The Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame has announced its induction class for 2023.

Eight individuals from the Midcoast will be honored at the 16th annual induction banquet on Saturday, Oct. 21 at the Rockland Elks Lodge.

Inductees include Boothbay Region High School graduates David Gaw (posthumous) and Melissa “Missy” Williams.

David Gaw was a great athlete at BRHS, excelling in football, basketball, baseball and golf.

Baseball was his strongest sport, where he started all four years as a pitcher and first baseman. The Seahawks won the league title all four years he played.

In football, during the 1958 season, his team won the state championship, going undefeated, allowing only six points the entire season.

Gaw also played golf in 1959, where the team won the schoolboy state championship. In 1957 and 1958, he played American Legion Baseball for the Smith-Tobey Team of Bath. The team won two state championships while Gaw was playing and he was voted the All-Star first baseman.

Gaw went on to the University of Maine where he played baseball for four years. During his senior year he was voted captain of the team and was selected All-State in 1962 and 1963. Coach Jack Butterfield said that Gaw was one of the most powerful and best hitters that he had ever coached.

After graduation from UMaine, Gaw went on to teach, coach basketball and baseball at Piscataquis Community High School in Guilford, and serve as the athletic director. He coached baseball for 23 years, compiling a record of 319-119 and winning the Penquis League Championship three times.

In 1984, March 16 was noted as Dave Gaw Day by the town of Guilford. In 2016 the baseball field was named after him and he was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 2018.

Melissa “Missy” Williams

Melissa “Missy” Williams was an outstanding athlete at Boothbay Regional High School, graduating in 1989. She was best known for her skills in golfing, where she was the top player on her team, besting most of the male players she competed against. Williams won the Maine schoolgirl golfing title as a freshman in the 1985-1986 season. She was the Boothbay Women’s Club Champion in 1984 and 1987, the Southern Maine Women’s runner-up in 1988 and 1989, and the Southern Maine Women’s Champion in 1991.

Williams went on to earn her Class A PGA Professional status in 2006 in Florida and is presently the head PGA golf professional at Tara Golf & Country Club in Bradenton, Fla., a position she has held for the past 22 years.

Williams has been recognized for numerous awards in Florida, including Best of Bradenton Golf Instruction (2015), Top 100 Alumni at Golf Academy of America (2016 and 2017), Vice President of Southwest Chapter PGA (2021), Player Development Award (2021 and 2022), Specialized Professional Status in Golf Operations, and Specialized Professional Status in Teaching and Coaching (2022).

Midcoast Legends

This year the Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame added a new group of individuals to recognize, which is a legends category, which honors those who have done a great deal for their Midcoast community through sports as a volunteer, coach, official, scorer, timer, administrator, or other supportive roles.

Each year up to four individuals will be recognized. The first group of legends to be honored at the 16th annual induction banquet are Lou Cook, of Union; Warren Cossette, of Wiscasset; Dana Dow, of Waldoboro; and Bob Oxton, of Camden.

Tickets for the induction banquet can be purchased through any Midcoast Sports Hall of Fame director or by emailing Dave Ames, secretary/treasurer, at damesref@tidewater.net. Tickets are $35 per person, with children 12 or under $20.