Wakefield Warrior Club

Shawmut Award

The most revered and sought after individual award, which only Wakefield and Melrose football players were eligible to receive, was the Shawmut Thanksgiving Trophy. For 19 years it was given to the outstanding player in the annual Thanksgiving day game and awarded by a committee assigned to evaluate the players in the game. The Trophy was originally funded by the now defunct Melrose-Wakefield Trust Company in 1968 and continued even after Shawmut assumed control of the bank.

The first recipient of the Shawmut Award in 1968 was Melrose player Steve Skane and the last recipients in 1986 were Wakefield players Tito Raymond and David Healey. That final shared award in 1986 marked the one and only time there was a tie in votes for the award. It was the second year in a row Tito Raymond won the award which put him in the same elite category as Melrose player Kevin McCormack as the only players to have the distinction of winning this coveted trophy twice. Melrose players received the award 11 times with 8 going to Wakefield.

It is not general knowledge why the Shawmut award was discontinued. Shawmut’s name and logo were eventually retired in 1995 as a result of the merger of Shawmut National Corporation and Fleet Financial Group but that was nine years after the award ceased to exist.