For Dick Ponte, it was all about give and take. As an athlete at New Bedford High school he gave his all in taking his football, basketball and track teams to various heights of success through the late 1950s and into the 1960s. Returning to the high school as a coach a decade later, he gave his time and energy to take the track program to similar heights. Ponte was a lineman with the New Bedford football team. He played without fear and was good enough to play on the college level at Southern Connecticut State. In basketball he was a role player, devoting most of his energy to banging bodies with the big boys under the basket. In track, he was Mr. Versatility for both his high school and college teams and competed in various events like the high jump, broad jump, shot put, discus, hammer throw, 220-yard dash, 440-yard run and mile relay. Dick Ponte was a special athlete but hardly a superstar. He would earn that label over the next few decades as a track coach and during his tenure as New Bedford High School’s director of athletics. Ponte was named the high school’s assistant track coach in 1966 after two years of coaching the sport (along with football and basketball) at Roosevelt Junior High School. He took over the head coaching reigns the following year and held that position until tendering his resignation in June of 1978. Under his guidance, the track program flourished. His teams won nine league or conference championships in the Suburban League, Bristol County League and Southeastern Massachusetts Conference. The successful run began in 1970 when both the winter and spring teams captured league championships. The accomplishments were repeated in 1971, 1972, 1976, 1977 and 1978. His 1976 spring team won both the Class A and All-State Championships. Ponte helped craft a host of brilliant individual careers during his reign as head coach. In the 1971 and 1972 track seasons, four of his leading point-getters went on to star at the collegiate level. Under Ponte’s reign, athletics at New Bedford High School experienced an upward swing in both numbers and success. Eighteen teams, encompassing seven sports, were added to the athletic program, including girls indoor track, girls soccer, gymnastics, wrestling, boys volleyball and boys and girls lacrosse. Keith Francis became a world class runner at Boston College, capturing the NCAA indoor 1,000-yard championship and setting a world record in the event as a 17-year-old with a time of 2:07.7. He later competed in both the NCAA and AAU Championships and participated in the Olympic Trials. Rich Nichols, who specialized in the 440, was a star runner for Dartmouth College and was in the heat when Kenya’s Mike Bolt set a world record in the 800-meters with a time of 1:46.0. David Sylvia ran the mile at New Bedford and became the No. 4 man on the University of Tennessee’s national championship cross country team. And Steve Caton, who was Ponte’s 880 man, was running a 4:04 mile at Georgetown before suffering an injury in his sophomore year. Many more individuals ran their way into the headlines while running for the man who preferred to live in virtual anonymity. And, expect for being hailed as Coach of the Year on a few occasions, that’s pretty much how Ponte lived his life through one of the most successful coaching reigns in school history. It wasn’t until after his coaching days were over that Ponte’s leadership qualities were truly appreciated. In 1993, the Massachusetts State Coaches Association rewarded him by inducting Ponte into the Track Coaches Hall of Fame. And, in March of 1994, 12 years after being named director of physical education, health and athletics for more than 16,000 students in the city’s 22 elementary schools, three junior high schools and New Bedford High, Ponte was honored by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association as the 1993 District D Athletic Director of the Year. Under his direction, New Bedford won 12 state titles (including two Super Bowl victories in football) in three school seasons between 1992-1993 and 1994-1995. In 1993, the school was awarded The Boston Globe’s Ernest Dalton Award as the most successful all-around interscholastic program in the state. On July 1, 2001, Dick Ponte resigned his position of director of physical education, health and athletics, ending a 19-year run that capped his 35-year teaching/coaching career. For the man known for giving and taking, it was time to take a walk into the world of retirement.
Inducted: 1993