University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
James Farrell 1982 - Baseball
This former star outfielder set a Vermont record for hits in a season (45) and was one of the team leaders when the Catamounts set a then-school record for most wins (22) in 1981. Along with Hall of Famer Kirk McCaskill and current baseball coach Bill Currier, James Farrell, a 1996 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was one of the offensive leaders that led the Catamounts to the championship game of the 1981 ECAC New England Regionals.
The Cats were 22-15 that year, with Farrell and teammate Mike Pash as captains and current Clemson coach Jack Leggett in charge in the dugout. Farrell hit .349 with 24 RBI that season, one of the top 25 offensive seasons in UVM history, and finished second to McCaskill on the team in hitting. In the field, Farrell had two errors in 64 chances in 1981, and he led the team in hits with 45. Dan Gasparino, a UVM Hall of Famer, and Pash each recorded 44 hits that season.
His record for most hits in a season has since been topped, but is still among the top 10 seasons of all time. For his career, Farrell hit .314 (88-for-280), among the top 20 averages in UVM history. He also had only four errors in the field in 130 chances, and recorded nine assists from the outfield.
"Jimmy didn't run well, he didn't throw well, but he always put the ball in play," Currier remembered. "Whenever a big hit was in order, you wanted Jimmy Farrell at the plate. He would use the whole field, and he had nerves of steel." "He just hit and hit and hit," Currier continued. "He was the perfect number-two hitter because he had great bat control and a great eye."
As a sophomore, Farrell hit .333 and tied Gasparino and Craig Ramini for the team lead in hits with 22, and banged in 11 runs. In 1980, Farrell had 21 hits in 85 at-bats and scored 10 runs while walking 22 times.
A two-time winner of the Ralph R. Lapointe Award (1981, 1982), an award presented in the memory of the late baseball coach honoring a player who exemplifies the qualities of leadership, dedication, loyalty in making an outstanding contribution to the University of Vermont baseball program. In 1981, Farrell was named co-Physical Education major of the year. Farrell is co-owner of Farrell-Seward Inc., an excavation concern. He and his wife, Laura, have two sons, Bobby and Brad.
