"DINKY" BALLOU
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Walter “Dinky” Ballou was arguably the greatest all-around athlete the town of Burrillville ever produced. "Dinky” accumulated an incredible 17 letters at Burrillville High in 5 different sports (football, basketball, baseball, indoor track and tennis). He was Honorable Mention Class B (1935) and Class C 1st Team catcher (1936-1937) in baseball and All-Class C 3rd Team Full back (1936) and 1st Team half-back (1937) in football. His 1937 baseball (State runner-up) and football teams were Class C Champions. On the basketball court he was an All-Class C 3rd Team (1936) forward and 3rd Team (1937) guard. He was also awarded MVP of his team in 1936. He was also a leader captaining baseball and co-captaining both the football team and basketball teams. Dinky also excelled at tennis going undefeated in doubles in 1937 and 1938 and competed in indoor track for three seasons. Ballou accepted a scholarship to play football at the University of Tennessee before coming home ill in 1940. After recovering, with the help of his grandmother, he received a call from the Boston Red Sox organization to backstop their minor league outfit for a short stint in Pawtucket.
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He even played hockey on the first Bronco hockey team in 1938 before they joined the Interscholastic League in 1940-41. Dinky in fact was responsible for founding the hockey team at Burrillville High. He and a fellow student, Larry St. Jean, were the ones who first asked Principal Callaghan if a hockey team could be formed. They started a club team and in their first game on a pond Dinky scored the school’s first goal in a 4-1 loss to Pomfret Academy. He later turned to coaching as an assistant under Tom Eccleston in football and hockey back at Burrillville High. After coach Eccleston took a position at East Providence High School after the 1942-43 season, Dicky became head coach of the Bronco icemen. In his very first season (1943-44) he led the team to its first hockey state championship beating East Providence (now led by Eccleston) 3-0 in a six-minute overtime on a goal by Olney Ballou followed by two more by George Menard in front of a packed house for the two-game sweep at the Rhode Island Auditorium. He would go onto coach hockey the following season before Eccleston returned to Burrillville to resume teaching and coaching.
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Dinky got his nickname due to hanging with his pal Brink Evans. Friends would see them and say, “Brink and Dink”. He continued playing baseball for several seasons as he led amateur teams in the northern Rhode Island area. He led the Oakland Remcos of the Woonsocket Suburban Baseball League and the Harrisville Cardinals of the Northern Valley Victory League through the 1940s on the diamond. He was also a founding coach of the Burrillville-Glocester Little League in the 1950s while also playing softball in the Burrillville Softball League. He continued to play hockey for the Harrisville Blackhawks and was an excellent bowler in the Stillwater Bowling League. Coach Eccleston once described him as the best all-around athlete he ever had. For his efforts Dinky was inducted into the Burrillville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.
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