The 2025 Vermont Sports Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Celebration will honor thirteen athletes. The awardees this year are from varying sports, including horseshoes, rowing, basketball, soccer, track, gymnastics, and hockey. The dinner and award ceremony is to be held at the Delta Marriott Burlington Hotel on 1117 Williston Road in South Burlington on Saturday, April 26, 2025 beginning at 5:30pm. Tickets are available here. Proceeds from the event go to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, the designated charity of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.
The inductees are gymnastics champion Nini Wuensch Anger of St. Albans and Colchester; world and national champion horseshoe pitcher Debra Brown of Bristol; record-setting high school and collegiate soccer scorer Kyle Dezotell of Derby; high school and collegiate ice hockey standout Lou DiMasi III of Burlington; Olympic rowing medalist Carlie Geer of West Fairlee and South Burlington; U.S. National Champion and two-time Olympic ski jumper Jim Holland of Norwich; high school and collegiate football and track star Bill Looker of Rutland; Basketball sharp shooter Tony Orciari of Burke Hollow; three-sport high school star Mike Rochford of South Burlington who went on to pitch for the Boston Red Sox; and legendary coaches Connie LaRose of Bristol and Mount Abraham Union, and Frank Pecora of Northfield and Norwich University.
Award-winning sports broadcaster Jack Healey of Rutland is this year’s Mal Boright Media Inductee and the late Leo Papineau of Swanton, St. Albans and Richford is the VSHOF Historical Inductee. Papineau was an outstanding three-sport athlete at Saint Michael’s College graduating in 1924 and went on to be a multi-sport championship coach at Richford High, St. Albans High and BFA St. Albans.
With this year’s class, the membership in the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame has 143 inductees since its first class was inducted in 2012. The inductees now represent 60 towns in the Green Mountain State and 13 of the state’s 14 counties, missing only Essex County. The Class of 2025 was selected by three groups of voters: the 15-member VSHOF board of directors, a statewide sports advisory panel and the previous inductees. Nominations are accepted year round by the general public with information on the VSHOF’s website.
Besides honoring those making significant contributions to the state's sports legacy, the Hall is designed to help promote and provide inspiration in sports and recreation to the youth of Vermont.
To view previous classes and for more information on the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame, log on to its official website, www.vermontsportshall.com. For more information on the VSHOF’s designated charity, Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, log on to www.pcavt.org
Ticket information for the 2025 dinner is available on the VSHOF website at www.vermontsportshall.com. Proceeds from the event go to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont, the designated charity of the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame. The past dinners and other fundraisers have raised over $37,000 to support PCAVT’s work state-wide. Complete bios of the inductees are available to read online.