Legendary Bacon Academy Coach Elected to Hall of Fame

Longtime Bacon Academy head coach Dave Shea was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame last month. Shea (second to left) is pictured with his son, John Shea, along with his granddaughters Caitlin Shea and Cara Shea following a game in 2021.

Dave Shea, a graduate and longtime coach at Bacon Academy, was inducted into the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on April 23.

“Being honored by the prestigious Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame is certainly a highlight of my career,” Shea said in his induction speech at the Cascade in Hamden. “I feel like a pro baseball player that has been playing in the minor leagues for a long time and I’m now getting a call to report to the big leagues.”

A 1952 Bacon Academy graduate, Shea eventually returned to his alma mater and won 778 games and three state championships over 49 seasons on the court, first coaching the boys basketball team and later taking over the girls program. 

In 2000, Bacon Academy honored him while he was still coaching by naming the school’s gymnasium the ‘Dave Shea Gymnasium’.
But long before the gymnasium was named in his honor, Shea was the school’s first 1,000-point scorer in boys’ basketball.

Shea credited his high school basketball coach at Bacon, Hal Judenfriend, with helping him develop as a player and into the coach he would later become. 

“He taught me to respect and appreciate the game, and the virtues of hard work and sacrifice,” stated Shea.

Following his graduation from the University of Connecticut, Shea used those lessons and work ethic that Judenfriend instilled in him to become a coaching legend at Bacon.

He coached the boys basketball team from 1962-1985, amassing a record of 329-168, including the 1981 Class S championship. Beginning in 1993, Shea coached the girls’ basketball program to a 449-140 record over 25 seasons with state championships in 2009 (Class M) and 2012 (Class L). 

Shea joined Bill Reagan (St. Thomas Aquinas boys, Old Saybrook girls) as the second coach in Connecticut history with titles on both the boys and girls sides.

He credited longtime Westbrook girls basketball head coach Pete Shuler for his advice while he was making the translation between coaching the boys and the girls.

Shea recalled Shuler telling him, “Don’t change anything you’re doing basketball-wise for the girls. Basketball is basketball whether you’re coaching boys or girls.”

Regardless if Shea was leading the boys or girls, basketball became a family affair.

He coached his son John Shea, an all-state player who was on the 1981 championship team.  

“It’s special,” John said of his father’s career.  “He’s the rock star of it all. It’s fun to think about his career and all the people he’s helped.”

Along with his son, Shea coached his granddaughter Katie Mahoney, the 2011 Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year and the program’s all-time leading scorer, and also coached his granddaughter Caitlin Shea in her freshman and sophomore seasons prior to his retirement.

Another granddaughter, Cara Shea, is currently a junior and an all-conference basketball player for the Bobcats. 

Shea said family played a major role in his success and thanked his late wife Dorothy, better known as “Dottie”, for her “everlasting encouragement and inspiration.”

During his illustrious tenure at Bacon, Shea was much more than a basketball coach. He worked as an educator for nearly four decades, moving from the science department to guidance and later physical education, where he served as athletic director.

Current Bacon Academy athletic director, Kevin Burke, congratulated Shea on his latest hall of fame induction, calling it, “Another well-deserved accolade for a legendary player, teacher, coach and community member of Colchester/Bacon Academy.”

“Dave's leadership at Bacon Academy goes back to his high school years and continues to this day,” added Burke.

Along with the latest honor, Shea was also inducted into the Connecticut High School Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame in 2004, to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009, and was awarded a Gold Key by the Connecticut Sports Writers’ Alliance in 2012. 

Shea also was a star on the diamond, signing a pro baseball contract with the Philadelphia Athletics before his career was cut short by injury. He went on to win more than 300 games as the Bobcats’ varsity baseball coach — giving him 300 or more wins in three different sports program at Bacon Academy.

“First and foremost I would like to share this honor with my players, who gave 100% effort,” Shea said. “I was very fortunate to have many outstanding players.”

Shea added that administration at Bacon Academy was one of the keys to his longevity as a coach, adding, “No program is without the support of the administration. I was very fortunate to have this kind of support.”

​“The town of Colchester has been great to me,” added Shea. “They gave me the opportunity to teach and coach all of these years and I don’t take it for granted.”