Every year, an impressive list of individuals is inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

You don’t get selected into any Hall of Fame without compiling impressive credentials.

But this year’s group of six inductees is unique.

They weren’t just highly successful.

Hockey coach Shawn Walsh, veteran trainer Wes Jordan, three-sports standouts Nat Crowley and Ann England-Maxim, soccer goalie Jeff Spring and wide receiver Sergio Hebra were overachievers who greatly impacted those around them.

When Shawn Walsh inherited the Black Bear hockey program in 1984, the Bears had gone 11-52 in ECAC play in its previous three seasons.

He not only built the program into a two-time NCAA champion, he made sure there was tremendous consistency, as evidenced by their 11 NCAA Tournament appearances.

He always had players in the background ready to step in and continue the tradition.

He was equally adept at selling his program and making people throughout the state feel that this was their program.

Wes Jordan, in his 32 years as the trainer at Maine, became one of the most popular figures throughout the northeast. He became like a second father to many Black Bear athletes and the impact he made through his development of student-trainers will be felt for a very long time. This will be the fourth Hall of Fame in which Jordan has been inducted.

Walsh and Jordan both died of cancer within the last 11 months but their legacies will live on.

Then you have Nat Crowley and Anne England Maxim, who not only starred in three sports apiece at Maine and were team captains, they went on to impart the wisdom they accrued through their illustrious careers on to other athletes.

Crowley went on to coach three high school sports and England Maxim coached track and field along with cross country for eight seasons at Maine.

Hebra wasn’t particularly fast or big. He stood 5-foot-11, weighed 180 pounds and ran a mediocre 4.8 40-yard dash.

But he was fearless, he ran good routes and he loved the challenge of going one-on-one with a defensive back and beating him. That led to him becoming the only receiver in the school’s history to catch 50 or more passes three years in a row.

Spring put the Maine soccer program on the map. He was an intense and aggressive goalie who knew how to play the position. He gave his teammates confidence and was one of the primary reasons the team was ranked in the top 10 in New England in all four of his seasons.

Spring’s contribution to the school has gone beyond the soccer field as his company, Modern Art Foundry Inc., crafted the Harold Alfond statue at Alfond Stadium.

Don’t expect baseball strike

There won’t be a major league baseball strike. There simply can’t be.

The nation has endured a terrorist attack and is currently trying to survive an unpredictable stock market.

The players and owners would have to put their own greed ahead of the country’s best interests to go out on strike.

I have faith that the owners and players will recognize that a hurting nation needs them and will solve their issues or wait until after the World Series to reach a deal.

Larry Mahoney can be reached at 1-800-310-8600, 990-8231 or e-mail at lmahoney@bangordailynews.net.