Gary Gait Named to Hall of Fame
Published on June 23, 2005 under Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
Chesapeake Bayhawks News Release
Baltimore, MD (June 23, 2005) - Bayhawks Player/Coach Gary Gait was named to the 48th class of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He received the honors with 9 other inductees, including his twin brother and former MLL superstar Paul Gait. The selection for the twin brothers is the capitalization to two of the greatest careers that the sport of lacrosse has ever seen. Gary Gait's career has been so great, that USA Today has dubbed him as the Michael Jordan of Lacrosse in a recent article.
Both Gait brothers started their extremely successful lacrosse careers at Syracuse University. The brothers were both named three time all-American selections and helped the Orangmen win three straight national titles during their college careers. Gary was also named two-time USILA player of the year and set many NCAA records, which still stand today. In addition, Paul was named the most outstanding player of the tournament for his play during the 1989 NCAA lacrosse tournament.
The Gait brothers continued their lacrosse careers into the National Lacrosse League, where the honors and awards kept coming. Paul recently retired from the NLL after a 15-year career that earned him all-pro 8 times and MVP honors for his performance during the 2002 season. While Gary retired from the NLL last season after a career in which, he has been named the MVP of the league a record six times, he is the league's all-time leader in points, he has the record for consecutive all-pro selections, and he was a charter member of the NLL Hall of Fame. Gary was also recently named head coach of the Colorado Mammoth of the NLL, which builds on a coaching career which has already seen him win 9 NCAA championships as a assistant women's coach at Maryland and successfully lead the Baltimore Bayhawks to two playoff appearances.
When the MLL was formed, both Gait brothers were there from the start. And not surprisingly the Gait brothers were still showing stellar play later on in their career. Though Paul's MLL career was relatively short, he still helped Long Island win the 2001 title and earned Championship game MVP honors for his seven-goal performance against the Bayhawks. Gary continues to play in the MLL and is still thriving. He recently set his MLL career high for goals in a game with 6 against the Barrage in a 31-9 Bayhawks victory. Gary is also among the MLL's league leaders in points and goals for this season. In addition, Gary is among the MLL's all-time leaders in points, goals, and overtime goals.
The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame criteria are that their inductees must be 15 years out of college and must be nominated for induction by a questionnaire. Then a national ballot is formed and submitted to the Hall of Fame's random sampling of Hall Fame members, coaches, and other lacrosse officials. Then after the sampling, the nominees are chosen and submitted to the Hall of Fame Board of Directors for the final selection of the inductees.
About the Baltimore Bayhawks
The Baltimore Bayhawks were founded 1999 by Dave Pivec, owner of Pivec Advertising; Chris Hutchins, owner of Bacharach Raisin; Ray Schulmeyer, owner of Schulmeyer Animal Hospital in Baltimore, MD; and Gordon Boone of Ryan Commercial Real Estate. The Bayhawks were the MLL Champions in 2002 and have made the MLL playoffs in every season of the League's operation. The Bayhawks play their home games at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University in Towson, MD. The Bayhawks 2005 season begins in Seattle, Washington on May 28th against the New Jersey Pride; the 2005 home schedule will consist of 6 games beginning on June 5th against the New Jersey Pride. For more information about the Bayhawks, visit www.baltimorebayhawks.com.
Major League Lacrosse Stories from June 23, 2005
- Bayhawks player/coach takes the reins for NLL's Mammoth - Chesapeake Bayhawks
- Gary Gait Named to Hall of Fame - Chesapeake Bayhawks
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