Andrew J. Santos ’52*

Athlete

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Golf

Andy Santos, a lifelong resident of Marion, was the son of Cape Verdean immigrants who settled in town during the Great Depression. He attended Marion's public elementary schools in the WWII era and spent summers caddying at the newly built Kittansett Club, where he also picked up the game of golf. Andy enrolled at Tabor Academy as a four-year day student in 1948, where he excelled academically and athletically and was one of Tabor's earliest students of color.

Despite the challenges of the time, he excelled academically achieving Honor Roll status for three years. He was elected to the student council by his peers and received the Harvard Club of New Bedford prize for high standing in scholarship and character. He had a very successful athletic career at Tabor where he received the basketball trophy, was voted best overall athlete in his senior class, and was named captain of the basketball and golf teams. He played a critical role on the golf team, after switching from baseball, holding the number two spot on the 12-man varsity squad which saw a 9-4 record his senior year. “Santos is the symbol of a type of athlete of which the school should be most proud,” noted The Log. 

Santos attended Williams College where he continued to play football, golf, and most notably basketball. He was a member of the famous 1955 squad that was invited to “the big dance,” the NCAA D-I Tournament. Coached by Al Shaw, they lit up Rhode Island 107-75, an impressive spread in the time before the 3-point shot. They played Canisius in the original Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Ephs went 17-1 in the tournament losing only at Amherst. The Williams team was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in September of 2003.

After college, Santos served in the U.S. Army from 1957-1959 and in the Army reserves. After working in banking and the Model Cities federal program in New Bedford during the 1960s and early 1970s, he joined the Old Rochester Regional School District as business manager in 1972. He retired as Associate Superintendent of Finance in 1998. Santos came out of retirement to again serve ORR as temporary Athletic Director, assistant golf coach, and later head golf coach until 2012. His teams enjoyed great success during his tenure capturing 4 SCC Championships, 5 SCC tournament championships and a record of 119-17-3. He was inducted into the ORR Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. Andy and his wife Marianne raised their three children in Marion and were married for 64 years when he passed away in March of 2024.