Dick Leavitt named to Bowdoin Athletic Hall of Honor

Former track All-American and football star Dick Leavitt of Sabattus is among the six inductees that will comprise Bowdoin College’s Athletic Hall of Honor. He is pictured here with his son, Robie, at a 2006 Maine Shrine Lobster Bowl practice. (Sun Journal file photo)

Dick Leavitt’s distinguished two-sport collegiate career is being recognized by Bowdoin College.

Leavitt, of Sabattus, is one of six new inductees into Bowdoin’s Athletic Hall of Honor, the college announced Wednesday.

An Edward Little and Hebron Academy alum, as well as a beloved teacher and coach at several local high schools — including Brunswick, Oak Hill and Lewiston — Leavitt starred in track and field and football at Bowdoin in the mid-1970s.

He was the 1975 NCAA champion and a two-time All-American shot putter. His school records for indoor (54 feet, 7 inches) and outdoor (56-1 1/2) throws still stand.

On the gridiron, Leavitt was a dominant lineman for the Polar Bears, drawing interest from several NFL teams. In the summer of 1976, he joined the Oakland Raiders but was one of the last cuts in training camp. He signed with the New York Giants and played two games as their long snapper at the end of the 1976 season.

Preseason knee injuries kept Leavitt off the field for the next two seasons. He retired and returned to Maine to start a long and distinguished teaching and coaching career, including serving as Brunswick’s head football coach from 1995 to 2004. In 2003, he led the Dragons to the Pine Tree Conference championship and the Class A state championship game, which they lost to Deering.

Joining Leavitt in the in the Class of 2018 is his track and field coach, Frank Sabasteanski, who headed the program from 1955-83, as well as field hockey and ice hockey standout Marissa O’Neil, three-sport star Christine Craig, basketball star Eileen (Flaherty) Moore and football standout Dana Verill.