Thurlow Cooper and Chris Keating to be Inducted Into Ring of Honor
ORONO, Maine – The University of Maine Black Bear Football Program and Head Coach Jack Cosgrove have announced that Thurlow Cooper and Chris Keating will become the third and fourth members of the program's Ring of Honor.
"It is a great privilege to announce the induction of Thurlow Cooper and Chris Keating to out Ring of Honor," said Cosgrove. "This honor is the highest recognition a UMaine Football student-athlete can receive and these are two of the finest players to ever wear the blue and white.
Cooper, class of 1957, who played from 1954-56, was a two-time All-Yankee Conference end. He amassed 29 catches for 518 yards and eight scores. He would get drafted in the 16th round of the 1956 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
Cooper would go on to play for the New York Titans of the American Football League, playing in 41 career games and making 36 catches for 491 yards and eight touchdowns.
He was inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 1988 and will be inducted into the Ring of Honor posthumously as he passed away in 2008.
Keating, class of 1979, led the team in tackles for three-straight seasons.
In 1976, he notched 197 tackles and four interceptions while earning All-New England honors.
He followed that up with 138 tackles in 1977 and in 1978 was named an All-East linebacker before signing with the Buffalo Bills.
Keating would go on to play six seasons and 74 games with the Bills and 10 games with the Washington Redskins, amassing a pair of sacks and three interceptions.
He is also a UMaine Sports Hall of Fame Inductee, class of 1991.
The two will join linebacker John Huard and coach Harold Westerman as members of the Ring of Honor during the Black Bears' Homecoming game against Rhode Island on Oct. 15.
The Ring of Honor was established in 2005 to recognize and honor the most outstanding football student-athletes in the program's history.
