Doug Yingst, Dave Fenyves to be inducted into Hershey Bears Hall of Fame

The Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame Committee announced Thursday afternoon the 2017 Hall of Fame class. The class will include four inductees: Dave Fenyves, Andre Gill, Randy Waybright, and Doug Yingst.

Yingst worked for Hershey for 34-years and retired as President and General Manager of the Bears in 2016. He and was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame over the All-Star break last season.

Randy Waybright is a former Bears off-ice official, working over 1,600 games for the Bears. He spent 48-years as the supervisor of off-ice officials for Hershey, retiring after the 2015-16 season.

Andre Gill is third in wins and games played all-time for a goaltender for Hershey. A member of the 1969 Calder Cup team, Gill spent 11-years in Chocolate Town from 1962 to 1972. Gill passed away at the game of 73 in 2014.

Dave Fenyves was the captain of the 1988 Calder Cup championship team, a team that went 12-0 in the playoffs that season. One of only two Bears players to win the Eddie Shore Award for Outstanding Defenseman, Fenyves is ranked fourth in Bears scoring for a d-man. Fenyves is one of only two players in AHL history to captain back-to-back Calder Cups with two different teams after winning the 1987 Calder Cup with Rochester (Boyd Kane: 2005, 2006).

All four men will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on December 16th prior to the game.

(Hershey, PA- October 26, 2017)- The Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame Committee today announced the four people selected for induction into the Class of 2017. The announcement was made by Bears Vice President of Hockey Operations Bryan Helmer.

Honored by the Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame Committee as the sixth group of enshrinees are Dave Fenyves (player), Andre Gill (player), Doug Yingst (builder) and Randy Waybright (general).

“We are honored to announce the Class of 2017,” said Helmer. “The Hershey Bears have a rich history of tradition, and each of these inductees have made a long-lasting impact on our organization. They will join an exclusive club of the best players, coaches, and executives that have ever represented the Chocolate and White. We are thrilled to recognize the Class of 2017 and give them the everlasting acknowledgement they deserve.”

The Class of 2017 will be inducted on Saturday, December 16, prior to the puck drop between the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins at Giant Center. The Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame is housed on the Giant Center concourse.

Dave Fenyves
Dave Fenyves played for the Bears from 1987-93 and is ranked fourth in club history in scoring among defensemen (217 points in 359 games). A native of Dunnville, Ontario, Fenyves was named the winner of the Eddie Shore Award in 1987-88 and 1988-89 as the American Hockey League’s outstanding defenseman and was an AHL First Team All-Star both seasons. Marc Reaume (1962-63) is the only other Hershey player who has won the Eddie Shore Award. Fenyves is one of just four players in AHL history to win the Eddie Shore Award in consecutive seasons. Fenyves captained Hershey to a 50-win season and the Calder Cup in 1987-88, when the Bears went an unprecedented 12-0 in the playoffs. He also captained the Rochester Americans to the Calder Cup in 1986-87, when he won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs, and was the first player in AHL history to captain different teams to the Calder Cup in consecutive seasons. That feat has only been matched by Boyd Kane (Philadelphia Phantoms 2004-05 and Hershey 2005-06). Fenyves also played 206 career NHL games with the Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers.

Andre Gill
Andre Gill played for the Bears from 1962-72 and ranks third in club history in goalie wins (139), third in goalie games played (309) and sixth in shutouts (12). A native of Sorel, Quebec, Gill won the AHL’s Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award with Hershey in 1966-67, when he led the league with four shutouts and won 28 games, and was an AHL First Team All-Star. Prior to 1972, the award was given to the goaltender with the lowest goals-against average who appeared in at least 50 percent of his team’s regular-season games. Gill, Bobby Perreault (1958-59) and J.F. Labbe (1996-97) are the only Hershey goalies who have won the Harry “Hap” Holmes Memorial Award. Gill, who played at 5-foot-7, 145 pounds, signed with the newly founded World Hockey Association in 1972 and played two seasons for the Chicago Cougars. Gill passed away in 2014 at age 73.

Doug Yingst
Doug Yingst worked in Hershey’s front office from 1982 until his retirement in 2016 and was part of five Calder Cup championships (1987-88, 1996-97, 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2009-10) during his 34-year tenure. A native of Palmyra, Yingst served roles as Sales and Promotions Director, Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations before becoming General Manager in 1996 and adding the title of team President in 1998. His four Calder Cups as a general manager are tied for the most in AHL history with Frank Mathers, his Hershey mentor. Yingst oversaw the club’s transition from Hersheypark Arena to Giant Center in 2002 and the Bears led the AHL in attendance during his final 10 seasons (2006-16). A long-time member of the AHL’s Board of Governors, Yingst played a seminal role in bringing the AHL All-Star Classic to Hershey in 1996 and 2011 and spearheaded the effort when the franchise hosted its first Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium in 2013. Yingst brokered an affiliation with the Washington Capitals in 2005, still ongoing, that led to the greatest five-year run by any team in AHL history, with three Calder Cups, another Calder Cup Finals appearance in 2006-07 and a league-record, 60-win season in 2009-10. He won the AHL’s Ken McKenzie Award (outstanding promotion of his club) in 1988, the James C. Hendy Award (AHL’s outstanding executive) in 2000 and 2006, and received the Thomas Ebright Award in 2008 for outstanding contributions to the league. Yingst was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2017.

Randy Waybright
Randy Waybright worked 48 seasons as Hershey’s supervisor of off-ice officials, leading a crew widely recognized as the best in the AHL. A native of Hershey, Waybright worked more than 1,620 games. At the time of his retirement, following the 2015-16 season, he directed a crew of 21 off-ice officials who had served an average of 19.5 years under his leadership. Waybright is the longest-serving team supervisor of off-ice officials in AHL history.

Hershey Bears Hockey Club Hall of Fame Committee members: Bryan Helmer, Vice President of Hockey Operations of the Hershey Bears; John Lawn, President-CEO of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company (ex officio); Doug Yingst, retired President-General Manager of the Hershey Bears; J. Bruce McKinney, retired President, CEO and Chairman of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company; Ken Hatt, late President and COO of HERCO; Dr. Bob Goodman, AHL linesman; Dave Parro, President of the Hershey Bears Alumni Association; Don Scott, former Hershey Bears public address announcer; Randy Waybright, retired Hershey Bears supervisor of off-ice officials; Vikki Hultquist, Managing Director of Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company; Maria Stouffer, Hershey Bears manager of business services; and Tim Leone, former reporter-columnist of The Patriot-News.