Thomas Ganey, inductee into the 2008 Auburn High School Athletic Hall of Fame, had the good fortune to be in the right place at the right time as a young athlete.

While Ganey said that he was involved with many sports growing up, from the time he was 7, hockey was a fixture in his life.

“I started playing hockey in the late 60s,” Ganey said. “We used to play on a natural rink at Casey Park. My uncle Joe got me involved. He was a member of the Elk's Club. The Elk's sponsored the first couple of teams around here.”

Ganey also had a great love for baseball growing up.

Ganey was a west side child and only lived a short distance from Falcon Park, which in many ways became his second home.

Ganey recalled that in the 60s, one of his first and most enjoyable jobs was as a bat boy at Falcon Park.

And while Ganey would go on to play freshman baseball, much of his focus remained on hockey, playing with a junior team out of Skaneateles during his high school years.

After graduating, Ganey went to then Auburn Community College and took a job with the National Bank of Auburn and would go on to further his banking career, studying in the bank management program through Fairfield University in Wisconsin.

Presently, Ganey is the CEO of Savannah Bank in Auburn.

In 1982, Ganey was presented with what would prove to be one of the great opportunities of his life.

By this time, Auburn had established its own high school hockey program, but at this point in time the program was struggling with a lot of fighting on the ice and the district administration was considering cutting the sport.

Ganey was offered the chance to coach for one season and see if he could help turn things around.

That one season quickly turned into a decade of coaching the high school program.

“The high school was having a tough year,” Ganey said.

“The AD called and asked if I'd be interested in coaching. I went back to my boss at the bank and they were very supportive of it and told me go ahead. I had to go back to the office a lot of times after practice to get work done, but we made it work.” Ganey ultimately spent 34 years as a coach with the Auburn Hockey Club and also served as a board member and coach with the Auburn Little League program for a number of years.

But it was the high school hockey program and Ganey's contributions that helped secure his place in the hall of fame.

Ganey said that his first season, the team was moved from Division I to Division II, where Auburn played some solid hockey, but the team was eventually moved back to Division I.

“We played some very competitive hockey,” Ganey said.

“We made sectionals; we made it to the quarterfinals in the state. It was really a great opportunity for me and I got to know some great kids. And I still see some of them now and they still look to me for advice. It is great to see them now with their own kids.”

Under Ganey's guidance Auburn would earn two Division I championships.

Since hanging up his skates in 1990, Ganey said that he still follows the high school team and regularly attends home games at Casey Park.

And since 1998, Ganey has been following his other love from his youth, baseball.

For the past decade, Ganey has served as the CEO of the Auburn Doubledays, a big step up from his position with the club in the 60s.

But to receive recognition and induction into the hall of fame is perhaps one of the greatest highlights of Ganey's athletic career.

“It is a great honor,” Ganey said.

“Hockey has always been a valuable and important part of my life. But this has to be one of the best recognitions I've ever received.”