Induction Class Of 2010

As an all-around athlete, Rudy Bulgar certainly was one of the greatest ever to wear a uniform for N.B.H.S. He starred in three sports; football, baseball and basketball; and he was instrumental in leading all three teams to six state championships between 1992 and 1995.

The two seasons that Rudy quarterbacked the Crimson, 1993 and 1994, resulted in an overall record of 20-1-1 and two Mass. State Titles with Class A Super Bowl wins over Plymouth High and Peabody High. His stellar play resulted in his being named to the Standard-Times, the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald "All Scholastic Teams" for, 1993 and 1994. He won the Paul F. Walsh award as the N.B.H.S. Player of the Year for 1994. Rudy's leadership and athletic abilities were the qualities that he brought to a team that was loaded with talent.

Rudy also was an integral part of the 1993 and 1994 N.B.H.S. basketball teams that also won Class A State Titles. He was an outstanding rebounder and scorer for those teams.

Rudy left his mark on the 1993-94 baseball teams as well. Coached by John Seed, Rudy helped win two more state titles for N.B.H.S. He was named to the Boston Globe and Boston Herald's All Scholastic Teams both years and in 1994, he was chosen the State Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Rudy was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1995.

Rudy is presently employed as a teacher in Fairhaven. He is an assistant varsity football coach and the head coach of the varsity baseball

A case could easily be made to prove the statement that Jo Jo Goodine was the greatest tailback ever to play for N.B.H.S. He played for coach Joe Wirth in 1991 and for coach Wayne Hamlet from 1992 to 1994. Jo Jo came into his own in 1993 and 94.

In 1993, Jo Jo's running led N.B.H.S. to an 8-1-1 record. At 5'8" and weighing 175 Ibs., Jo Jo rushed for 1259 yards and scored 28 touchdowns. He rarely played in the second half of any ball game, so dominant was the N.B.H.S. attack, yet he still managed to average 2.8 touchdowns per game. The 1993 season culminated with a Class A Super Bowl State Title victory over Plymouth High School.

Jo Jo saved the best for last. In 1994, Jo Jo ran for 1305 yards and 28 touchdowns while still rarely seeing second half action. That year, the team went a perfect 12-0, the last win being again a Class A Super Bowl State Title victory, this time over Peabody High School.

Jo Jo won the prestigious "Otto Graham Award" as the area's outstanding football player

for 1994. He was twice selected to the Standard-Times All Scholastic Team. He was also chosen by the Boston Globe and the Boston Herald to be on their all scholastic teams for 1993 and 1994. He was honored as the "Gatorade High School Player of the Year" for his great efforts. A truly remarkable football career.

But football wasn't his only game. Jo Jo played basketball for coach Ed Rodrigues during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. He helped the Whalers win back to back state titles.

Jo Jo also ran track at N.B.H.S. for coach Steve Gardiner, 1992-1995. He was a dash man and a long jumper. In 1003, the team came in third in the state meet, was the state champion in 1993, lost on a technicality in the final relay in 1994 and in 1995, N.B.H.S. was state champion again with Jo Jo running the final leg of the 4x100 relay to win the title.

Presently Jo Jo lives in New Bedford with his wife, Joy, and their two children, Ranen and Joseph. He is employed as a group care worker for Eliot Community Health Services.

There are many New Bedford High School basketball aficionados who will tell you that Marcus Wills was the best to ever wear the crimson basketball uniform. If he wasn't, he surely has got to be placed near the top.

Marcus began his basketball career on the varsity team as a freshman in 1992. That first year was a learning experience for Marcus. It wasn't until his sophomore season of 1993 that he began to come into his own. As a sophomore, he led N.B.H.S. in scoring and as his talent began to get recognized throughout Eastern MA, at the end of the season, he was selected to be on the Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-State basketball team. A dream season ended with the team being crowned state champions after a thrilling 70-67 victory over St. John's High School.

The 1994 season brought more of the same for Marcus and his Crimson team mates.

Again he was selected both a Boston Globe and Boston Herald All Star and again the Crimson won the Class A Basketball State Championship.

Three championships in a row would have been unbelievable, but it wasn't to be; but Marcus continued his stellar play during his senior year and for the third year in a row, he was selected by the Globe and Herald as an All Stater for 1995. Three years as an All State performer, and one more jewel was added to his crown when Nike chose Marcus to be on its national Top 100 All-American Team. He also won the NCAA Mass. Sportsman of the Year Award for 1995. After four years of varsity basketball, he graduated as the all-time leading scorer in N.B.H.S. history. He still is!

After graduating from N.B.H.S. in 1995, Marcus attended Northeastern University for one year, Olney Central Junior College for one year and the University of Maine for his last two years.

Currently, Marcus lives in Atlanta, GA with his fiancé Erika Barber and his five children.

He is the owner of All Net Athletics and is a basketball trainer.

Megan Bourgeois Dougan's running career at New Bedford High School began as a freshman in 1989 and ended her senior year in 1993. By her senior year, she was named captain of the Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field and Outdoor Track and Field teams.

Under the superb coaching of Hall of Famer, Steve Gardiner, Megan's talent and competitive spirit grew as each year passed. The 1992 Cross Country season proved quite successful for the girls' team. The team finished 6-1 and was the Big Three Conference Champion. A crowning moment for the team was breaking Durfee's five year dual meet winning streak. Megan led the team in all dual meet competitions, losing only a single race. By season's end, Megan ran 17:50 over the 2.85 mile Buttonwood Park home course. This remains the second fastest time in NBHS history.

Success continued on the track for Megan. During her junior year, she broke two school records.

The first, the 4x800 meter relay, came during the Indoor State Championships. She anchored the team that not only won the event, but also broke the state and school records. This earned the team a slot on the Boston Herald All Star roster. The second of Megan's school records, the 800 meter open, came during the Outdoor State Championships. Here, she finished fourth after a runner up performance at the previous week's Class A Championships. Her record time, 2:17.8, held a place in the record books for 17 years. By the 1993 indoor season, Megan landed another spot in the NBHS record books; this time tying the high jump record of 5 feet 2 inches.

Megan was named to both the Standard Times All Star and Big Three All Star teams for six consecutive seasons. In addition, she was named the female Athlete of the Month during her senior year.

Upon graduation, Megan went on to run twelve more seasons for Brown University. She was the recipient of the Unsung Hero Award and also a varsity letter winner. She continued to improve many of her times and was part of the Heptagonal Cross Country Championship team her senior year. Megan continues to run local road races for fun.

Megan earned her Master's Degree in Education from Boston University in 1999. She has taught in both Massachusetts and Connecticut for the past ten years. She is currently taking time away from teaching while she and her husband, Steven, raise their three year old son, Brodie, and their nine month old daughter Isla. The Dougan family resides in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Sue Watkins-Sheppard was a 1988 graduate of New Bedford High School.

During the four years that she attended N.B.H.S., she participated in Cross Country, Winter Track and Spring Track; running in all three varsity sorts for all four of her high school years.

Sue is the current record holder of five events at N.B.H.S. She holds the indoor record for the mile with a time of 5:17 and she holds the outdoor mile record with a time of 5:19. The three other records were set as part of relay teams. They were the indoor distance medley, the outdoor distance medley and the outdoor 4x1 mile relay team.

Of the 12 different seasons in which Sue participated, she was selected as a Standard-Times All Star in 10 of them. She was entered all four of her years at N.B.H.S. in the Eastern MA Division | Cross Country Championship, never finishing below third place. Her major accomplishment came in 1987 when she became the Eastern MA Cross Country Division I champion.

After graduation, Sue attended Providence College and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Since 1992, she has been married to David Sheppard and has lived in the metro area of Atlanta, GA with her husband and two children, daughter Sidney and son Benjamin.

Sue still enjoys recreational running and does so several days a week. She also plays in several tennis leagues in the Atlanta area and has been city champion and state runner-up several times.

Bob Fitzsimmons' high school career began in 1974. He is known as an outstanding baseball and hockey player, but he also played varsity football in his senior year and excelled in that sport as well.

In football he started on offense, defense and as a special teamer. He scored three touchdowns against Fairhaven High from the tailback position. He blocked two punts during the season that went for touchdowns and from his cornerback position, he was cited often in the newspapers for his defensive play.

But it was in baseball and hockey where Bob left his mark. As a baseball player, Bob was the captain of the 1977 team. His outstanding efforts resulted in hi being chosen as the 1977 Most Valuable Player for N.B.H.S. He made the first team SMC All Star Team as a center fielder and also was selected as a SMC Division I All Conference performer at the same position.

Hockey may have been Bob's best sport. He led N.B.H.S. in scoring as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was selected co-captain in his senior year. He was chosen on the first team SMC All Star Team as a sophomore, junior and senior and in his senior year, he was placed on the SMC Division I All Conference Team, chosen Perfection Oil Player of the Week two times and lastly received an award for being picked as a High School All-American.

Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UMass Dartmouth in Sociology and Business Administration. He played four years of varsity hockey during his college career.

Presently Bob lives in Stratham, NH with his wife Joanne and their son, Kyle, and daughter, Megan. He is the president and owner of Trisome Foods, Inc. in Stratham, which specializes in all types of seafood.

John Fernandes was a two sport star while at N.B.H.S. He played junior varsity baseball and basketball during the 1963-64 school year as a sophomore and then was promoted to the varsity level in both sports for his junior and senior years.

John was equally proficient in both sports. He was named captain of the basketball team during his senior year and co-captain of the baseball team. He was selected "Player of the Week" for baseball in his junior year and "Player of the Week" for basketball in his senior year.

But his skills in baseball began to shine more brightly over basketball during his senior year.

While playing the demanding position of shortstop, he batted .317 and was a wizard with the glove. for his efforts, he was picked by the Standard-Times to the all scholastic baseball team. Later he was chosen by the Record American Advertiser as their all-star shortstop for

1966. This honor included the thrill of playing two all-star games at Fenway Park.

With all of his athletic ability, John was also a member of the National Honor Society. He was the total package of a student/athlete, and this fact was recognized when he was named the 1966 recipient of "The James P. Murphy Memorial Award for excellence in character, scholarship and athletics."

John graduated from Stonehill College in 1970 with a major in mathematics. He played varsity basketball for one year and was the starting shortstop on the varsity baseball team for four years.

Later John taught math at N.B.H.S. for 32 years, retiring in 2005. During that time, he was the assistant baseball coach from 1973 to 1982 and the head baseball coach from 1983 to 1990. His teams' record while he was head coach was 107 wins and 51 losses. His final season was his greatest, 20 wins and 5 losses, the last loss being in the State Championship game finals, losing 2 to 0.

The golf bug has bitten John in his retirement and he is learning to master this sport, too. Or so he says!

From out of the storied past of New Bedford High School athletics comes a name that has withstood the test of time.

During the years between 1917 and 1920, Henry Semansky established a reputation of being the finest athlete that N.B.H.S. had ever seen.

Henry dominated three sports during his tenure with N.B.H.S. He played baseball, basketball and football during those three years and was one of the few athletes in N.B.H.S. history to be elected captain of the football and basketball teams.

As a 6 feet 1 inch player on the basketball team, he was a giant compared to other platers, and he used his height and physical prowess to dominate that sport for three years.

But it was in football that Henry dominated most supremely. He was an offensive and defensive end for the Crimson eleven. As mentioned before, his physical stature made him a tough customer to handle.

Two of his greatest games came at the expense of Durfee High and Brockton High, as big a rivalry then as they are now.

In 1918, because of the Spanish flu epidemic, most of that year's schedule was cancelled including the Durfee game.

When schools reopened in early November, the New Bedford-Durfee game was rescheduled for Thanksgiving Day.

After Durfee scored on a recovered fumble and had established a 7:0 lead, Semansky intercepted a Durfee pass and ran 65 yards for a touchdown. He pulled off a second defensive gem by stripping the ball from a Durfee back and racing 40 yards for another TD. His team needed both scored because the two teams played to a 13-13 stalemate.

The next year, 1919, Brockton High came to New Bedford as one of the powers of Massachusetts football. They outweighed New Bedford by an average of 10 pounds per man, but the two teams fought a titanic defensive struggle for the entire first half. At the start of the second half, Brockton's first play from scrimmage resulted in a fumble that New Bedford recovered on the Brockton 20 yard line. New Bedford gained a 1st down to the 9 yard line.

Quarterback Johnny Conway then too a direct snap from center and lofted a pass in the direction of Semansky, who made the catch just inside the goal line. New Bedford made that score hold up by stopping Brockton four times inside the five yard line in the final 10 minutes led by captain Semansky's fierce play.

After three seasons of varsity play, Semansky was called by many, the best player to ever wear the football uniform at N.B.H.S.

After high school, Henry worked his way through the University of Vermont (before scholarships) by waiting tables at the Hotel Vermont. That didn't stop him from making school history as being the only plater ever to captain the football and basketball teams at that university.

Kenny Soares enters the N.B.H.S. All Sports Hall of fame because of his outstanding performance as the head coach of girls' softball for 23 years, 1980-2003. During this period, his teams accomplished an overall record of 331 wins and only 144 losses.

Ken's teams qualified for the state tournament 22 out of 23 years, with 19 of those years consecutive, 1985-2003. N.B.H.S. softball won 13 league championships and 6 Big Three championships. Ken's greatest glory was achieved in 1989, when his team won the Massachusetts State Softball Championship.

During his coaching career, Ken was honored as the Mass. Softball coach of the year twice, in 1987 and 1996.

Ken's coaching career was the culmination of a lifetime of honors that have been bestowed upon him, beginning with his school boy achievements.

he went to New Bedford Vocational High School and he graduated in 1966. He excelled in two sports at Voke, baseball, football and basketball. During his senior tear, he was chosen captain of all three sports teams. Also in 1966 Ken received the Balestracci Award as Athlete of the Year. His athletic achievements gained him entrance to the New Bedford Vocational High School Hall of Fame in 1988.

Ken received a baseball scholarship for Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Alabama. In 1969 he was chosen as a member of the Al Southern Intercollegiate Conference Team. He posted a 10-2 pitching record which helped Tuskegee win its first baseball championship and which led Ken to be named conference "Pitcher of the Year." Ken worked as a New Bedford School Department employee from 1970 to his retirement in 2005. He is married to Cesarina "Zeta" Pinto-Soares. They reside in Acushnet. He has two daughters from a previous marriage, Kelly and Kerin Soares.

Presently Ken spends his time travelling and umpiring college and high school softball and field hockey in the local area.