After 17-Year Hiatus, East Greenwich Athletic Hall of Fame Is Back

After 17 long years, the East Greenwich Athletic Hall of Fame is back!

On May 2, four inductees will be honored and it’s the first time since 1997 that anyone has been ushered into the hall. And after so much time, spreading the word and making people aware is about as hard as selecting a Hall of Fame nominee.

“As you can imagine we are trying to garner as much public support as possible,” said Anthony Ucci, a member of the East Greenwich Hall of Fame Committee.

The induction ceremony will be held on May 2 at the Varnum Memorial Armory. It’s located at 6 Main St. in East Greenwich.

Tickets for the event are $25 and seating is limited. RSVPs were requested by today, April 15, so call Jeff Santos at 401-884-3513 or email jsantoseg@gmail.com to see if there’s still a spot.

This year, the Hall of Fame will induct Art Kershaw, Paul Wragg, Jack Sinnigen and Steve Petteruti. The winners of the East Greenwich High School “Tar” Ucci award and scholarship will also be announced.

Kershaw is a 30-year-plus teacher and coach at East Greenwich High School and coached football, baseball and wrestling. His teams won multiple sportsmanship awards and under his leadership, the football team won two state championships, the baseball team won three and he is the founder of the wrestling program. In the only year he coached wrestling, the team finished as division champs.

Wragg is a Coast Guard Veteran and spent 30-plus years as a teacher and coach, leading the boys and girls tennis and basketball teams.

In 1991, the girls basketball team won the sportsmanship award. He also coached boys and girls tennis, basketball and served as athletic director.

Sinnigen is a graduate of the class of 1975 and played on the football team for four years, leading them to the Southern Division championship in 1973. He was a team captain in 1974 and was 1st All Division.

He also played four years of basketball and was captain from 1974 to 1975, four years of baseball and was EGHS “Most Outstanding Athlete” in 1975.

As a baseball player, Sinnigen averaged .321 and led the team to the state finals in 1975 — the team’s first appearance — and was an All State and All Division player. He also held single game and season strikeout records (17 and 136 respectively).

Today, Sinnigen is the owner of Sudbury Animal Hospital where he works as a veterinarian.

Petturuti is a class of 1977 graduate and was a star in football, wrestling and track and field.

On the football team, he was a three-year starter and was All State in 1975 and 76. In 1976, he was All American, team captian and team MVP.

He was the state champion in wrestling in the 185 lbs class — a first for EG wrestling.

He was named Most Outstanding Athlete in 1977 and later, was a key player on the Tufts University football team, playing three years at defensive tackle and was part of the last undefeated team at the school.

Today, he’s a successful doctor in Rhode Island and an active youth sports coach.