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Tom Caron seems to be again fondly on his soccer-playing days at Lewiston Excessive. In his senior 12 months, the Blue Devils superior to the regional finals earlier than dropping to Greely. He was one in all two goalkeepers on that group and, he’ll inform anybody who’s prepared to hear, he nonetheless shares the college document for lowest goals-against common in a season.
However when Caron, now 57, is inducted into the Maine Sports activities Corridor of Fame on Sunday in its forty fifth annual awards ceremony, he is aware of it received’t be due to his athletic profession.
“All people who noticed me play soccer in highschool is aware of I don’t belong within the Corridor of Fame for that,” he mentioned. “I assume I discuss a superb sport.”
That he does. Caron is the pre-game and post-game studio host on NESN for Boston Pink Sox video games. He additionally continues to do play-by-play for school hockey video games.
However Caron, a Lewiston native, finds it “mind-boggling” that he’s being inducted into the Maine Sports activities Corridor of Fame.
“It’s fairly cool,” mentioned Caron, who has written a weekly column for the Press Herald since 2007. “It’s fairly an honor. It’s made me actually respect the nice historical past of sports activities in Maine. I’ve spent numerous time the final couple of months trying up people who find themselves already within the Corridor of Fame and it’s a powerful group. I can’t think about a much bigger honor.”
The induction ceremony will happen at 2 p.m. Sunday on the Merrill Auditorium in Portland. Caron will probably be joined by six different 2021 inductees, in addition to 9 inductees from 2020. That ceremony was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The 2021 inductees embody: women’ basketball coaches John Donato and Ed Feeney, trailblazing runner Robin Emery, UMaine {and professional} soccer participant Matt Mulligan, basketball participant/lawyer/Govt Director of the Maine Sports activities Corridor of Fame Mary Mitchell Friedman and the late Leon Gorman.
The 2020 inductees embody: Amy Bernatchez (discipline hockey), Cathy (Narsiff) Caron (ice hockey), Tony Fournier (karate), Merle Hallet (crusing), Lisa Kuronya Coombs (boxing), Marty Milligan (soccer), the late Don Richards (swimming), Carroll Ware (fly fishing) and Lindsay Whipple Kallas (tennis).
Caron started his profession as a sportscaster in Plattsburg, New York, and moved on to a station in White River Junction, Vermont, earlier than coming again to Maine to work at WGME in 1988. He labored alongside the legendary Frank Fixaris there and later turned the play-by-play radio announcer for the Portland Pirates in 1993. The years with the Pirates, he mentioned, had been instrumental in his profession.
“These two years with the Pirates introduced me again to why I really like sports activities, following the arc of a season from begin to end,” he mentioned.
He joined NESN in 1995 because the host of the present Entrance Row, ultimately changing into the community’s first sideline reporter for Pink Sox video games. He did that for 2 years, beginning such standard segments as “Not Your Typical Fan,” the place he would go into the stands to interview folks, earlier than shifting into the studio to host the pre- and post-game exhibits in 2004. “They usually received the World Collection,” he mentioned. “And the remaining is historical past.”
By way of his years in Boston, Caron nonetheless maintains his Maine roots.
“I really like Maine,” he mentioned. “I’ve at all times tried to signify the state as greatest I may. A Boston championship belongs to anybody from Bangor or Lewiston or Portland as a lot because it does to Boston.
“And I’ve at all times tried to signify the state right here in Boston as a lot as I can. I’m positive my producer acquired sick of me asking for each Ryan Flaherty hit to be in our spotlight packages.”
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