Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1984
- Class:
- 1977
Kevin E. McCabe '77
Hometown:Â Woonsocket, RI
Sport:Â Ice Hockey
Year Inducted:Â 1984
Goalkeeper Kevin McCabe '77 was so invaluable to Brown's hockey teams from 1973 to 1977, it's hard to imagine why he was dubbed "Rebel." Certainly no traitor to his team would pile up statistics like these: Brown career records for saves; tied Brown single-game record for saves (60); set an ECAC playoff record with 55 saves against Boston University in 1975; first team All-Ivy, All-New England, and All-East in 1976, as well as second team All-Ivy in 1975 and 1977. McCabe's efforts in the nets surely had a lot to do with the success of his freshman team, which was undefeated; with the varsity team's defeating Cornell in overtime his sophomore year - the first time since 1963 that Brown had won at Ithaca; an Ivy League championship; and the team's trip to the NCAA Nationals in McCabe's junior year, where the Bruins finished third. It turns out, according to McCabe, that the moniker "Rebel" was directed at his appearance, not his playing or his loyalty to Brown. On the day of the freshman hockey team's first meeting with Coach Dick Toomey during Freshman Week, the goalie from Mount St. Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, showed up "wearing my standard warm weather uniform: ragged patched jeans, bare feet, and a tee-shirt." He also had long hair and a beard. Coach Toomey finished his introductory talk with an admonition to the young players: They were to be clean, presentable, and never sockless. "I don't want any rebels on this team," Toomey added. He pointed to McCabe: "This is how I want you not to look!" McCabe's teammates never forgot the incident, and he was "Rebel" from then on. McCabe had a short pro career in the minor leagues, but a knee injury ended it. He notes with pride, however, that he has retained all his teeth. Today McCabe is a fisherman living in Charlestown, Rhode Island.
