Coach Richard “Dick” Atkinson is not just a legend at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School – he is among the most influential and beloved figures in the Western Massachusetts running community. A 1950 graduate of Revere High School, Coach Atkinson served in the United States Army and then attended the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, where he was teammates with Charles Leverone (HOF 2003). Following graduation he started a long and legendary career at Southwick-Tolland Regional High School teaching mathematics and coaching both cross country and track. Coach Atkinson’s track teams won the division 2 sectional championship in 2007 and 2008. Athletes coached by Dick won the sectional cross country title ten times, with Stetson Arnold going on to win the state meet in 1973. Oddly enough it is indoor track in which Coach A. has left his longest lasting mark. In 1968, with no indoor track programs in the western part of the state, Dick started an informal indoor program with a couple of dozen athletes using space at UMass and Amherst College. His fond memories of running the boards at the Newton Street Armory eventually gave rise to what is now the Pioneer Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference indoor track program with 28 schools organized into four leagues.
Inducted: 1986