Athletic Department 12/5/2019 12:59:00 PM

Canisius Announces 2019 Hall of Fame Class

The Canisius athletic department announced Thursday that Ashley Gray '10 – women's lacrosse, Kevin Mahoney '09 – baseball, Duane "Duke" Richardson '82 – men's basketball and the 1990 women's cross country team have been selected to join former men's basketball head coach John Beilein as the 57th induction class to the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame. Additionally, Canisius graduates and long-time athletic department supporters Dave Schofield '71 and Jim Schofield MS '73 will be presented with the Rev. Paul J. Dugan, S.J., '45 Award, an honor that recognizes individuals for their significant contributions to Canisius athletics.

The Canisius Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held Sunday, Feb. 29, 2020, when the men's basketball team plays host to Saint Peter's in the Koessler Athletic Center. Game time is set for 2 p.m. The annual Hall of Fame Day will begin with a special "Induction Luncheon" from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., in the Montante Cultural Center.

To be eligible for the Canisius College Sports Hall of Fame, a former student-athlete must have completed his/her eligibility at least 10 years prior to induction, be a graduate of the College, been acclaimed as an undergraduate as one of the outstanding athletes in the history of the school and, since graduation, the student-athletes' life must have continued to reflect favorably on the College. Non-athletes may be inducted if they have made outstanding contributions to Canisius College athletics.

The Canisius Sports Hall of Fame, which began in 1963, now boasts 205 individual members and six former teams with the addition of this year's group.

WLAX Ashely Gray Hall of Fame Inductee

Ashley Gray '10 – A four-time letterwinner, Ashley Gray is the third former women's lacrosse player to be inducted into Canisius' Sports Hall of Fame. In her four-year career that spanned from 2006-09, Gray played 70 career games, where she scored 140 goals to go with 56 assists for 196 points. A two-time All-MAAC First Team selection (2008 and 2009), she also garnered All-MAAC Second Team accolades after the 2006 and 2007 campaigns. Just the third player in program history to reach the 100-point mark for her career, she started her time on Main Street with 50 goals and 19 assists in 2006, numbers that still stand as Canisius freshman scoring records to this day. One of five players in school history with 140-or-more career goals scored, she ranks seventh with her 196 career points and her 56 assists in four seasons rank ninth-best in the school's record book.

BASE - Kevin Mahoney Hall of Fame Inductee

BASE - Kevin Mahoney Hall of Fame Inductee

Kevin Mahoney '09 – The 2009 MAAC Player of the Year and a two-time American Baseball Coaches Association All-Regional First Team honoree, Kevin Mahoney is the 17th baseball player in school history to be enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. Mahoney played in 216 career games, where he hit .323 with 52 doubles, eight triples, 47 home runs and 187 RBI from 2006-09. A two-time All-MAAC honoree, he currently holds numerous records in both the Canisius and MAAC record books. At Canisius, he ranks in the top-five in 10 different career categories, and he shares the school record for homers in a game after he hit three bombs against Siena on April 20, 2008. His 47 career homers rank first at Canisius and third-best in MAAC history, while he also ranks fourth in MAAC history with 187 career RBI and fifth in the league's record book with 202 runs scored.

After graduating from Canisius, Mahoney was drafted in the 23rd round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. He is currently employed by the Yankees, where he works in the organization's minor league player development department.

MBB - Duke Richardson Hall of Fame Inductee

MBB - Duke Richardson Hall of Fame Inductee

Duane "Duke" Richardson '82 – A two-year letterwinner who joined the Canisius program after starting his playing career at Niagara County Community College, Duane "Duke" Richardson is the 56th former men's basketball player to be enshrined into the Sports Hall of Fame. Richardson played in 53 games during the 1978-79 and 1979-80 campaigns, and led the Griffs in minutes per game average in both seasons, playing better than 36.0 minutes per contest in those two years. While serving as the team's leading scorer in 1979-80, Richardson's trademark was his ability to share the basketball with his teammates. He is the only player in school history to dish out more than 200 assists in a season (215 in 1978-79) and he still holds the program's record for career assists per game average (7.0) and single-season assists per game average (8.3 per game in 1978-79). He also averaged better than 12.0 points per game in each of his two seasons as a Griff, thanks to a career 47.3 percent shooting percentage from the field.

1990 WXC Hall of Fame Inductee

The 1990 women's cross country team – The first Canisius program to win a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship trophy, the 1990 women's cross country team becomes the sixth team and the third female varsity sports program to be enshrined into the Canisius Sports Hall of Fame. The 1990 edition of the Griffs won six races, including the annual Little Three Championship over local rivals Niagara and St. Bonaventure, and the team finished third at the National Catholic Championships, hosted annually by Notre Dame. In that event, Heather (Whalen) Appenheimer, Canisius Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2001, won the race with a record-setting time of 17:54.6.

(Whalen) Appenheimer would go on to earn MAAC Outstanding Runner of the Year honors at the 1990 MAAC Cross Country Championships at Van Cortlandt Park in Riverdale, N.Y., as she paced the Griffs with her individual time of 18:33.32 to finish first in the field. Canisius' 21 points in that race are tied for the sixth-lowest team score in MAAC history, and the Blue and Gold followed that effort with a 13^th-place finish two weeks later at the NCAA Northeast Regional race.

Dugan Award Winners - Schofield Brothers

Dugan Award Winners - Schofield Brothers

Dave '71 and Jim MS '73 Schofield – Two ardent supporters of the Golden Griffins, Dave and Jim Schofield, are the 2019 recipients of the Rev. Paul J. Dugan, S.J., '45 Award, presented annually to individuals whose acts or efforts have significantly benefited Canisius athletics.

Dave started his professional photography career in 1970, when as a junior at Canisius, he worked for the expansion Buffalo Sabres. Over the next 40 years, Dave worked for numerous college and professional teams, including the Boston Red Sox, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees, and his images have been featured in newspapers and magazine across the country. But anytime Dave's beloved Griffs came to town in the area around his home in New Jersey, he always found time to be there with his camera in hand to collect images of Canisius student-athletes. He has also served as the color commentator for countless men's basketball games on the radio.

Jim began his college experience at Canisius, where he played on the club football team in 1968 and 1969, before finishing his undergraduate degree at the University at Buffalo in 1972. He returned to Canisius and earned his master's degree in school counseling in 1973 and he's been an active supporter of the Blue and Gold ever since. A past president of the Canisius Alumni Board of Directors and a long-time men's basketball season ticket holder, Jim is an active member of the Blue & Gold Club and the Coaches Circle, while supporting many other Canisius programs, both at home and on the road.

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