Martinelli, one of the state’s best ever high school basketball players Sarah Behn, and professional football player Tom Nalen. Below is a press release announcing the first six individuals and the first team for the FHS Athletic Hall of Fame.

Release

Foxborough High School is pleased to announce the creation of our Athletic Hall of Fame to honor former student-athletes, coaches, supporters, and championship teams. This year’s class of inductees will be recognized at an event at the Marilyn Rodman Performing Arts Center on Saturday, October 21st at 6PM. This event is open to the public, and tickets can be purchased through the MRPAC box office or online.

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Foxboro High School has a rich history in athletics and now there will be an entity to recognize it.

FHS Athletic Director Joe Cusack recently announced the creation of the Foxboro High Athletic Hall of Fame in an effort to recognize and preserve the deep tradition of success of past Warriors.

“I’m really excited to have the chance to start formally recognizing the tremendous athletes, teams, coaches, and other supporters who have been a part of creating an incredible athletics history at Foxboro High School,” Cusack said. “There are so many deserving people.  I’m sure we will learn even more about our athletics history as a part of this process, which is a part of why this is so exciting.

“Over time, a lot of things can change, coaches leave, people move, students graduate…this is a great way to preserve the history and achievements of Foxboro athletes. This lets us keep a record of our history.”

Cusack first thought of the idea when he was coaching cross country and track and field at the school, trying to find a record book of times and distances from previous teams.

“I thought, ‘why don’t we have one here?’ It seemed out of place considering the tradition we have in athletics here at Foxboro,” Cusack said.

Foxboro currently has two jerseys hanging inside the school’s gymnasium: Sarah Behn’s basketball jersey and Tom Nalen’s football jersey. Both numbers are considered retired but there is no official record in the school.

While Behn was an All-American in hoops, she also played soccer and set records for shutouts as a goalie. Nalen was known for his play on the gridiron, and rightfully so after he went on to play at the collegiate level at Boston College and played nearly 200 games in the NFL for the Denver Broncos. But what most don’t know is that Nalen is one of the best throwers on the track and field team, Cusack said.

Those two are perfect examples of what it means to be a Foxboro athlete. The majority of Warriors, both past and present, play at least two sports with a good chunk playing a sport in each the fall, winter, and spring. The newly created Hall of Fame will now be able to recognize those contributions.

The nomination process will open in early October and be available through the Athletics page on the Foxboro Public Schools website. Guidelines and criteria for nominations will also be posted there. Anyone can submit a nomination and all athletes who fit the criteria are eligible to be nominated.

“I want to thank Superintendent Amy Berdos and FHS principal Diana Myers-Pachla for their support, they are both really excited about this,” Cusack said.

While there will certainly be a lot of eligible nominations when the submission process opens, it’s important to note that not everyone will make it during the first year. While the inaugural class might be bigger than future classes, a no this year doesn’t mean a no forever, Cusack said.

“This is something we want to do every year, we want this to be an annual tradition,” Cusack said. “We’ll have a panel to help decide the first class but once we have members of the Hall of Fame, they’ll help determine future classes.”

Below is a section of the by-law for the Hall of Fame:

In order to preserve our athletic history, the Foxborough High School Athletics Hall of Fame is being established in 2022. The Athletics Hall of Fame is organized for the purpose of recognizing the rich tradition of athletic success at Foxborough High School.  It serves as a means of honoring and recognizing the athletes, teams, coaches, administrators, and supporters who made significant contributions to the Warriors’ tradition of excellence.  The Athletics Hall of Fame intends to honor the contributions and accomplishments of these individuals and teams who are worthy of recognition as examples for others to emulate.  Induction ceremonies are intended to be held annually.