Sept. 30, 2006

PHILADELPHIA - Saint Joseph's University inducted six former athletes into its eighth Athletics Hall of Fame class at the annual Hall of Fame Gala this evening at the Erivan K. Haub Center. The Class of 2006 is comprised of Harry Booth '62. Ellen (Shields) Fitzpatrick '90, Jim Gavaghan '59, Maurice Martin '86, Paul McDermitt '50 and Kelli (O'Donnell) Twomey '89.

All of the inductees were present, except for Paul McDermitt, who could not attend because of health reasons. His daughter, Janice Rispoli, accepted for him.

University president Timothy R. Lannon, S.J. and director of athletics Don DiJulia presented each of the inductees with the crystal Hawk signifying their induction. Gregg Murphy '93, the host of CN8's "Out of Bounds" program served as the emcee for the evening, which was attended by a standing room only crowd.

Other Hall of Famers in attendance included Dr. Jack Ramsay, George Griffin, Dave Landers, Ellen Ryan, Renie Shields, Rodney Blake, Katie Gardler, Joe Spratt and Kevin Quinn.

Martin, who starred from 1982 to 1986, was an Associated Press honorable mention All-American in his senior year. The 1986 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, he was a three-time selection to both the All-Conference team and the All-Big 5 squad. He averaged double figures in points in each of his four seasons. A native of Liberty, NY (Liberty H.S.), he is one of five Hawks to be chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft, with his selection by the Denver Nuggets in 1986.

Booth played and coached both baseball and basketball at Saint Joseph's. The Philadelphia native (Bishop Neumann H.S.) was a two-time All-Middle Atlantic Conference selection as centerfielder, and was a three-year member of the basketball team which won consecutive MAC Championships and made trips to the NCAA Tournament all three seasons. As head baseball coach he led the Hawks to the MAC title and an NCAA berth in 1974, while compiling a 140-80-5 record. Booth also served as head basketball coach from 1974 to 1978.

Shields Fitzpatrick remains one of the top shooters in women's basketball history and still holds the SJU career record for 3-point accuracy (40.4 percent). A two-time Hawk captain (1989 and 1990), Shields helped SJU to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and three Big 5 titles during her career. A two-time All-Atlantic 10 selection from Philadelphia (West Catholic H.S.), she is a member of the Big 5 Hall of Fame and the SJU Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

Gavaghan was a four-year track scholarhship athlete, but also owns the distinction of being the captain of the first varsity soccer team at Saint Joseph's in 1958. He excelled on the track, helping the Hawks to the Middle Atlantic Conference title in the mile relay in 1957, placed fifth individually in the 600-yard run at the 1957 MAC indoor championships, and was a member of the Hawks' squad which won four consecutive IC4A titles. Gavaghan, who hailed from Philadelphia (Northeast Catholic H.S.), was inducted into the SJU Track Hall of Fame in 1976.

McDermitt was a jack of all trades for the Hawks, participating in four sports - baseball, basketball, golf and track. He was a member of the 1947-48 basketball team which captured the Big 5 title and on the 1948-49 basketball team that upset defending national champion Oklahoma A&M. McDermitt, from Altoona, PA, was the Hawks' top golfer and captained the 1948-49 golf team, which at that time did not have a coach. He participated in track, helping the squad score points in the javelin throw and high jump, while also playing baseball for two years.

O'Donnell Twomey was one of the Hawks' top distance runners. She set the SJU indoor record in the 5000 meters (16:42.57), and set the 5000m outdoor record, which has since been broken. A third-place finisher in the 5000 at the 1988 ECAC Indoor Championship, O'Donnell also placed eighth at the 1989 Atlantic 10 Cross Country Championship. A native of Havertown, PA (Archbishop Carroll H.S.), she was inducted into the SJU Track Hall of Fame in 2001.