Eastern Nazarene College Set to Induct Four Individuals, Two Teams into Carroll F. Bradley Hall of Fame
QUINCY, Mass.- Four former Eastern Nazarene College standout student-athletes and a pair of terrific teams will be enshrined in the Carroll F. Bradley Hall of Fame during the 2017 Homecoming festivities October 15. The induction ceremony will take place Saturday morning at 9:00 am in the Lahue Physical Education Center lobby and will be live-streamed.
Steve Davis '77, Gary Jones '66, Ron Mazza '75, Jon Stinson '76, the 1972 ENC men's soccer team, and the 1974 ENC women's volleyball team will be recognized at the Homecoming Celebration Friday evening and formally inducted into the Hall of Fame Saturday morning.
Steve Davis, Class of 1977, as a freshman stepped into the role of a leader on the field, a role that continued to grow throughout his four-year soccer career. Steve was a leader with high expectations for himself that included a great work ethic. He led by example and challenged his teammates to meet those same expectations.
At 6-foot-5 Steve was a difficult player to get around on the field. As sweeper back, he was a central defender who could not only tackle well, but his distribution to his teammates after his possession was unparalleled. Upon stealing a ball on defense, Steve would not just simply kick the ball upfield, but would accurately pass it to a Crusader, moving the team into offense. Well-drilled in soccer before he stepped in the U.S., Davis' high skill level did not go unrecognized. He was named to the All-CISC Team in 1974.
Although Steve was born in Quincy, MA he spent most of his formative years in Argentina, where his parents were serving as missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene. He graduated from a private American school in Argentina as class valedictorian and returned to the US to attend ENC only to receive his draft notice. Steve then enlisted in the Army National Guard.
Steve graduated from ENC with a double major in Mathematics and Economics while continuing his monthly commitments to the National Guard and excelling on the soccer field. After graduation, he began full-time employment at his alma mater as Operations Manager for the Computer Center. Three years later he began working as a software developer for a local software company.
In 1985 Steve moved his family to Maryland and began working in Washington DC as a software developer for the Navy. Five years later his 24-year tenure as a software engineer assigned to specialized Navy contracts at Unisys Corporation began. Steve finished his career spending three years as an IT consultant and office manager for a marine service business.
In 2012, Steve retired from the Army National Guard as a Master Sergeant. During his service, he was a Team Leader in the Scout Platoon for the 26th Yankee Division, Section Sergeant for the LASSO-2 Platoon for the 29th Light Infantry, Section Sergeant for the Data Processing Installation for the State of Maryland, and Section Sergeant for the Directorate of Information Management for the State of Maryland.
Steve has been married to his college sweetheart Kathleen (Wetzel '80) since 1978. Together they have raised three children, Jeffrey, Melanie, and Bradley and enjoy spending time with grandchildren Boston, Hope, Grace and Emma.
Gary W. Jones, Class of 1966, played basketball from 1962-1966, helping the team to 54 wins, amassing 1034 career points and grabbing over 1,100 rebounds in an era when a 20-game season was the norm. He accomplished this despite missing the majority of his senior season due to an ACL injury.
Gary was a versatile player, responding well to the coach moving him from center to guard to the forward position. He was active near the board, using his strengths of blocking and rebounding to bolster the team. Gary pulled down 28 rebounds in a single game, setting a school record. He was named to the Kings All-Tourney Team in 1964 and 1965 and earned team MVP honors in 1964.
Gary is also being recognized for his efforts on the baseball field in the spring of 1966
Gary graduated from ENC with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and continued his education to earn a Master of Business Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and Masters of Divinity from Nazarene Theological Seminary. He later received a Doctorate of Ministry from Boston University School of Theology.
Gary pastored a Nazarene church in Rock Hill, NY, then became the Director of Admissions at ENC for a time before returning to pastorate ministry in Skowhegan, ME. After serving in Maine, he accepted a position at Bethel COTN in Quincy, MA before coming back to his alma mater to serve as the Director of Alumni Services. Gary's next assignment was as the Assistant District Superintendent for the New England District. He then continued his ministry as a pastor in Manchester, CT. Since his retirement in 2010 Gary has served as Interim Pastor, Sunday school teacher, choir member and volunteer at Venice Church of the Nazarene in Florida.
Service has always been a part of Gary's life, and he served with Work & Witness teams to Puerto Rico, Belize, New Orleans (following Katrina), Russia and Kenya. He traveled to Romania while Director of Alumni Services to help set up computers in Romania.
Jones' experiences and dedication have resulted in his election to ENC Who's Who ('66) and General Assembly Delegate (Church of the Nazarene), as well as awards for ENC Alumnus of the Year ('06), NE District Pastor of the Year ('10), and Pastor Emeritus Manchester (CT) Church of the Nazarene ('13).
Gary and wife Juanita (Parry '67) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this past June. God has blessed them with three children (all alums) —Jodi Loftus '93 (Cory '94), Jeff Jones '97 (Christina Whetstone '95) and Jen Fuller '97 (Jamie '95) and nine grandchildren. They enjoy traveling and have journeyed to Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Belgium.
Ron Mazza, Class of 1975, transferred to ENC as a sophomore in 1972 and immediately began making an impact on the soccer field. Ron was named First Team All-Conference Center Halfback in both the Colonial and Seaboard Conferences each of the three years he played. In 1974 he was named to the All New England NCCAA Squad.
Mazza, a defender for the Crusaders, was intimidating on the field. He could tackle, dribble, and pass. He used his length to his advantage, had good dribbling speed and was fast with the ball. He was also good in the air - creating havoc for the defense in those inbound situations. Ron was a vocal leader, respected by the team, as he was equally hard and challenging to himself, who motivated the team to excel. As a defender, he had five goals and four assists for his career.
Ron graduated from ENC with a dual degree in Mathematics and Secondary Education and began his career teaching and coaching at the high school level. In 1978 he was hired as a software engineer where he was trained on Digital Equipment and Data General Computers and became proficient in assembly language programming and the UNIX Operating System. Two years later he moved to California to work for Zilog (an Exxon Company) as the Silicon Valley Semiconductor Industry was just heating up.
In 1984 Ron became the VP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing at Faraday Electronics. That began a long chain of VP, President, and CEO positions for a variety of high-tech companies. Mazza has been involved in ten high-tech start-up companies. One of the companies took him to France, where he founded a tech company located in Sophia Antipolis. He has successfully sold systems, software and semiconductor products to companies including Intel, HP, IBM, AT&T, Motorola, Toshiba, NCR, Dell, Hyundai, Panasonic, Olivetti, Siemens, Nixdorf, Samsung, LG, and Nokia.
With his work has come the opportunity to travel extensively - more than six million miles on commercial airlines throughout Asia, Europe, South America, Australia and the Middle East. Highlights: The Great Wall of China, Xian Terracotta Soldiers, Great Barrier Reef, Bora Bora, Machu Picchu, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Roman Colosseum, Tower of London, Jerusalem, Iguazu Falls, Christ the Redeemer Statue, Chichen Itza and actually climbing over the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
Ron and his wife Denise live in San Diego, CA and have two daughters, Nicole and Erika, who he coached in soccer and basketball.
Jon Stinson, Class of 1976, played soccer at Eastern Nazarene College from 1972-1975. Jon joined his brother Dean on the field the fall of his freshman year, immediately making an impact as a midfielder. His ability on defense to frustrate his opponent made him a valuable weapon as he mentally took many a player out of their game. In fact, in the play-off game against Babson in 1972, his opponent asked to be taken out of the game!
Jon entered the program with a high skill level, and with his commitment to excellence and competing at the highest level, that level continued to increase. Possibly the best 50/50 player to come through the program, he was relentless in his pursuit of the ball and coupled that with excellent passing ability. Jon also had an unmatched fitness level, able to exert at high levels without signs of fatigue for long periods of time. Despite being a defender, Jon scored 7 goals and had 17 assists in his career. In 1974 Stinson was named to the All-CISC team.
Stinson was a dual sport athlete competing in baseball in the spring seasons of 1973-1976. In 1976, he continued the four years of leadership he had demonstrated on the soccer field by stepping into a coaching role with the ENC Varsity Soccer team.
Jon graduated with Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from ENC and continued his education with additional engineering courses at Northeastern University and University of New Hampshire. He started his career in the power generation industry as a Design and Product Development Engineer, advancing to Engineering Manager. Jon is currently employed as Regional Manager for LISEGA, a manufacturer of engineered pipe supports and seismic restraints.
Professionally Jon is involved with American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Nuclear Codes where he is the Chairman of Technical Working Group on Supports; a member of ASME Subgroup Component Design; a member of ASME Subgroup Materials, Fabrication, and Examination; and on the Board of Directors for Manufacturer's Standardization Society.
Jon and his wife Barbara (Nortz '75), who is a retired 1st grade teacher, recently celebrated 40 years of marriage. They have three children: their son Ryan is an IT Cloud Security and Risk Analyst for a global marketing software company; daughter Dr. Kelly Stinson is a Major in the Air Force serving in Italy; and daughter Kirsten Stinson is an airline Flight Logistics Supervisor in Miami. Jon enjoys weekly interaction with his four-year old grandson Ben and boating, skiing and bicycling.
1972 ENC Men's Soccer Team
The 1972 Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team, under the direction of first-year head coach Neil Nicoll, opened the season with their first-ever win over King's College in a 3-2 thriller. Despite a couple of difficult losses early in the season the young team improved daily and went on to finish the regular season with eight victories, three losses, and three ties. The Crusaders defeated Western Connecticut State 5-1 in the first round of the NAIA District playoffs before dropping a hard-fought 1-0 match to Babson in the semifinals. The Crusaders soccer team finished with a 9-4-3 record.
ENC poured in an astounding 61 goals throughout the season as Steve Shoff paced the team with 19 goals and 11 assists. Del Bieber added nine goals and three assists while Abel Espada netted five goals and dished out four assists. Ron Mazza, Espada, and Shoff were all selected to the All-CISC first team for their outstanding play.
The 1972 team was comprised of 24 players, who each contributed their own unique talents, abilities and mental attitude to the game. They were willing to dedicate themselves to being a member of a team and the year-end results were a testimony to the close bond that they created. They were a team that worked and laughed hard together. This team's success marks the year that ENC moved from being an unknown to a well-known soccer name in the NAIA.
The Crusaders that made up the 1972 men's soccer team were Del Bieber, Jerry Blank, Gary Calhoun, Donovan Cole, Steve Davis, Abel Espada, Mike Freeman, Joe Gomes, Geren Gordon, Tim Hughes, Ron Mazza, Brian McCleery, Bob Medianis, Herb Newell, Roger Parrott, John Reese, Dave Rouse, Doug Rummel, Mark Sanford, Steve Shoff, Howie Simonson, Dean Stinson, Jon Stinson, Keith Swain, Mike Wheeler (manager) and Coach Neil Nicoll.
1974 Women's Volleyball
In just its third year of competition, the 1974 Eastern Nazarene College women's volleyball team posted an undefeated record of 15-0. Led by NAIA & Carroll F. Bradley Hall of Fame Coach Nancy Detwiler, the Crusaders stormed through the opposition without losing a single game. ENC defeated Boston University, MIT, and Boston State to claim the Greater Boston Intercollegiate Volleyball Tournament crown.
The strength of ENC Volleyball was fueled by the intense competitive spirit of players who learned power volleyball. Unlike the Japanese style volleyball where time is spent learning fancy floor rolls, ENC players concentrated on accurate serving and hard, accurate hit placement. During a playoff game for example, Brenda Henley took one of Donna Brickley's soft sets and literally drilled a player into the bleachers. The serving accuracy of the squad was crucial in obtaining their undefeated record.
The Crusader defense was remarkable for covering each other and not letting a ball drop. They frustrated their opponents with long rallies. The defense was so strong that their opponents averaged only six points per game. The team accomplished their goals to make basic volleyball skills look easy and to have fun against unbelievable Division I competition.
This volleyball team faced the toughest competition in the area. They were convinced that playing strong competition made you better and winning against them was more fun than victory over weaker opponents.
The team was made up of co-captains Brenda Henley and Barb Mason along with Janice Irwin, Genevieve Beck, Jean Macchi, Donna Brickley, Robin Brown, Lerae Stanton, Susan Higgins, Sally Henley, and Linda Russell and manager Nancy Kornbau. As some of the best athletes at ENC, many of these young women made up the basketball roster as well. They arrived with basketball experience and left with volleyball skills.