Peabody High School Athletic Hall of Fame To Induct 20 New Members

PEABODY, MA — The Peabody High School Athletic Hall of Fame will induct 20 members as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

The Peabody High School Athletic Hall of Fame induction will be held on Nov. 29 starting at 5 p.m. The induction ceremony will be held at the Danversport Yacht Club, tickets will go on sale after Labor Day.

Questions regarding tickets to the ceremony can be answered by calling the Peabody HS Athletic Department at 978-536-4752.

The Hall of Fame is also proud to announce the release of its new website. This site will be the home of all things Hall of Fame as the institution celebrates its 30th anniversary and prepares to induct its 16th all-time class. Biographies of all previous inductees and sponsorship information will all be available at the website.

Being inducted in the Class of 2024 are:

From the Class of 1977, Dave Panopoulos — the Tanners lead running back who led the GBL in scoring during the famed 1976 unscored-upon "Leather Curtain" defense season.

Mitch Abbatessa is another football and track standout from the Class of 1991 who anchored a dominant offensive line for the undefeated Division 1B Super Bowl champions of 1990.

Being inducted posthumously as a player and coach is Lee Miller of the Class of 1988. Besides being the blocking back for the 1986 Super Bowl team and running for over 1,000 yards as a senior in 1987, Miller returned to Peabody as an assistant coach in the 1990's and 00's, mentoring countless players and contributing to many Greater Boston League championships.

Another of the school’s foundational coaches being inducted is Kevin Houlden, who helmed the boys lacrosse program to tremendous success from 1994-2011, winning nine league titles in four different leagues — the North League, the Middlesex League, the Greater Boston League and the Northeastern Conference.

Football star Al Surman of the Class of 1942, one of the Tanners most highly decorated football players in school history, having been named all-scholastic by multiple Boston papers in both his junior and senior years, will also join the Hall of Fame posthumously.

Dennis Buckley of the Class of 1964 is a two-sport standout who starred for the Tanners in football and baseball. Dennis was renowned for his "glue-like fingers" as a receiver and starred in the last Polio Bowl at Salem’s Bertram Field.

Another gridiron great from that era, Ronnie Kerr of the Class of 1963 was an outstanding lineman who was an All-Scholastic and later achieved little All-American status at Northern Michigan University.

The MVP of the MA State Lacrosse all-star game in 1990, Chris Andre, is another new Hall of Famer. He lso held the record for most touchdowns thrown in a game with four.

Mark Shorey of the Class of 2002 gets the call to the hall after an incredible baseball career that saw him win several Greater Boston League batting titles and reach the North final in 1998 and 2000.

Sisters Emily Judd-Carter and Kalie Judd-Jowders, Classes of 2003 and 2006, respectively, enter the hall together and were two of the pioneering players in the early days of the Tanner girls lacrosse program. Each were also tremendous point guards in basketball and field hockey all-stars.

A pair of 100-point career scorers and soccer teammates also enter together as Alyssa Manoogian and Erika Digiacomo-Pereira from the Class of 2009 take their place in the Hall of Fame.

Sticking with Peabody's girls soccer dominance of the 2010's, the Tanners all-time leading scorer, 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year and All-American Hayley Dowd was a member of the Class of 2013. She played professional soccer in Europe for many years.

Two teammates who helped Peabody win the Division 1 cross country championship in 2012 enter the Hall of Fame together: Catarina Rocha and Heather MacLean of the Class of 2013. A seven-time state champion, cross county All-American and Gatorade Runner of the Year, Rocha holds five school records to this day. MacLean, a member of the United States Olympic team in Tokyo, still holds four school records.

Versatile track performer Andrea Saccardo-Benson from the Class of 2010 will be inducted after scoring many points for the Tanners and helping them defeat Beverly for the first time (ending a 134-meet winning streak). She was the Northeastern Conference track and field hockey league MVP.

Another of the school’s best-ever track performers being inducted is Cal Greene of the Class of 1975, who graduated with numerous records. He was a state champion in the triple jump and a key contributor on two state championship teams.

Carolyn Scacchi is inducted from the Class of 2014 as one of the school’s most decorated two-sport athletes. Not only the Tanner volleyball program’s all-time leader in kills, she is one of only seven members of the girls basketball 1,000-point club.

Jean DePlacido will also be inducted posthumously as a contributor. A sportswriter for The Salem News for more than 40 years, DePlacido chronicled the success of just about every memorable Peabody High team from the mid 70's to 2023.

Her words hung on countless refrigerators in the city and she was probably the first person to ever interview the majority of this Hall of Fame’s members. She also served on the Hall of Fame committee for three induction classes.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)