'I’m just a normal dude who happens to be good at football': David Prouty retires Pro Bowler Pat Ricard's No. 42

SPENCER — After undrafted rookie defensive lineman Pat Ricard expanded his game to include playing fullback for the Baltimore Ravens, it required a change in uniform numbers to comply with NFL rules.

The versatility that jump-started a six-year career — and counting — for this four-time Pro Bowler led to a meaningful moment of serendipity.

“I knew it was fate when the No. 42 was available,” Ricard, 28, recalled. “It was like a full-circle moment for me when I chose the same number I wore back in high school.

“So now every time I’m on the field playing, it’s just a constant reminder of where I’m from, the people who grew with me, all the amazing memories, the accomplishments and triumphs I had playing at David Prouty.”

It’s a number that was officially retired by his alma mater Friday night during a community celebration that included family members, friends, fans, former teammates, and past and present school officials among the crowd of 100-plus that packed the banquet room at the Spencer Country Inn.

They turned out to not only honor Ricard for his achievements on the field — with the Panthers, Ravens and University of Maine Black Bears — but for his work off it on behalf of his beloved hometown he resides in during the offseason and plans to retire to once his playing days are over.

“It’s kind of hard to put into words,” Ricard said after signing autographs and posing for photos for 45 minutes following the two-hour tribute. “It just shows how much the community believes in me.

“I think the biggest thing everyone is saying is, it’s just the person I am and not even the player I am on the field. I think that’s what means the most to me.”

Athletic director and master of ceremonies Chuck Fahey, former football coach Andrew Tuccio, Spectrum News 1 sports director/anchor Kevin Shea, Christian Ricard, one of Pat’s five older siblings and his teammate for two seasons, and, of course, the guest of honor took to the podium to share stories and memories that brought lots of laughs, a few tears and a standing ovation or two.

Ricard was a three-sport athlete at Prouty, from which he graduated in 2012 and where he met his wife, Hayley, when the two were sophomores in the same geometry class.

An outfielder in baseball and a sprinter and shot putter — he still holds the school record in the weight event — in indoor track, Ricard, quite literally, made his biggest impact on the football field.

Ricard, who checks in at 6-foot-4 and around 305 pounds these days, was a blocking fullback who, Fahey pointed out, “created the offensive stats for other people.” Defensively, well, dominant and disruptive would best describe this sideline-to-sideline, football-seeking linebacker.

“The one thing you take away from watching him play is his intensity on every single play,” Tuccio said of Ricard, who amassed career totals of 222 tackles, including 101 solo and 27 for a loss, 8 sacks and 3 interceptions. “He gets after it on every single play.”

Twice named a Central Mass. divisional Defensive Player of the Year, Ricard spearheaded a unit that helped the Panthers go 31-6, make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and win one championship during his three varsity seasons.

The most memorable fall came when Ricard was a sophomore in 2009.

Coming off a 2-9 campaign, the tight-knit Panthers defeated Northbridge, 11-7, in the Central Mass. Division 2 Super Bowl to cap a 13-0 campaign and finish undefeated for the first time since 1907, with the only Super Bowl win in program history.

Each of those wins were celebrated with the blasting of Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” in the locker room.

“We had a lot of great wins and some kind of bad losses,” Ricard said, “but that 2009 team will forever be my favorite year of playing football. Hands down.

“We were just really a family. We kept each other accountable and really played for one another.”

Ricard went on to become a third-team All-American as a senior at Maine, from which he graduated with a degree in economics in December 2016. He was signed by the Ravens five months later and has been with Baltimore ever since.

Last March, Ricard re-signed for three years and $11.25 million, a contract that included a $3.465 million bonus and $4.5 million in guaranteed money. That big money hasn’t made him big time.

“Seriously guys, I feel like I’m one of you guys,” Ricard said in closing. “I’m just a normal dude who happens to be good at football.”

And committed to giving back to his community.

Ricard donated his winner’s share of $10,000 to David Prouty following his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2019.

And in July, Ricard, whose nickname is “Pancake Pat” for his devastating blocking ability, and Hayley hosted a pancake breakfast fundraiser that raised approximately $17,500 with the funds divided equally between the David Prouty athletic booster club and the Spencer Firefighters Association.

“When you talk about what Pat has done in giving back … what you do and what you mean to this community, it’s an inspiration,” Shea said.

Ricard’s is the third number retired by David Prouty.

No. 76 in football is retired in honor of 1981 alum Brian Sweeney, who died aboard hijacked United Airlines Flight 175 after it crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11. No. 14 in girls’ soccer is retired in memory of Kaitlyn Langlois, who passed away at the age of 16 following a courageous and lengthy battle with cancer.

—Contact Rich Garven at rgarven@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @RichGarvenTG.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: David Prouty retiring No. 42 pays tribute to Pro Bowler, citizen Pat Ricard