This is the last in a series of five profiles this week on this year’s inductees into the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame.

Joe Woodhead, assistant track coach at Bates College, used to lend training tapes of Peter Goodrich, demonstrating his expertise in the discuss and hammer, to his athletes – until the videotapes started disappearing.

Apparently, many of the tapes of Goodrich, who won more awards than any Bates track athlete in the college’s history, were never returned.

“But they (tapes) were helpful when I started coaching because Peter was such a genuine athlete,” said the Bobcat men’s and women’s throwing coach, who will be speaking on Goodrich’s behalf when the late track star is inducted in the Auburn-Lewiston Sports Hall of Fame on Sunday.

The beloved athlete and former products manager for MKS Software in Burlington, Mass., was killed at age 33, when his flight, United Airlines Flight 175, slammed into one of the World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001, leaving a wake of sadness and emptiness in the hearts of all who knew the 1989 Bates graduate.

“He and I came in at Bates at the same time,” Woodhead said. “He was really my first big gun in track.”

And, Goodrich didn’t disappoint his proud coach during his four years at Bates. His list of accomplishments remain impressive to this day and tough to top.

Goodrich, affectionately nicknamed “Bear” by his teammates, twice captained the indoor and outdoor track teams.

“He was very natural, very coordinated,” Woodhead said. “He wasn’t a big kid. He was all technique. He was a technician; he was a perfectionist.

“He had a shining personality. He attracted people to him. He was intelligent and a leader. People gravitated to him.”

Woodhead was constantly amazed by Goodrich’s humility, his genuine concern for his teammates and his zest for competition.

“If he had survived that crash, he would not have held any animosity toward the people who were responsible,” said Woodhead, referring to that lurid day in New York City.

During his reign at Bates, Goodrich certainly threw his weight around, becoming the Maine State Champion in the hammer, discus and 35-pound weight in 1987, ’88, and ’89.

Goodrich’s list of accolades goes on and on.

The gentlemanly athlete went on to win the Frederick Tootel Award three times, captured six NESCAC championships, and he was named All-American six times – three times in the hammer, twice in the 35-pound weight and and once in the discus.

“The hammer is a difficult event, and he grasped that very well,” said Woodhead. “He just went in there and took over. He’s the type of guy who makes a coach look good.”

At an Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III men’s track championship at Bates one year, Goodrich heaved the 35-pound weight for an astounding distance of 60 feet, 2 inches. His lob erased the old meet record of 54-8 and broke Bates’ 21-year-old mark in the event.

The late Walter Slovenski, who was the head track coach at Bates when Goodrich came into his own, knew the Berkshire Academy graduate from Williamstown, Mass., would bring prosperity to the Bobcats.

“He’s an amazing all-around athlete,” Slovenski said in 1988. “He has excellent speed, excellent strength and excellent coordination, and that’s the magic ingredients that you will find in a good prospect.”

And those special qualities are the reason why Goodrich will be honored by the Twin Cities on Sunday.

“I think it’s (induction) just terrific. Peter loved track and he loved being at Bates,” said his wife, Rachel, who managed the men’s track team during Goodrich’s dominance. “There can’t be enough ways to remember Peter.

“I am still in touch with so many people at Bates. He loved being on that team.”

Bates did pay tribute to the All-American track star by erecting a memorial with a plaque that reads: “In memory of Peter M. Goodrich ’89. May the sun forever shine upon your face October 1, 1967 September 11, 2001.”

Peter’s dad and mom, Donald and Sally Goodrich will be making the trek from their home in Vermont to attend Sunday’s ceremony.

“We are very touched. It is something he (Peter) would have loved,” said Sally Goodrich.

Donald Goodrich knows his son “would be both proud and pleased” to accept his induction into the A-L Hall of Fame.

“His Bates experience was centered around track and field,” said Donald Goodrich. “What he loved about Bates was the team and being part of the team.

“He was with a terrific group of athletes that knew how to have fun and excel at sports, which is a tribute to Division III.

“It’s just too bad he couldn’t be there for it (induction).”