Later this spring, Dave Stenhouse will be inducted into the Rhode Island Interscholastic League Hall of Fame.

David R. Stenhouse – a Westerly native who starred in not one but two sports at the University of Rhode Island and went on to pitch in the major leagues – has distinguished his hometown, state and nation.

And people from all walks of life will tell you he has done so on and off the field.

“Sten,” as he’s been known, has compiled an eye-popping career that includes playing high school, college and professional sports as well as collegiate coaching, business, fundraising and extraordinary community service.

He founded the Rhode Island Baseball Academy in Warwick, which has paved the way for many one-time Ocean State schoolboy stars to crack into the major leagues.

He was a star athlete at Westerly High School before enrolling at URI in 1951 on a baseball and basketball scholarship.

“Sten” was a basketball co-captain with the Rams and was named to All-Yankee Conference and All-New England honors while becoming a member of the 1,000-point club. He also enjoyed a record-setting four-year baseball career in Kingston, where he earned a degree in industrial engineering and later became president of URI’s prestigious alumni booster group known as the Century Club.

In 1962, he became the first rookie in MLB history to start an All-Star game. His pro baseball career included 14 seasons, the last three with the Washington Senators.

“Sten” followed his service in the U.S. Army Reserves when he began a career in the insurance industry in 1966 in Warwick.

However, his community contributions seem endless.

He founded and directed the baseball program of CLCF, and served for three decades as a lector at St. Paul’s Church in Cranston. He was a cub master for Pack 41, and founded the Jimmy Fund Council Golf tournament in 1993, an event that raised over $400,000 for the Dana Farber Institute that honored “Sten” with the 2002 “Jimmy Award.”

Then, in 1968, “Sten” was named head baseball coach at Rhode Island College, and in his 12 years there his Anchormen won over 200 games. In 1980, he became Brown University head baseball coach and recorded 170 Ivy League wins in 10 seasons. He also served as president of the New England College Baseball Coaches Association.

One of his most impressive accomplishments is that “Sten” is the only Rhode Island athlete to win awards in all major categories from Words Unlimited, as he was named RI Schoolboy Athlete of the Year in 1951, RI Athlete of the Year in 1961 and RI Coach of the Year in 1983.

In 1992, he co-founded the RI Baseball Institute in Warwick, which has helped many alumni achieve their goals in the high school, college or pro ranks.

Dave is married to Phyllis DeBiasio, his college sweetheart, and in February they celebrated their 57th anniversary. Their two sons – Mike and Dave – were also sports standouts. Mike was a baseball All-American at Harvard and played five years in MLB, and Dave was an All-American at Holy Cross who also played pro baseball.