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Portrait of Tom DeCosta, Class of 1970, Old Rochester Regional Athletic Hall of Fame
2014

Tom DeCosta

Basketball, Football, Baseball
Induction Year
2014
Category
Athlete
Class of
1970

Hall of Fame Plaque Biography

Tom Decosta earned 11 varsity letters during his 4 years at ORR. He was a standout 4-year starter on the basketball team, was named team MVP his sophomore year, and was a league all star. Playing center, he set a school record for rebounds in a single game (30). In football, Tom played end and tackle and was both a Standard-Times and league all star. In baseball, he earned 4 letters as a pitcher and first basemen. Tom went on to serve as a football coach for ORRHS.

Original Hall of Fame Plaque

Official 2014 Old Rochester Regional Athletic Hall of Fame plaque for Tom DeCosta

THE COMPLETE STORY

Expanded Historical Profile

Tom “Tommy” DeCosta, a member of Old Rochester Regional’s Class of 1970, earned 11 varsity letters during his four years at ORR. His 2014 Hall of Fame plaque describes a four-year basketball starter who was named team MVP as a sophomore and earned league All-Star recognition. Playing center, he set a school record with 30 rebounds in a single game.

DeCosta played end and tackle in football, earning Standard-Times and league All-Star honors. In baseball, he earned four letters as a pitcher and first baseman. The earlier Hall website biography also records his participation in football, basketball and baseball from eighth grade in 1966 through graduation, and a special school award for competing in three sports for five years.

The earlier website account dates his later service as an ORR varsity football coach to 1991–99. That induction-era account records his operation of Cape and Islands Plastering Company and service on the board of Mercy Meals and More in New Bedford. ORR inducted him in 2014.

ARCHIVAL MEDIA

Photo Gallery

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

Tom DeCosta’s complete 2014 Hall of Fame display.
Tom DeCosta’s complete 2014 Hall of Fame display.
ORR’s football team, with T. DeCosta listed in the first row of the yearbook caption.
ORR’s football team, with T. DeCosta listed in the first row of the yearbook caption.
Coaches Velesig, Perry and Oliva with D. Gomes, J. McGarvey and T. DeCosta, identified on the yearbook’s Coaches and Captains page.
Coaches Velesig, Perry and Oliva with D. Gomes, J. McGarvey and T. DeCosta, identified on the yearbook’s Coaches and Captains page.

INDUCTION CEREMONY

Watch the Hall of Fame moment

Watch induction ceremony →
01:01:20

Timestamp from the Vimeo description for the 2014 ORRAHOF Induction Banquet.

SOURCES & HISTORICAL NOTES

Documenting the record

The plaque biography is transcribed directly from the original physical 2014 plaque photograph IMG_1832.HEIC. The printed “Tom Decosta” and “first basemen” wording is preserved.

The expanded history distinguishes the physical plaque’s 11 varsity letters and 30-rebound game from the earlier 2014 Hall website account of eighth-grade participation, the five-year three-sport award, 1991–99 coaching service, business and community roles.

The gallery includes the complete 2014 Hall display, IMG_1833.HEIC; the football team page, IMG_1242.HEIC, whose roster names T. DeCosta in the first row; and the Coaches and Captains page, IMG_1243.HEIC, naming Coaches Velesig, Perry and Oliva with D. Gomes, J. McGarvey and T. DeCosta. Originals remain in the Hall archive. The ceremony link follows the 2014 recording’s labeled segment.

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