Craig R. Sherman | ORR Athletic Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame Plaque Biography

Craig Sherman was an outstanding athlete as well as an outstanding coach at ORR. He participated in track and field and football for his four high school years. He was a member of the undefeated 65-66 football team and he was largely responsible for only allowing competitive opponents to score 16 total points against ORR over their entire football season that year.

Craig has coached football for 50 years: 11 years at Wareham High, 1 at Bridgewater-Raynham, 2 at Middleboro, and 2 at Mass Maritime Academy. He spent 34 years at ORR, 18 years as ORR Head Coach and 16 as an ORR assistant. His record speaks for itself: Coach Sherman was involved in all but 2 of Old Rochester’s championships. He was named Division IV Coach of the Year by the Boston Globe in 1993 and 2002. His overall record at ORR was 113 wins-69 losses -5 ties. In 2010 Craig was selected to the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame. Locally he was selected to Buddy Thomas’ New Bedford Standard Times top 50 “Coaching Legends”. Craig is a welcome addition to the Old Rochester Regional Athletics Hall of Fame!

Original Hall of Fame Plaque

Close readable view of Craig R. Sherman’s 2024 Old Rochester Regional Athletic Hall of Fame plaque citation

THE COMPLETE STORY

Expanded Historical Profile

A Bulldog Across Generations

Craig R. Sherman’s place in Old Rochester football history spans both sides of the sideline. A member of the Class of 1967, Sherman competed in football and track and field throughout his four years at ORR. He was part of the undefeated 1965–66 football team, one of the program’s formative championship-era teams, whose defense allowed only 16 points over the season.

From ORR Athlete to ORR Coach

Sherman later returned to Old Rochester and became one of the defining football coaches in school history. Over 34 years with the Bulldogs, he served 16 years as an assistant coach and 18 years as head coach. His head-coaching record at ORR was 113 wins, 69 losses and 5 ties, and his long tenure connected multiple generations of Bulldog football.

Championship Leadership

The 1993 season stands among the high points of Sherman’s coaching career. Old Rochester completed an undefeated season as the Division 4 Eastern Massachusetts Super Bowl champion. The Bulldogs defeated Bourne 28–0, Apponequet 24–6 and East Bridgewater 21–7, and seven ORR players earned South Coast Conference All-Star recognition. Sherman was named the Boston Globe Division IV Coach of the Year for 1993 and received the honor again in 2002.

A Lasting ORR Legacy

His 2024 induction record credits Sherman with involvement in all but two of Old Rochester’s football championships. His impact at ORR was not limited to a single team or championship season; it stretched from his own playing days in the 1960s through decades of coaching Bulldogs who followed him.

His coaching career was recognized beyond Old Rochester when he was inducted into the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2010. He was also included among Buddy Thomas’ New Bedford Standard-Times top 50 coaching legends. Those honors reinforce what his ORR career already demonstrates: Craig Sherman’s Hall of Fame story is fundamentally the story of a Bulldog athlete who returned to help shape the program for generations.

The induction biography places those 34 ORR years within a 50-year football coaching career. It also records 11 years at Wareham, one at Bridgewater-Raynham, two at Middleborough and two at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. That wider experience forms the background to his long service with the Bulldogs.

ARCHIVAL MEDIA

Photo Gallery

Historical photographs, action images, team photographs and later-life images will be assembled here as verified source material becomes available.

Craig R. Sherman coaching Old Rochester Regional football on the field

Old Rochester Regional football captains pictured with Coach Craig Sherman in a yearbook photograph

ORR’s undefeated 1993 Division 4A Super Bowl championship team, coached by Craig Sherman.

ORR football yearbook page; the printed roster names C. Sherman.

Craig Sherman and Bonnie Pierce, identified as “Most Poised” in the original ORR yearbook.

INDUCTION CEREMONY

Watch the Hall of Fame moment

Watch induction ceremony →

00:55:07

Timestamp listed in the Vimeo description for the 2024 ORRAHOF Inductions Ceremony.

SOURCES & HISTORICAL NOTES

Documenting the record

October 16, 2026: plaque biography reconciled directly against the existing photograph of the physical 2024 plaque. The inscription matches. Printed errors and induction-era claims remain part of the plaque record; this is not independent verification of every historical claim. No photographs were added or changed.

Physical source: IMG_1783.JPEG; compared with the actual mounted plaque, separately from manufacturer artwork.

Official plaque biography verified against the original 2024 ORRAHOF manufacturer plaque artwork. Expanded historical profile preserves the plaque-confirmed ORR career totals and honors. The 1993 season details are supported by contemporaneous ORR historical material documenting the undefeated Division 4 Eastern Massachusetts Super Bowl championship season, including wins over Bourne (28–0), Apponequet (24–6), and East Bridgewater (21–7), and seven South Coast Conference All-Stars.

October 10, 2026: original yearbook material was reviewed and added to the gallery. Captions follow printed labels or describe the team/page without asserting uncertain individual identities. Original files remain in the Hall archive; publication copies use format conversion only.

October 14, 2026: text-only editorial review against the existing Hall biography and source notes. Adds the omitted, plaque-supported coaching service beyond ORR with induction-era dating. This review does not certify an exact physical-plaque match or current record status.

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Expanded profile intentionally emphasizes Craig Sherman’s Old Rochester playing and coaching career. Non-ORR coaching stops are preserved in the official plaque biography but are not expanded here because his ORRAHOF induction and historical impact center on Old Rochester.