A Call to the Hall: Former Narragansett Regional coach Pete Gallant to be inducted into Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame

By Jay Gearan / Sports Correspondent

Posted Dec 10, 2019 at 5:23 PM

Updated Dec 10, 2019 at 5:23 PM

BALDWINVILLE — What does it mean when your very first baseball glove, the one your parents bought for you back in the late 1950s, sits on a shelf in your home all those years after you first broke it in?

It means you loved baseball all your life, and you cherish your many wonderful memories of the sport.

Like former Narragansett baseball coach Edmund “Pete” Gallant of Baldwinville, who recently picked up his old, brown leather mitt and, with a laugh, asked, “How did we catch anything with gloves like these?”

A good question considering the pocket of his ancient Spalding looked as if it had been flattened by a huge truck tire. Still, Gallant, a lifetime Red Sox fan, wouldn’t trade that glove even for a 1960 Carl Yastrzemski rookie baseball card.

Gallant’s precious Little League glove rests on a basement shelf across from a wall adorned with plaques proclaiming his teams’ accomplishments. We were there in his Baldwinville home to reflect on his long and successful coaching career, and especially his latest honor.

Next month Gallant, who coached the varsity Warriors for 30 years from 1982 to 2011, will be inducted into the Massachusetts High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25 at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Wakefield. A social hour will begin at 5:30 p.m., followed by a banquet and induction ceremony at 6:30. Joining Gallant in the new Hall of Fame class are TJ Chiappone of Bellingham High, Matt Foley of South Hadley High and Ken Maglio of Andover High.

“I was so honored when I got the phone call from Wayne Hancock (MBCA Hall of Fame Chairman),” said Gallant, a very fit 71-year-old, who looks as if he could still easily pop pre-game outfield fungoes or sharp infield grounders with the same precision and power he possessed decades ago. “This is like a culmination, a frosting on the cake for me after all my years of coaching. So many great coaches are in the Hall of Fame, and I coached against many of them.”
For Gallant, who played centerfield at Narragansett in the early to mid-1960s for Coach Lee Cunningham, coaching baseball began in the early 1970s when he guided the Templeton Twins in Little League play. He’s always had a special love for the game and a love for coaching.

“I worked with Pete for 22 seasons,” said former Narragansett junior varsity coach Bob Bellefeuille. “He was a great teacher of the game, such a hard worker, and very easy going, but intense when he got into the fray of a ball game. Pete is a real gentleman, excellent with parents, excellent with the players, and I am so delighted that he is going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.”

After several years as a middle school and junior varsity coach, Gallant stepped up to the Narragansett varsity job in 1982 and began to amass his eventual 281 career varsity victories, including 10 MIAA District tournament appearances and several Taddeo Memorial Championships. He was a two-time recipient of the North Worcester County “Pete Trainor” Award and his teams in 2007 and 2011 won the Mid-Wach Sportsmanship Award.

No doubt Gallant’s most memorable season came in 1991 when the Warriors, who went 23-2, captured the Div. 3 state championship, edging Hamilton-Wenham, 12-11, in the final played at the College of the Holy Cross’s Fitton Field. On their way to the state title the Warriors knocked off Blackstone-Millville, Millbuy, Quaboag and Ware, the latter in a thrilling state semifinal that went 16 innings.

“Coach Gallant has always been a Hall of Fame coach in my book,” said former Narragansett player Chad Garner, who was a pitcher on the state championship team. “His love and passion for the game was always contagious, and his belief and trust in every player on the diamond built confidence in all of us. He was a tremendous role model and mentor, and I consider myself lucky to play for him and later coach under him as an assistant at Narragansett. I can’t thank him enough for his wisdom and knowledge. Being inducted into the MBCA Hall of Fame is such a deserving honor for a man that positively impacted so many Warriors.”

Eric Schlapak, another former ’Gansett player who went on to star at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, added, “Pete was one of the most important educators in my life. And what made him so effective is that he didn’t have to be a coach who tried to show off as the smartest guy in the dugout. So many coaches have that need, but Pete knew that it was 16 to 18 year old kids who would pitch and hit the ball. Not him. He respected us and wanted to know how we saw the game. We were just a bunch of guys who wanted to play baseball and Pete had the unique ability to get us to play at our highest level. A lot of young people aspiring to be teachers and coaches could learn a lot from Pete Gallant.”

Prior to his retirement, Gallant was a teacher at Baldwinville Elementary School for 34 years.
Former Narragansett Principal John Jasinski, who coached basketball and baseball, said of Gallant, “Pete was always very organized and really stressed the fundamentals. On the athletic field, he performed the same way he did as a great teacher in the classroom — with hard work, making sure his players, like his students, learned the right way.”

“I had so many great players over the years, and it wouldn’t be fair to name even just a few,” said Gallant, who went on to praise his first junior varsity coach, the late Bill McClaren, along with Bellefeulle and former middle school coaches Gary MacEwen, Jasinski, Ray Page and Brian McNamara. “And I can’t thank enough all the volunteer coaches, supportive parents and family members. Plus understanding and helpful school administrators and athletic directors over the years. And, of course, my very supportive wife, Dot.”

Anyone interested in attending the induction dinner should visit: massbca.com and go to the Hall of Fame pull-down screen, clicking the ticket box for instructions or contact Nicole Hemlin at 978-835-2632 or via email at: nicolehemlin@yahoo.com

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