VERMONT SPORTS HALL OF FAME

Photo Credit: Saint Michael's Athletic Comm.

South Burlington

Basketball: player-coach-contributor

Inducted 2026

One of the top collegiate players in the state’s history, Richard ‘Dick’ Falkenbush stayed in Vermont as an exceptional high school coach for 35-plus years. He also helped start one of northern Vermont’s top youth basketball development leagues. 

After an outstanding prep career in Pittsfield, Mass., Falkenbush came to Saint Michael’s College in the mid-60s and went on to be one of the school’s all-time top scorers, scoring 1,431 points in just three seasons, second highest at the time only behind VSHOF inductee Rich Tarrant. When inducted into the SMC Hall of Fame for hoops and golf in 1988, he still held five SMC scoring records including the single-game scoring record of 51 points against Hartwick in 1967.

He led the Purple Knights to the 1967 New England Division II title and the NCAA College Division (now D-II) “Sweet 16’ in 1967 and he was named MVP and All-Tournament for the championship tourney. He was a UPI All-American in 1967 and a starter that year in the New England College All-Star Game. Falkenbush was drafted in the 9th round of the 1967 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Hawks and also selected that year in the inaugural ABA Draft.

He eventually went into high school teaching (40 years) and coaching (35 years) in Vermont. He started as a JV coach at Winooski High and was the first head coach at Colchester High in 1976. He went on to teach and coach at Burlington High, winning 276 games in 21 seasons at BHS including the 1996 state title. 

In one of his biggest accomplishments, he helped countless young boys and girls players in the Chittenden County region by creating the Mini-Metro Basketball League along with other area high school coaches. Mini-Metro, for fifth through eighth graders, is still going strong after 15-plus years with over 130 teams all over the state.   

Falkenbush was a golfer at Saint Michael’s and still competes in Chittenden County. After college he taught the sport at several area courses.

His #32 jersey at Saint Michael’s was retired in 1969, two years after graduation. He has been inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame (2019), the SMC Athletic Hall of Fame (1988) and the Pittsfield (Mass.) Hoop Club Hall of Fame. He was one of several great Pittsfield athletes from the early 1960s including baseball major leaguers Mark Belanger and Tom Grieve.