University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Gerald J. Cassidy 1960 - Baseball, Football
One of the top baseball players in New England from 1958-60, Gerry Cassidy, a 1989 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, earned All-New England and All-Yankee Conference for two consecutive years. Playing for the late Ralph R. Lapointe (UVM baseball coach, 1952-67 and 1969 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee), Cassidy's teams were 55-32 during his three years on the varsity. Gerry co-captained the 1960 team with Charlie Isles, a UVM Athletic Hall of Fame inductee in 1976. He and fellow inductees, Bill Simonds and Isles, were considered three of the top players in the region from 1958-60. A three-year starter at shortstop and /or centerfielder, he hit over .300 each of his three varsity seasons, including a prodigious .375 his junior season. That lofty .375 average still ranks him seventh on UVM's all-time career list for a season batting average. In only 25 games his senior year, he drove in 25 runs, which still ranks him ninth on UVM's season RBI list. Following the season, he received the Charles R. Stroh Trophy, presented annually to the player "who most delivers in the clutch."
After graduation, Gerry signed a contract with the Washington Senators in 1960 and went with the Twins organization when that club moved west to Minnesota. He played his minor league baseball at Wytheville, VA. In the Appalachian League and led the circuit in runs scored. In addition to baseball, Gerry played football for the Catamounts. At UVM, he was a member of the Varsity and Newman Clubs and was an officer in Kappa Sigma fraternity.
