Gerard D. Shea has been elected to the Northeastern Hall of Fame for his achievements in the sport of football.
Shea, Class of 1978, earned three letters as a defensive lineman and captained the 1975 football team. The Shea story was an unusual one. After graduating from Matignon High School in 1968, the Cambridge, Mass. native began working for his father. As the war in Vietnam reached its apex in 1970, he was drafted into the Marines. While stationed in Okinawa, Shea's supply depot was adjacent to the football field. A former player at Matignon, he asked permission to try out for the team, which was stocked with former high school and collegiate stars. Shea made it.
During his tour of duty at Okinawa he was writing to his brother Bill about his football achievements. Bill, a former football and baseball star at NU, kept football coach Bo Lyons updated. When his tour of duty was finished, Shea returned home and enrolled at Northeastern. He spent his freshman year of 1972-73 catching up on being a student; his high school days at Matignon had been four years ago. As a sophomore, however, he was back in pads again and played for the Huskies on special teams while also seeing some spot duty on the defensive line.
Shea became a starting defensive end as a junior on a Husky eleven that enjoyed a 6-4 season in 1974. After the season he received the ultimate compliment. The old man - the ex-marine turned student-athlete - was elected as the solo captain of the 1975 team.
The first half of the '75 season featured upsets of Rhode Island and crosstown rival Boston University. It also featured the stellar line play of Shea. The second half of the campaign, though, saw nothing but injury after injury, climaxing in a UNH contest in which 20 of 22 starters were out. Among the injured was the captain. A broken hand against UMass in game four only slowed him, but a serious knee injury in game five ended his playing career. However, he remained the quintessential captain for the rest of the season. At the awards banquet he earned the Zabilski Award for outstanding contribution to Northeastern football.
Coach Lyons recognized a true leader and added Shea to his staff the next season where he remained for five years.
