COLLINGSWOOD HIGH SCHOOL - Key Persons
Popular coach Al Drulis was honored as South Jersey "Coach of the Year." Fullback-linebacker Lew Sweigart was South Jersey "Back of the Year" and both Sweigart and center Dave Crossan were first-team All-State selections. Quarterback Ron Giordano, end John Reier and guard Rich DiDio joined Sweigart and Crossan as first-team All-South Jersey Group 4 choices, while wingback Jerry Mangano and tackle Bruce Smith were second-team choices. Honorable mention went to end Jerry Groom, tackle Wayne Divis, guard Fran Stackenwalt and tailback Bob Young.
Few individuals have given more to the Collingswood High School athletic program than Al Drulis. After playing football at Temple University and with the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League, Al arrived in Collingswood in the late 1940's.
He is best known for serving as head coach of the all-conquering 1958 football squad, the fabled Golden Eleven. That, however, is only a small part of the services he has rendered. He was assistant coach on the 1953 South Jersey basketball squad and has been an assistant in a variety of sports.
For many years he was the capable and dedicated trainer of Panther athletic squads. There, quite simply, was nothing that was needed that Al did not provide. His contributions have been unlimited.
Al Ferner was a key player on Coach Jack McCloskey's South Jersey Group 4 championship basketball team of 1953. The next season he set a school scoring record and was named the outstanding player on a team which reached the sectional finals.
In football he earned All-Group 4 honors as an end who was a brilliant pass receiver
and competent blocker. He lettered in baseball as a player who willingly served in a variety of positions, including catcher.
Al Harris is being inducted for his many contributions to the Collingswood Hall of Fame Board and Executive Committee.
He has been the vice-president and chairman of the Induction Committee, but no listing of titles can do justice to the job Al
does to promote the Hall of Fame. Small in stature and hampered by leg injuries from a childhood bus accident, he could play only tennis at Colls High. He was a member of the Group 4 championship teams of 1953 and '54, was South Jersey 18-and-under champion in 1956 and placed second in the 15-and-under tournament in 1953. But his many accomplishments after high school are legion. He was one of the best fast-pitch softball pitchers in South Jersey and is a member of the South Jersey Fastpitch Hall of Fame, which organization he served as vice-president. Al has also managed three championship slow-pitch softball teams, was a standout basketball player in independent leagues and is an accomplished golfer. On top of that, he has been chairman and emcee of the Colls Class of 1955 Alumni Committee and is a member of the Colls Old Grads organization. He co-hosts the Champions radio show on 1360 AM and also manages to support many Collingswood High teams.
Blessed with exceptional speed, Al Leslie could have been a top sprinter. In the springtime though, his thoughts turned to baseball where he played so well for coach Bill Diemer that he was sought by many major league organizations. Upon graduation he did play professional baseball for four years.
On the gridiron he used his speed and elusiveness to gain All South Jersey honors as a halfback on the championship team of 1945. He was a starting guard in basketball, which completes the trifecta of having been a regular for Hall of Fame coaches, Diemer, Skeets Irvine and Ben Mark.
He now lives in retirement in Tampa, Florida.
It is doubtful that any individual has been closer to alumni affairs of Collingswood high School than Al Neu, this year's recipient of the Meritorious Service Award. A 1939 graduate, he participated in music and drama during his high school days. When returning from military service in 1946, he became the presiding officer of the Collingswood Alumni Association. Although his title has never been official, he has continued in the post for over a half-century. Al has also been a leader of the Collingswood Old Grads and Breakfast Club spinoffs. Over the years, Neu has written, directed and produced a number of musicals which have raised funds for the school. He has been an active member of the Executive Committee of the Collingswood High Athletic Hall of Fame. His wife, Thelma, a Merchantville grad, has supported him in his many activities for fund-raising and generally assisting alumni ventures. Al Neu knows everybody!
Usilton was not only one of Collingswood's best athletes, he was one of the smartest. All his contemporaries knew that someday he would become a coach.
He was All-South Jersey center on the unbeaten football team of 1942. In basketball he was selected as the outstanding player in the Camden Suburban League. He was the leading hitter and a fine defensive first baseman on the diamond squad.
After service with the Marines in the Pacific in the Second World War, he earned his degree at Temple. He returned to Collingswood as head basketball coach but the onset of multiple sclerosis ended his promising coaching career.
Alan Craig '56 followed brother Roy ('52) to Collingswood and made the varsity baseball team as a sophomore, earning three letters in the sport. He was an outstanding pitcher-outfielder and was scouted by the Pirates, Phillies and Dodgers. However, he also earned a baseball scholarship to LaSalle University, which prepared him for a lifetime teaching career.
Craig earned the Howard Ervime Award as Collingswood's Outstanding Baseball Player at graduation. He also made an appearance in Sports Illustrated magazine with coaches Bill Diemer and John Smith.
He is married to Jean (Heffelfinger), Collingswood class of 1956. They have two sons, Jeffrey and Keith, who are also Collingswood High graduates.
Alan Schmoll, class of '57, played football and track at Collingswood, but was a star basketball player who led his team in scoring in both his junior and senior years. He received the MVP Award in basketball as a junior and the Al Usilton Award in his senior year.
Alex Dimitrew is probably Collingswood's best weight-thrower ever. In fact he still holds the school record in the shot-put (56'), an event in which he was twice a Camden County large-school champion and a South Jersey Group 3 champion. He placed second in the state as well.
Alex was a three-year letterman in outdoor track, earning All-South Jersey honors. He wrestled as a sophomore, but switched to indoor track and won two more letters in that sport.
Dimitrew was also a three-year starter in football. He was a solid two-way interior lineman on Sam Young's 1971, '72 and '73 teams. The 1972 squad earned a share of the Colonial Conference crown.
Anita Lutz was a three-year star in both field hockey and lacrosse at Collingswood High. She came from Hi-Nella and thanks her parents for driving her to school and back home every day.
She was an All-Colonial Conference honoree in both her junior and senior field hockey seasons and an All-Delaware Valley choice as a senior. In lacrosse, she was a member of the 1979 team that won the state championship and she was chosen first team All-South Jersey and All-Delaware Valley.
Anita remembers that magical day when Colls High won the state lacrosse championship and she attended the senior prom that evening. She is a graduate of Rowan University (Glassboro State) and is married to David Cucinotta. They are the parents of two daughters, Ashley Dobleman and Crysta Cucinotta, and a son, Anthony (A.J.) Cucinotta.
Anna was a pillar of the powerful Collingswood athletic teams of the mid-1930s, earning three letters in both field hockey and basketball, two in swimming.
She is proud to have served as captain of the 1936 South Jersey championship field hockey team. Anna recalls the thrill of playing for a wonderful teacher and coach - Hazel Nickerson Gallagher.
Anthony Ladik of the class of '93 earned letters in soccer, baseball and basketball and was named MVP for all those sports in his senior year.
He broke the Collingswood High soccer record with 50 career goals and 25 assists, a mark that still has not been surpassed. He was a starter all four years and Coach Frank Reilly called him "the most skilled player I coached in my 16 years coaching Collingswood soccer." Ladik was named to the All-Group 2 first team and received All-South Jersey honorable mention for both his junior and senior years.
He also was selected for the All-Group 2 first team and honorable mention All-South Jersey in baseball and participated in basketball during his years in Collingswood. Anthony still lives in Collingswood with his wife, Megan, and their two sons, Cole and Chase.
After completing a brilliant athletic career at East Stroudsburg State College and serving as a Naval officer in World War II, Ritter arrived in Collingswood in 1948.
Few schools have been as fortunate. As head coach in both basketball and track, he turned out a succession of strong units. He was a valuable assistant coach in baseball and football, serving as defensive coordinator of the Golden Eleven championship team of 1958.
He became an administrator at Collingswood at Collingswood in 1959 and remained active in athletics as one of the area's premier football, basketball and track officials.
Babe Ruth League. He was also a Babe Ruth district director, secretary and vice-president of the Camden County Hot Stovers, and secretary of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame.
Narleski also somehow found time to serve as president of the Collingswood Old Grads, chairman of the Collingswood Red Cross Blood Drive and a member of the borough Board of Education, Planning and Zoning Boards and Knights of Columbus. A claims manager for PSE&G, he was secretary/treasurer of the N.J. Utilities Claims Committee and chairman of the N.J. Employers Legislative Committee for Camden County.
Barbara Gallimore Fisher, class of 1951, enters the Collingswood High School Hall of Fame as one of the finest all-around female athletes in the school's history. "Babs" served as team captain in two sports while earning 12 varsity letters - three each in field hockey, swimming, softball and basketball.
She not only played four sports, but was a standout in each one. As a quick, high-scoring left winger, she teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Ruth King Cline to lead the powerful '50 CHS hockey team to the league title. She was the captain of the swim team, where she swam the butterfly and also placed second in the South Jersey diving championships.
While captaining the softball squad, she demonstrated her versatility by starting at shortstop, centerfield and first base. In basketball, she started all three years as a ballhandling point guard.
Upon graduation, Babs swam professionally at the Sportland Water Shows in Wildwood and played for the West Jersey Field Hockey Club, where she was named to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Team. She later turned her energies to coaching softball for the Lenape YAA and was a ski instructor for many years.
Barbara Lee Friedrich Duus is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for her achievements as both athlete and coach at Collingswood High. She also recently retired after a 30-year career as an outstanding South Jersey field hockey official.
A member of the class of '53, Barbara was a fine hockey and softball player. She captained the softball team as a senior and lost only a few games during her career as a pitcher.
After coaching at two other schools, Barbara returned to her alma mater and first coached two state champion cheerleading squads in 1965 and '66. During that period, several of the girls received national cheerleading honors.
She then coached outstanding basketball squads. Her 1970-71 team was the first Colls' girls' team to win 20 games (20-1) and advanced to the first NJSIAA girls' basketball final, losing the championship game by one point.
Barry Magee '59 is one of Collingswood High School's all-time great tennis players, probably the first to achieve a Middle States ranking and the first to earn a tennis scholarship to college. He played # 2 singles his sophomore year and # 1 in both is junior and senior years. Magee captained the team to a South Jersey Group Four championship in 1958. His cumulative singles record was 52-6 and he was undefeated in his senior year, when he not only defeated all scholastic opponents in South Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania, but won the only two independent junior (under-18) tournaments available at the state level then. Magee more than held his own against the top players from Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland in various tournaments, earning him a Middle States ranking. His coach and teacher, Chet Ollinger, arranges a tennis scholarship to Pfeiffer University in North Carolina. Despite battling the onset of diabetes, he played number one there all four years and continued to play top-notch tennis on the club level during moves to the Cleveland and Atlanta areas. Recent circulation problems caused by diabetes have forced him to put his sneaks away.
"Babe" Foster was an excellent all-around athlete at Collingswood High School. She received varsity letters in field hockey, basketball, tennis and swimming. While "Babe" won acclaim for her athletic accomplishments, she was also well-known as the daughter of the town funeral director. "Babe" was another fortunate female athlete in that she was coached by Hazel Nickerson Gallagher and Ruth Woolston Pond while at Collingswood High School.
It is believed that Ben is the only athlete in Collingswood history to letter in five sports. Moreover, he achieved distinction in each.
As a junior he was star halfback on the unbeaten 1948 team, the last coached by Skeets Irvine.
He moved to quarterback as a senior and led the Panthers to the Group IV Title.
Ben was the diving champion of South Jersey and one of the area's top sprinters. He also starred in basketball and baseball.
Ben attended Villanova, where he was a three year starter, gaining First Team Little All American Honors with his senior year. He also excelled as a diver at Villanova.
Ben played briefly with the Philadelphia Eagles, before going to Temple and earning his dental degree.
Ben presently is an orthodontist with offices in Marlton.
Mr. Ben, as he was known to his Collingswood basketball players, had quite an athletic background. He was an all-around athlete at South River High and went on to Rutgers where he was a basketball standout and an All-American in lacrosse.
From the time he took over the Panther court squad in 1932 he produced consistent winners. The Colls won five Camden Suburban League titles and always were in contention. His 1940 unit became the first in the history of the school to win the South Jersey Group 4 crown. To earn a position in the intersectionals his team had to defeat Trenton, one of the perennial state powers of the day.
For many years he worked skillfully with the young football players, many of whom went on to stardom. He was still in his coaching prime when a heart attack forced him from the sidelines. In 1981 he was selected to the South Jersey Basketball of Fame.
Bernard Beals, Sr. had his life cut short by a heart attack at the age of 52, but during his lifetime no one gave more to Collingswood High School and the Collingswood community than did he. He graduated from Colls High in 1932 and played with Jack Earle and company on some of Skeets Irvine's greatest teams. Beals was not a star on that team, but he did have the thrill of running 70 yards for a touchdown against Haddon Heights. He played football and tennis for three years each and track for two years.
Beals attended Peirce Business College and became an IRS agent, and also served as a sergeant first class in the Army during World War II, but much of his adult life was devoted to serving Collingswood. The C.H.S. Alumni Association was an active and dynamic organization for many years and he was one of its leaders, serving several years as president. In that capacity, as well as a school board member, he was co-chairman of the committee that raised funds privately to commission the bust and dedicate the long-awaited "new" gym to the memory of Irvine.
Beals was an elected member of the Collingswood Board of Education for 19 years and was also a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader in the community. His legacy of community service has been carried on by his son and namesake, Barney, a former school board member who is now chairman of the Collingswood High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee.
Beals is honored with the Service Award for his leadership during the past six years as chairman of the organization. He has served the Hall of Fame for 12 years in all.
He was a three-year letterman in football and was captain in his senior year of 1962. Beals also lettered for two years as a wrestler.
"I wish to thank all the Hall of Fame committee members who have worked so hard to make this a great organization," he said. "We have accomplished many wonderful things and we are very proud of the scholarship money we give to our student-athletes today."
He is married to Carol, has a son and a new grandson.
Betsy Moscicki '77 starred in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse for Collingswood High. She received eight letters in those sports and was named to the All-South Jersey first team in both hockey and lacrosse for her junior and senior seasons.
Moscicki was also selected as "Defensive Player of the Year" in field hockey. She holds a B.S. degree f rom Davis & Elkins College and an M.A. from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey).
Betty Brown graduated from Collingswood in 1940 in the midst of an era which produced fabulous Panther girls' athletic teams. Few were more talented or more versatile. During her remarkable career, she performed with distinction in field hockey, basketball, swimming, tennis and lacrosse. She later attended Temple and continued her athletic success.
In her senior season, Betty was named All-South Jersey in field hockey and starred on a basketball squad which captured its third consecutive league title. She also was a top swimmer on a team which annexed three successive South Jersey crowns, as well as performing as a regular on the first doubles team in tennis and playing on the school's first lacrosse team.
She has been selected to the Temple University Hall of Fame and has been recognized as one of the Philadelphia Area's top officials.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Hall of Fame Committee
Betty Shuster, a member of the Hall of Fame Committee, is being presented with the Meritorious Services Award for an adult lifetime of service to high school athletics as a coach, official and administrator. She is a 1963 Colls High graduate and won a total of nine varsity letters in four sports: field hockey, basketball, tennis and softball. Betty captained the hockey team in her senior year. She went to Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey) and played hockey, basketball and softball there. Betty then began a career of teaching and coaching at four Camden Diocesan high schools. She was a basketball coach at Gloucester Catholic, basketball and softball coach at Paul VI, then coached hockey and golf and served as athletic director at St. James High. When the diocese closed St. James, Betty moved on to her present position at Sacred Heart in Vineland, where she started the field hockey program and she also coaches golf. Shuster is also a highly-respected official. She has officiated basketball games for over 25 years and officiated hockey games at both the scholastic and collegiate levels before coaching that sport.
Betty Smith earned a total of 12 varsity letters during her years at Collingswood High - four in swimming, three in tennis, three in field hockey and two in basketball. Swimming was the area of Betty's greatest achievements. During her career from 1938-41, she set swimming records in the 20-yard freestyle (10.2 seconds), 40-yard freestyle (23.8 seconds) and 80-yard freestyle (46.9 seconds). Following graduation, Betty played field hockey with the Saturday Morning Club in Philadelphia and the West Jersey Field Hockey Association for several years.
An Oaklyn product, Betty Wallstin of the Class of 1951 was a top all-around athlete for the Panthers. She played three years of hockey, basketball and softball and even worked in a swim season during her Colls career. As a result, she is one of a select few Colls athletes to earn ten varsity letters.
Betty was a main cog in the Colls hockey tem that went undefeated and won the conference championship in her senior year. Her junior season team also won the conference title. Betty also captained the basketball team in her senior year.
It is with great pride that Betty accepts this honor in the same year that her daughter, Deborah, was inducted into the West Deptford High School Hall of Fame.
Bev Durgin was another nine-letter Collingswood athlete. She earned three each in field hockey, basketball and softball during the years 1951-54.
While she was a standout in all three sports, playing field hockey was her first love. She captained the team in her senior year and credited her high school coach, Marie Oliver Gimmi, with giving her the guidance and incentive to go on to college. Bev would go on to play competitive hockey for 30 years before retiring in her 40's.
Bev had an outstanding collegiate career at Temple University and was inducted into the Temple Women's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983.
Big Joe was a standout in football, basketball and track during the years 1953-55. He earned a total of nine letters, three in each sport. He is considered one of the strongest athletes to ever compete for the Blue and Gold.
Bill Beck '41 was a regular end on the championship football team of 1940, the top scorer in basketball as a senior, and for three years a dominating fastball pitcher in baseball.
When he graduated, his 22.4 points per game in basketball was the best in school history. Scouts from many major league organizations regularly watched his pitching performances.
Bill Carmody ‘67 was an All-State track and cross-country star who set several Collingswood High records in both sports. After setting the Colls Junior High record in the quarter-mile as a freshman, he became a varsity track standout for three years. He wound up breaking the school records in the mile (4:24) and two-mile (9:51) and missing the half-mile record by just a tenth of a second. Carmody also picked up points in the high jump, long jump and by anchoring the mile relay team.
After being a contributing member of the football team for two years, Bill ran cross-country only in his senior year. All he accomplished was breaking the Colls all-time course record in his very first race. He broke that record several times that season, as well as set course records at other schools. He was awarded All-State, All-South Jersey, All-Group 3 and All-Colonial Conference honors in both cross-country and track in his senior year, when he was unbeaten in track until the state meet.
Bill not only lettered in four sports at Collingswood; he excelled in all. For three seasons, beginning in 1928, he was a brilliant halfback for Skeets Irvine, playing on two championship teams while winning All-South Jersey honors as junior.
He was South Jersey high jump champion and was the first athlete in the state to long-jump over 23 feet. At the same time he was winning honors in track and field he was serving as captain centerfielder, and cleanup man on the baseball team. As a senior he came out for basketball and earned the job as starting center.
Bill was more than just a fine athlete. His humble attitude and winning personality made him one of the most popular figures in the school. He currently resides in Barrington with his wife, Bea.
A 1933 CHS graduate, Bill Davis was a three-year starter in baseball and basketball. In his final two years he served as captain of basketball units, which captured Camden Suburban League titles. In both those years he was the team's top scorer.
In baseball he was a smooth-fielding, hard-hitting first baseman who in later years would perform for top-level squads in South Jersey and in the Philadelphia League. He attended Duke for two years and as a sophomore lettered in baseball.
Davis had his greatest scholastic days at Camden, then the school's most bitter rival. He has fond memories of leading his basketball team to an 18-16 victory and then that spring driving a game-winning homer over the center field fence at Camden.
Bill is a native of Pottstown High School in Pennsylvania, where he played basketball and baseball.
He is a graduate of both Ursinus and Springfield College, where he had a great baseball career.
Bill came to Collingswood in 1924 and immediately became a hero to the younger children of Collingswood. His love of sports and desire to help the community youth led Bill to start sports programs for elementary school children. A key to the many successes of Collingswood was the early training provided by Diemer.
Bill Graupner was one of the great athletes of his era, earning three letters in football, basketball and baseball. He was the standout quarterback of the Class A championship team of 1926, the first Panther squad to go unbeaten. He was named All-Class A quarterback.
In later years he starred in the backfield of the University of Pennsylvania and was a top slugger in the semipro baseball circles which were so popular at the time. For years he was ranked as one of South Jersey' finest football officials.
Bill Hicks was a football standout for three years (1954-56), starting all three years and being chosen first team All-Group 4 that year. The team also named him its Outstanding Player and Outstanding Lineman for his senior campaign. He further gained recognition as two-time Brooks-Irvine Lineman of the Week.
Hicks also earned two letters in baseball and one in wrestling. He was an Airman First Class in the Air Force and attended Rutgers University. He is married to Carol and has three children, Frank, Kenneth and Susan.
Hunt was a true triple threat during the years 1979-82. He was a three-year starter in football, basketball and baseball, earning nine letters, and was elected team captain in all three sports. His teams won Colonial Conference championships in football and baseball and Hunt never played on a losing team at Collingswood.
Hunt started on both offense and defense in football and earned first team All-Conference honors as both quarterback and defensive back. As a senior, he was team MVP, All-Group 3 and second team All-South Jersey. He was also MVP of the North-South All-State Football Game in 1982.
An All-Conference second team selection as a basketball guard, Hunt was MVP as a senior. He was also MVP of the baseball team in his senior year and was a first team All-Conference and first team All-South Jersey honoree. Bill was the recipient of the Brooks-Irvine Award and the John Dennis Leary Memorial Award. Today, he is a coach at Williamstown High School.
Bill McLaughlin received the "Outstanding Male Athlete" award for the class of 1973. He was a three-year starter and letterman in football and a two-year starter on the varsity basketball team.
In football, he was the leading runner, receiver and scorer on his senor team that won the Colonial Conference championship. He was both second team All-Colonial Conference and All-Group 3 as a senior.
McLaughlin was captain and MVP of the basketball team in both his junior and senior years. He was a second team All-Colonial and All-Group 3 choice in basketball and also received honorable mention on the All-South Jersey team.
Bill Narleski follows his uncles, Ray and Ted, into the Collingswood Hall of Fame. His dad, the late Bob Narleski, was also a fine baseball player at C.H.S. Bill lettered for two years in soccer and captained the basketball team, for which he was a second team All-Conference guard.
But Bill Narleski's best sport was baseball. He was All-Conference and All-Group 3 shortstop for two years and an All-South Jersey performer as a senior. He captained the baseball team and won the Brooks-Irvine Award as "Male Athlete of the Year."
Bill Schwartz competed in football, wrestling and cross-country while a student at Collingswood High. He was co-captain of the 1961 wrestling team and was a district champion and third in the region in his senior year of 1961.
He holds an associate of science degree from Temple University and also attended Drexel University. A Navy veteran (rank of AT1), he is married to Joan and has two sons, Bryan and Eric.
Bill Stauts '60 is co-recipient with Dan Miller of the Community Service Award. He has served the Oaklyn Board of Education for the past 35 years, including 24 as its president. He has also been a member of the Camden County Educational Services Commission for 14 years, including two years as vice-president and two years as president. Stauts has also lent his expertise to the New Jersey School Boards Association Insurance Group, serving five years as its chairman. A graduate of Drexel University, Stauts has also been very active in Oaklyn youth sports. Since 1973, he has been a coach, manager, member of the board of directors and umpire for the Oaklyn-Bettlewood Little League. Stauts was also active in the founding of the Collingswood-Oaklyn Soccer Club and served as coach and referee for 14 years. He also participated for several years as a coach and referee for Oaklyn intramural basketball.
Bob Barikian is a man well-suited to his chosen profession as teacher and coach--he truly loves kids and dedicated his professional career to teaching and coaching them. Many of his former players have gone on to coaching positions in their own right, including current CHS Head Football Coach, Jack McConnell. A 1969 graduate of Sterling High School where he was a member of the football team, Bob went on to earn a BA degree as Teacher of the Handicapped in 1974 from Glassboro State (now Rowan University). He arrived at Collingswood High School as Assistant to then head coach, Frank DeBeradinis, to coach and teach in the Special Education Department. When Frank's career took him in another direction, Bob was named Head Football Coach-a position held from 1984-2010. During his time at CHS, Bob also served as Head Track Coach and Assistant Wrestling Coach. His winningest team was the 1991 team which went a perfect 9-0 in conference play and was named Colonial Conference Champs. The team later sustained its only loss in post-season play against Hammonton in a Group II semi-final game. A member of the South Jersey Coaches' Century Club which recognizes those coaches who have earned at least 100 wins while coaching South Jersey High School Football teams, Bob was also named the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club Coach of the Year in 1991 as well as the Touchdown Club Coach of the Year that same year. Bob has previously been inducted into the NJ Football Coaches' Hall of Fame (1995) and the SJ Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2006). Married to Louise, they are the parents of Michael and Stephen and are the proud grandparents of Michael and Lisa's sons-Isaac, Luke, and Nathan. For the past 7 years, Bob has been Race Director for the 9/11 Heroes Run held at Cooper River Park. The Collingswood Fire Department and Police Department have participated with him all 7 years. The proceeds benefit the Travis Manion Foundation and the Camden County Hero Scholarship Foundation. Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) empowers veterans and families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. In 2007, 1st Lt. Travis Manion (USMC) was killed in Iraq while saving his wounded teammates. Today, Travis' legacy lives on in the words he spoke before leaving for his first deployment, "If not me, then who…" Guided by this mantra, volunteers activate communities across the country through programs including the 9/11 Heroes Run 5K series to ensure the character of our nation's heroes live on in the next generation. The Camden County Hero Scholarship Fund provides college educations for the children of first responders in Camden County killed in the line of duty. These are the charities that are especially important to Bob because Travis Manion was a close friend, classmate, and teammate of his son Michael at the United States Naval Academy. We hope you will also join us this year on September 10th.
Bob Brewin '50 was an All-South Jersey football center at Collingswood High. He was the third player from Colls High named All-South Jersey at that key position in the line, following in the footsteps of previous Hall of Famers Al Usilton and Hank Rossell. He was chosen "Most Valuable Lineman" of the '49 team. He went on to the U.S. Naval Academy, where
he graduated in 1954. During the course of a Naval career, he subsequently graduated from the U.S. Post Graduate School
in 1964 and the Naval War College a decade later. Bob retired as a captain following four Mediterranean cruises and one Arctic cruise. He resides in Spring City, TN, with his wife, Dorothy. They have a son and two daughters.
Bob Carullo , Class of 1966, began his wrestling career during his Junior year when he participated in his first match at Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, Coach Sam Coursen's alma mater. Cited by his coach as "the best 1-point wrestler he has ever known", Bob went on to compete in the Region IV tournament where he was defeated in the final round to become Regional Runner-up. During his senior season, he served as Co-Captain of the team and was named Co-MVP of the CHS Colonial Conference Co-Champs. Bob went on to Drexel University where he served as the Co-Captain of the undefeated Freshman Team. He put his college career on hold for service in the US Army Air Corps. Wrestling the year before and after Vietnam, he defeated 3 Service National Champs in dual meets and missed the Army Nationals by one match. Another of Bob's Army highlights occurred in 1968 when he defeated the wrestler (who would eventually go on to win the U.S. Olympic Southeast Tournament) in an earlier Duals match. Unfortunately, Bob was unable to compete in the Southeast Tournament due to military duty. Returning to Drexel, Bob set a record for 1st year Varsity wins, was a 3 year Captain, MVP, finished 3rd in his conference and again missed Nationals by 1 match. Bob also lettered in Tennis at CHS his Senior year. He and his Doubles partner, Bob Seiffert, had the distinction of defeating the State Championship Doubles Team from Moorestown High School-a true highlight of their Senior season! In postseason play, Bob finished as the Runner up in the Singles competition at the Vineland Tournament. Bob was Assistant Wrestling Coach at Drexel for 2 years and founded the Drexel Wrestling Alumni. He also served as Assistant Wrestling Coach at Overbrook High School for 3 seasons and Indian Mills Athletic Association Head Wrestling Coach for 8 seasons. In addition, Bob served as Overbrook High School Assistant Tennis Coach for 3 seasons and Indian Mills AA Baseball Coach for 11 seasons. A "hands on" athlete-Bob does not do soccer. Following a 33 year Department of Defense Engineering career, Bob is currently employed as the Executive Director of the SMART Congressional Initiative, a grass-roots Science and Technology coalition. He and his wife Karen (McHugh, also '66) are the proud parents of Mike, Missy & Kevin.
Bob Diehle, of the class of 1981, was a standout in soccer and baseball at Collingswood High. In his sophomore and senior years, the Colls won the Colonial Conference soccer championships.
He was an All-South Jersey 3rd team selection as a senior and earned Group III 1st team as a senior; 2nd team Group III as a junior. He also was an All-Colonial Conference first team selection in both his junior and senior years.
Diehl also earned two varsity letters in baseball. He is married to Lisa and is the father of two daughters, Heather, 24, and Kelly, 17.
A 1952 Panther graduate, Ford earned nine letters during his high school days. Football is the sport for which he is best remembered.
The word most used to describe him was "tough." Both as a ball-carrier and linebacker, he weekly delivered hits that brought gasps from the crowd. He loved to run inside the tackles, consistently gaining extra yards.
Ford went on to Bucknell, where he enjoyed an exceptional collegiate career.
Bob Hales was a basketball player ahead of his time. In the small gyms of his era, most big men simply camped under the basket and tried to get rebounds.
Bob Hughes dedicated 35 years of his life to helping the youth of Collingswood. He came to Collingswood Junior High as a teacher in 1954 and for the next five years he coached football, basketball and baseball and even a little track. Upon Bill Deimer's retirement in 1959, Hughes was named high school athletic director and held the position until his retirement in 1989 - adding the titles of physical education supervisor and community recreation director. After Haddon Township built its own high school, Collingswood downsized in enrollment and Hughes shepherded the school through entry and competitive participation in the Colonial Conference. Despite the drop in enrollment, the sports of girls' lacrosse, boys' and girls' soccer and gymnastics first fielded teams under Hughes' tenure. Lights for the stadium, construction of the Ben Mark Gym, an all-sports athletic banquet and raising outside funds for the building of new outside basketball and tennis courts are just some of the programs spearheaded by Bob Hughes. Just as important, Hughes initiated - and for many years directed - the Collingswood Community Recreation Program, one of the most comprehensive in the state. The program provides a wealth of athletic, recreational and leisure-time activities, primarily for elementary and middle school boys and girls. Through his efforts, the Collingswood school district launched the first Learn-to-Swim program in the state. By now, thousands of borough children have learned to swim and practice water safety through this highly-successful program. For all these contributions and more, the Hall of Fame Committee honors Bob Hughes with the Meritorious Service Award for 2003.
Bob Hunt is the third member of the Hunt family (brother Bill and sister Nancy Hunt Manzoni) to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He is the sixth member of the combined Hunt and Rossell families (uncle Hank and sister Louise and cousin of Hank Jr.), so he had good athletic genes.
Hunt was a three-year starter in both football and baseball at Colls High. He was a first-team All-Colonial Conference and third-team All-South Jersey choice in football. He also received the Silver Award for athletics.
Hunt remembers beating the Cherry Hill East football team, ranked #1 in South Jersey, in his sophomore year. He also recalls how he almost missed the last football game of his career. Injured while hit by a car walking home from practice, he was not allowed to play on Thanksgiving. But the Thanksgiving weather was so bad, the game was postponed until Saturday and he was given the OK to play in that game.
He holds a B.S. in business from Rider University.
Bob "Mick" MacBride was a hard-hitting middle linebacker on defense and an aggressive guard on offense for Dick Ridinger's outstanding football teams of the mid-1960's. He captained Dick Ridinger's last team in 1965. That year he was named All-Conference, All-South Jersey and All-State as guard and linebacker. He also received the school's "Hatchet Award" for most tackles.
Bob was one of the great football and track athletes to represent Collingswood in the 1930's. Bob was captain of the 1932 unbeaten football team and known for his circling opposing teams line on the famous Irvine end-round.
Bob was one of the brightest stars on the early Collingswood teams coached by Skeets Irvine. He was a four-year starter at halfback. A standout player and inspirational leader of the first two Colls championship teams, he was elected to serve as captain in both his junior and senior years. He also was a varsity regular in basketball and baseball. A Retrospect account states that he and fellow inductee Chick Reinert were selected to the first All-South Jersey basketball team in 1923-24. Although official all-star football squads were not selected during his era, Bob's name came up in three successive years as one of the area's top gridiron performers. Coach Irvine always listed Wilkins as one of his finest athletes.
A 1965 graduate, Bonnie excelled in both basketball and field hockey (lacrosse hadn't come along at C.H.S at the time) during the early to mid-1960s. She earned three letters in basketball and four in hockey and regards playing for the late Bea Markwick as one of the highlights of her athletic career at Collingswood. "Bax" was a high-scoring inner on the hockey team. In fact, she led South Jersey in scoring goals in her senior year, when she was also team MVP. She also led her team to victory in the Glassboro Hockey Camp, which attracted the best teams in the South Jersey area. Bonnie was forward in basketball, a key contributor all three years, and captain in her senior year. "Bax" went on to play club hockey and still keeps active by officiating three sports - hockey, basketball and softball. She and another woman founded the GSA Softball League, which now has 92 teams. Bonnie and her husband, Joseph, live in the same Laurel Springs home where she grew up. They have three married daughters.
Bonnie Chadwick Graham, like classmate Carmen DeCinque, competed for Collingswood High during the years 1962-65. She was a three-year varsity letter winner in field hockey and also lettered in basketball and tennis.
Bonnie was a midfielder and key player on the hockey team of 1963 which won the league championship, a powerhouse squad which also featured previous inductees Judy Steele, Joni Williams, Maggie Faulkner and Bonnie Bax, among other stalwarts. She co-captained the team the following year as a senior.
She was a guard under the old six-player format of girls' basketball and was a solid singles player on the tennis team.
Bonnie earned a total of eight varsity letters in a Collingswood High career that spanned the years 1972-75 - three each in hockey and lacrosse and two in basketball.
In hockey, she was an All-Colonial second team selection as a junior. In her senior year, Bonnie blossomed to become the leading scorer in South Jersey and a first team All-Conference, All-Group 3 and All-South Jersey selection.
In basketball, Bonnie was All-Group 3 honorable mention. She was co-captain of the lacrosse team in her senior year and was a Delaware Valley League first team all-star.
She went on to have a fine collegiate career at Glassboro State College (Rowan). In 1978, she was selected as the "Collegiate Field Hockey Player of the Year" by the Courier-Post.
Brian Hart '95 participated in Basketball and Soccer, but found his niche in the Boys' Volleyball program which had its inaugural season in the Spring of 1994 under the tutelage of Coach Joe Gillespie. He played in every one of the 29 matches of his junior and senior seasons which earned him some laudable statistics. These statistics, as provided by Coach Gillespie, included: 24 aces, 45 assists, 61 blocks, 150 service points, 178 digs, and 190 kills. Excelling from his Center position, Brian served as team captain and was named Player of the Week by the Courier-Post. Post-season honors included being named to the 1st teams of both the South Jersey Boys' Volleyball League Team and the All-South Jersey Boys' Volleyball team. Brian recalls a favorite memory which occurred during his senior season--- The team participated in a Spring Tournament at Haddon Township High School where they defeated a favored Cherry Hill West team to advance to the finals where they met the also highly favored Cherry Hill East team. Brian would like to thank his coach, Joe Gillespie, for forging a unique relationship with his players. Brian feels that their coach was tough on them in the interest of having them play to their full ability and to realize their full potential as athletes. In addition to his involvement in athletics, Brian was a member of the Student Council, French Club, Spanish Club, History Club, Spring Arts Festival, and Student Concern Committee. As a musician, he was a member of the Marching Band for 1 year and a 4 year member of the Jazz and Concert Bands. Brian earned an Associates Degree from Camden County College and has also earned additional credits from Rutgers-Camden. He is employed by Aldi, Inc. Married to Meridith Flanagan-Hart, they are the parents of Aileen, Brayden, Evan, and Paige.
Brian McIntyre was a 1976 graduate and played football and track for the Colls. He was guided and motivated by his honors chemistry teacher, Mrs. Betty Powell, who taught him that small acts of kindness and encouragement can lead to student confidence and achievement.
Brian earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Maryland. His entrepreneurial spirit, love of technology and family support inspired him to launch a number of human resource technology companies and non-profit firms. In 2003, he started WorkStrategy, Inc., focusing on web-based software solutions to empower corporate managers and employees. WorkStrategy today services over 100 global organizations with a team of software developers and consultants.
Brian also provided the funding to create Project VisionShare, a think tank designed to provide startup money and mentorship to aspiring business owners. The assets of Project VisionShare were used to create the Entrepreneurial Center at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD, where he resides.
In order to give back to the Collingswood community, Brian established the McIntyre Family Scholarship Fund for Collingswood High students in 2000. In 2005, the program was renamed the George F. and Joan D. McIntyre Scholarship Fund to honor his parents. Since its inception, over 45 students have been awarded academic scholarships totaling $240,000.
Brian serves on the board of directors of several technology and non-profit firms. He and his family look forward to personally awarding the Collingswood High School scholarships each spring.
Buck Rogers was a two-sport athlete at Collingswood High and lettered in both football and track. He was a lineman on the football team and an outstanding pole vaulter in track.
When his classmates were involved in commencement activities, Buck was at the State Track Meet at Rutgers University. He surprised the better-known North Jersey vaulters by winning the pole vault event. He went on to the five-year electrical engineering at Drexel University and graduated with a B.S.E.E.
In the long history of Collingswood athletics, Buddy Robertson is universally accepted as the No. 1 fan. He is also the father of Jackie, an outstanding basketball player for the Colls. His grandsons, Jack and Jimmy were both Panther standouts. Jim, an outstanding wrestler, is a member of the school's Hall of Fame.
Known as the "Chiclet Man", Buddy, for several generations always was on hand to pass out those little morsels to every Colls athlete who took to the playing field. In his youth he played professional basketball for the first team to represent Camden.
When Skeets Irvine came to Collingswood in 1919, one of his first acquaintances was Robertson. The pair remained life-long friends. He was a regular at all athletic banquets, where he passed out trophies and various awards to those who excelled, The dapper little man pacing the sidelines was an inspiration to all.
Burzis Kanga '76 dominated the South Jersey scholastic tennis scene during his undergraduate days at Collingswood. For three successive years, he was named All-Conference and All-Group and he also gained All-State honors. In each of those years he served as team captain. He was South Jersey individual champion as a sophomore and junior and reached the state finals as a senior. For three straight years he was selected as the Most Valuable Player and is perhaps the only Colls male tennis player to win the Skeets Irvine Athletic Award. He went on to star in collegiate tennis at the University of New Orleans, where his four-year record was 81-9.
Captain Hank Rossell was the key inside man, as he scored consistently and rebounded with authority. The rest of the starting lineup were polished players, none of whom could be left unguarded. Seniors Herb Schwartz, Ralph Helms and Walter Johnson, and junior Sonny Carson joined with Rossell to make the 1944 squad a team in the finest sense of the word.
Carla Juliani Falco earned nine letters in three sports-hockey, basketball and lacrosse-from 1981-'84. Her senior year was Bea Markwick's last season, in which the Colls hockey team went undefeated in the regular campaign and went all the way to the state championship game before bowing. Carla was an All-South Jersey selection in hockey that year.
Carla was a second-team All-Colonial Conference choice in basketball and also received All-South Jersey honors in lacrosse in her senior year. Also in 1984, she received the prestigious Colonial Conference Scholar-Athlete Award and was the first recipient of the Beatrice Markwick Memorial Scholarship Award.
Carla went on to play both hockey and lacrosse with distinction at Lehigh University and was named to the Lehigh Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.
Carlton Ayres was a javelin thrower of the mid-1950s. He is best remembered for winning the State Group Four javelin title with a throw of 172'6" in his senior year of 1956.
Carmen DeCinque was a standout football player and wrestler during the years 1962-65, which heralded the start of the Dick Ridinger era in football and some outstanding wrestling squads piloted by Sam Coursen.
He was a scrappy lineman in the interior trenches during three winning football seasons under Dick Ridinger. However, he received most of his individual recognition as a heavyweight wrestler for Coursen, including a league co-championship season in 1962-63.
DeCinque was a holiday tournament individual champion. He was a District Tournament runner-up in his sophomore year, then won the District championship in both his junior and senior years. He also placed second in the Regionals both years, having the misfortune to meet up with the eventual state champion at that level. DeCinque received the MVP wrestling award for his efforts.
Carol Filippone Pizarro, class of '71, is one of the legions of Collingswood female athletes who considered it an honor to play for legendary Coach Bea Markwick. Now she joins her late mentor in the Athletic Hall of Fame.
Carol earned a total of nine varsity letters in her high school career, three each in hockey, basketball and lacrosse. The Colls won several championships in those sports during her playing days. She was co-captain of the lacrosse team and most valuable player of the field hockey squad.
She shares more than a first name and hockey-basketball background with sister inductee Carol Higginbotham Mosser. Both, like many other Colls High athletes, went on to earn bachelor's degrees from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey). Carol Pizarro also holds a master's degree from Temple University.
Carol Higginbotham was a standout and versatile athlete during the years 1959-62. She earned a total of seven letters in four sports - two each in hockey, basketball and softball and one in tennis.
Hockey was her first love and she was a bulwark of strength as a goalie, receiving team MVP honors in her junior year and captaining the Panther squad as a senior. One of her best memories is battling all-time great Lorraine Stiles of Gloucester and stoning several of her shots in her junior year.
At graduation Carol was presented with the coveted Gold Medal as the outstanding female athlete in the class of 1962.
Carol Moule '65 started playing competitive sports as an eight-year-old center fielder for the Oaklyn Lionettes softball team and was a star player through high school with that team. From grades 7 through 9, she played on the hockey, basketball and softball teams at Oaklyn Junior High.
She then entered Collingswood High and followed in the footsteps of her father, Len '35, playing tennis. She was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy as the undefeated number two singles player.
Carol also was a standout as a fullback in field hockey and forward in basketball and lettered in both sports. She had high-scoring honors in basketball.
After high school, she worked for CIGNA insurance and played in softball, volleyball, tennis, golf and bowling leagues until she developed rheumatoid arthritis. Sadly, Carol died on May 28, 2012, from complications of Hodgkins lymphoma.
Carol joins her sister, JoAnn, Class of 1977, as an Inductee into the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame. A three-sport athlete, Carol participated in Field Hockey, Basketball, and Lacrosse earning post-season honors in Field Hockey and Lacrosse. Carol served as Captain of the Field Hockey team and was named to the All-South Jersey team as well as the 1st teams Group III and Colonial Conference. Following her senior Lacrosse season, Carol was named Honorable Mention All-South Jersey. Carol's teammates recall her as a true team player-a speedy, hard-working, tenacious athlete. Carol attended LaSalle University and later earned an Associate's Degree from Camden County College. She is currently employed by the Bellmawr School District and is the mother of sons, Michael and Steven.
Carolyn ‘Lynne' Bartsch and Karin Bartsch Read
Twins Carolyn "Lynne" Bartsch and Karin Bartsch Read of the class of 1967 are being inducted into the Hall of Fame in the same year, since they played the same three sports and their accomplishments were almost identical. Both were three-year letterman in tennis, hockey and basketball and they were part of a great class which won championships in just about every boys' and girls' sport in their senior year. Karin played second singles to her twin's first singles in tennis. She and Lynne played important roles on the hockey and basketball teams that won Colonial Conference titles when they were seniors. Karin scored the highest number of hockey goals, playing right wing, and she was MVP of the basketball team in her senior year. She was also awarded the Silver Medal as outstanding athlete in her class. Lynne captained the tennis team, played first singles and received the MVP award in that sport. She was also a high scorer on the basketball team and was a defensive bulwark of the hockey team from her fullback position. Together, the Bartsch girls proved double trouble for opposing players on the tennis courts, basketball gyms and hockey fields.
Cathy is known to be the only Collingswood High athlete to achieve All-South Jersey honors in three sports. She was a four-year performer in tennis and a three-year starter in basketball and lacrosse.
She was All-Colonial Conference for four years and All-South Jersey for three years in tennis. Cathy was also first team All-Colonial Conference and first team All-South Jersey in basketball.
In lacrosse, Cathy was captain of the 1982 state championship team, its leading scorer and MVP. She was named the "Offensive Player of the Year" by the Courier-Post and was first team All-South Jersey. A member of the National Honor Society at C.H.S., Cathy was the first female recipient of the Colonial Conference Scholar-Athlete Award in 1982.
She went on to have an outstanding career at Lehigh University, where she earned a degree in accounting. Cathy is now putting her accounting ability to good use by balancing the ledgers for the Hall of Fame committee.
A two year starter both ways as a football lineman, Charles Gerulus was a standout on the undefeated 1966 championship squad. In his senior year he was selected to the first team All-Colonial Conference and All-Group teams and was a second team All-South Jersey honoree.
Gerelus was also a key wrestler on two championship squads and lost only one dual-meet match in varsity competition. He was a district champ and placed third in the regionals.
He also participated in track. A class president, Gerelus was named the Bulletin's "Male Scholar-Athlete" in his senior year.
Leary, class of 1970, is being honored for his accomplishments in football and wrestling at Collingswood. He earned two letters in football and earned second team All-Group 3 honors as a center on the football team.
In wrestling, Leary also received two letters and co-captained the team in his senior year. That same year he was a district champion at 157 pounds and placed second in the region.
After playing a significant role on the unbeaten and untied football teams of 1931-32, Sink was selected All-South Jersey quarterback in his senior year of 1933.
A triple-threat performer, he always was one of the first mentioned by Skeets Irvine when he listed his greatest players.
In the final game of 1933, Sink kicked a field goal in the closing moments to defeat Woodbury, 9-6. It was the only field goal he ever attempted.
For three years he was one of South Jersey's finest pitchers and also earned two letters in basketball and track.
There was little wonder that Charlotte Craig was named the outstanding athlete of the class of 1942. During her brilliant career at CHS she won four letters in swimming and three apiece in field hockey, basketball and tennis.
She was more than a letter winner. In fact, she excelled in every athletic activity and was considered South Jersey's premier swimmer. Charlotte is very proud of being named the finest female athlete in the school, but feels that the most important aspect of her scholastic life was having Ruth Woolston as her coach. In her words, "Ruth Woolston was a marvelous coach, but even more importantly, she was a true friend."
Job Titles:
- Physical Education Teacher at the St. Francis De Sales School
If anyone ever compiled a list of the many great athletes that graced the halls of Collingswood High School, Cheryl's name would surely be near the top.
For three years she was a standout player in hockey, basketball and lacrosse, starting in all three sports since her sophomore year. Cheryl gained All Star Honors in all three sports. Bea Markwick paid Cheryl her greatest compliment when she said "Cheryl Christinzio is the greatest athlete I have ever had the privilege to coach."
Chester A. "Chet" Olinger is best remembered as a teacher and administrator whose association with Collingswood Junior and Senior High Schools spanned six decades - from the 1920's to the 1970's. For many years, he was head of the math department and assistant principal of the high school. He taught, tutored and otherwise helped thousands of Collingswood students during his distinguished career.
An avid tennis player since his youth, Mr. Olinger revived the Collingswood High School tennis team in 1953 and coached numerous championship teams during the 1950's and 1960's. He also enabled Colls High tennis players to compete against the best in the Delaware Valley in Saturday morning and fall matches.
Mr. Olinger taught at Faith Christian School after retiring from Collingswood High and continued to teach and tutor until shortly before he died, in January of 1990, at the age of 87. He was an important part of Collingswood High School for most of the 20th century.
Christine Prete Cunningham was a leading player on several championship teams during her years at CHS (1980-83).
She was a three-year letterman in hockey, performing on teams that won a state championship (1980), and two Colonial Conference crowns. In her senior year, she was team MVP, All-Colonial Conference, and an All-South Jersey Group 2 first team selection.
Christine received two varsity letters in basketball and was team MVP and co-captain of the 1982-83 squad. She made it a perfect "trifecta" by being named team MVP of the lacrosse squad in her senior year. More important, she was part of the team that came back from a seven-goal deficit to win the state title by one goal (with seconds remaining) over Moorestown.
Fourth in her class academically, Christine received both the Howard T. Irvine and Knight Award. She went on to captain both the hockey and lacrosse teams at Lafayette College and was a lacrosse All American. She now teaches and coaches lacrosse in Pennsylvania.
Like many athletes of his day, Reinert participated in three sports. He was listed as an All-South Jersey basketball player. For three years he served as quarterback and end on the football team and, with classmate Bob Wilkins, played on two championship grid teams. Newspaper stories of the day wrote of his outstanding play in a 28-0 conquest of Haddon Heights in 1923. In baseball, he was primarily a catcher but played a number of positions. His greatest thrill on the diamond came in his last game for Colls High when he pitched for the first time and hurled nine strong innings to beat arch-rival Camden in the big game of the year. Following high school, he became the first of many Panther stars to attend Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. Chick's association with Skeets Irvine and Collingswood athletics didn't end with graduation. In the late 1920's, Irvine was a star pitcher on the Colls Independents baseball team and quarterback on the football team. Reinert was his receiver in both sports, as baseball catcher and football end, and was a standout in both.
Charles "Chuck" Roney, class of 1968, is the first Hall of Fame inductee in the Coaching category who has not been a Colls High coach. He did enjoy playing ports at Collingswood, including four years of lettering in both baseball and wrestling and two years of football. However, he is a self-proclaimed "average athlete at best" who simply "loved the competition and the camaraderie of being part of an athletic team." Roney has achieved an outstanding record as a high school baseball coach over 29-year career, including 25 years as a head coach. He is one of the few 300-game winners in South Jersey annals, posting a 312-206 record at four high schools: Cherokee, Haddon Township, Pennsville and Eastern, plus a winning mark during one years as head coach at Glassboro State (Rowan University). He produced many championship teams and was honored as "Coach of the Year" by the Courier-Post in 1992, Inquirer in 1994 and NFHS New Jersey Baseball Coach of the Year in 2001. He has also been chosen "Teacher of the Year" as teacher of molecular biology. Roney was also founding board member of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame and past president of both the South Jersey Baseball Coaches Association and the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame Committee. He is a graduate of Taylor University and holds a master's degree in exercise physiology from Temple. He has brought great honor to Collingswood High by virtue of his teaching and coaching service to youth at other regional schools.
Cindy Rudderow was a three-year varsity starter in both field hockey and lacrosse at Colls High. In hockey, she was a key member of three straight Colonial Conference championship tennis teams and her senior team won the Courier-Post Cup. Cindy earned both first team and second team All-Conference honors in hockey.
Lacrosse brought more honors for Cindy. She was selected to the Delaware Valley League second team as a junior. Her senior team won the state championship for Collingswood High and Cindy was the MVP of that team. She was also named to the All-Delaware Valley League first team.
Claire was a four sport (hockey, basketball, tennis and softball) athlete at Colls High from 1940-44. In her senior year, she captained the hockey team and was a standout on the basketball team that won all its' league games.
Claire also had an outstanding athletic career at Temple University and was elected to the Temple Hall of Fame in 1985. She has devoted her adult years to teaching, coaching and building women's sports organizations in South Jersey.
She has produced 235 wins and many outstanding teams during 20 years of coaching basketball at Holy Cross High School. Claire has served on many basketball and hockey organizations and has received numerous awards for her years of service. She is now retired from her teaching career.
Claire was a fine all-around athlete at Collingswood High, graduating in 1951 with letters in four sports. She played three years of varsity field hockey and was co-captain of the undefeated 1950 team.
Claire also lettered for three years each in both basketball and softball and achieved four-sport varsity status by lettering in swimming.
One of the finest athletes of his 1940s era, Carson won three letters in baseball and two each in football and basketball. He was the regular shortstop for three seasons, a two-year starter at quarterback, and a standout guard on two strong hoops units. Sonny was blessed with both exceptional ability and great insight into playing all the sports he loved. Some athletes are leaders; Carson was, and it showed in the way he took charge while playing a leadership position in each of the three sports - football quarterback, baseball shortstop, and basketball guard. Unfortunately, the gifted athlete could not carry on his great promise, because he was killed in 1945 in a vehicular accident. He was in military service at the time.
Cliff Rubicam's last minute field goal gave Collingswood a 9-7 victory over Camden. He was one of the finest kickers and punters of the Irvine years. An inspirational player, he was captain as a senior.
After attending Temple, he coached football at Woodbury and then returned to Collingswood as assistant coach of the championship team of 1942.
In 1949, following the death of Irvine, he became head coach and led his team to the Group 4 championship. In 1956 he moved to Florida.
Few Collingswood linemen were more dominant over a three year period than Birchmeier. He was a regular as a sophomore, an All-Group 4 tackle as a junior, and All-South Jersey as a senior. His final season was capped by his being named the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club's Lineman of the Year. He served as captain of the 1953 team
His most fond memory of football was a victory over a strong Bridgeton team when coach Cliff Rubicam gave him the responsibility of shadowing a standout Bridgeton back. He accomplished the assignment in fine fashion.
He was a member of the first Colls wrestling squad and is proud of the fact that he and the team made rapid progress. He was also a letter-winner in baseball.
The youngest of three Luongo brothers to play sports at Collingswood, Rich '52 was a standout in track and football. He ran the 100 and 220 track events and won the Camden County Meet with a 10.1 clocking in the 100 and finished second in the 220. As a result, Temple University offered him a track scholarship.
He started at right guard for Coach Cliff Rubicam in football and has vivid memories of throwing a block to spring Gene Capinas for a touchdown to defeat Vineland in the lasy 30 seconds. He can also recall catching an Atlantic City player from behind to prevent a touchdown on an intercepted pass.
After high school, the service and college, Luongo had over 40 years of officiating in football, baseball, softball and soccer. He has received numerous awards, including the Sports Club's Lifetime Service Award for officiating and the New Jersey Football Officials Association's "Good Guy Award."
He is married to Susan and has three adult children: Renee, Tara and R.J.
Coach Bea Markwick's team closed out the season with two convincing victories, 5-1 over Woodbury and 6-1 over Audubon. In their first meetings, Collingswood had squeezed out a one-goal win over Woodbury and was tied by Audubon, so there's no question the Panthers got stronger as the season progressed.
Maggie Faulkner was an outstanding Colls High athlete of the 1960's. In fact, she was voted Best Female Athlete in her class in 1962, 1963 and 1964.
Maggie earned six varsity letters, three each in field hockey and basketball. She also played jayvee tennis for a year before becoming a key contributor to Collingswood High's first lacrosse teams in 1963 and '64.
One of many outstanding hockey players turned out by Hall of Fame Coach Bea Markwick, Maggie was a team sparkplug and leader of the 1963 hockey team that went undefeated and won the league championship. She brought the same talent, hustle and leadership to the basketball court during three years of varsity play.
It is Dr. Maggie Faulkner, by the way. After leaving Colls High, she played hockey and earned her bachelor's degree from West Chester State College. Maggie then earned an M.A. from Trenton State College in 1970 and her Ed.D. from the University of Northern Colorado in 1978. After many years in athletic administration, she is today assistant vice-president for academic advisement and retention at Towson University in Maryland.
Bea Markwick graduated form Collingswood High School in 1946. She was an honor student and a member of the field hockey and basketball teams. She also participated in choir and many other clubs.
She then went on to prestigious Beaver College where she starred in both field hockey and lacrosse. She graduated cum laude in 1950. Upon graduation she taught in Troy, New York for three years and then moved back to South Jersey. While at Clayton High School she won the school's first Tri-County Conference Championship in field hockey. In 1955 she accepted a job at Collingswood High School, her alma mater.
In only three years she began her winning ways. In 1958 her first championship field hockey team led the way for many more to follow. It was the beginning of the ‘Markwick Era.' In 1963 she coached the first of her four unbeaten teams. All in all she coached teams that won sixteen (16) major field hockey championships and ten (10) lacrosse championships including four (4) lacrosse state titles.
Bea was known to get the best out of her players. She was able to bridge the gap between old fashioned values and modern day techniques and pressures. Her teams were admired for their sportsmanship and unselfish play. Bea and her girls at all times were ladies on the field.
In 1964 Bea was responsible for the introduction of a new sport called lacrosse to Collingswood. She also was a founder of of the Delaware Valley Lacrosse League and later, a member of the Board of Directors of the Field Hockey Club of South Jersey. Lacrosse and field hockey, however, were not the only sports that Bea coached in Collingswood. She found herself at different times throughout her career the coach of the basketball, tennis and swimming teams.
Although recording over 600 varsity victories in her impressive coaching career, Bea is most remembered by her students and colleagues as an intelligent, caring and understanding teacher. Countless numbers of Collingswood girls have grown into responsible mature young ladies because of her guidance, her patience, and her love. We thank you Bea for all that you have given Collingswood and we miss you terribly.
Lisa Fuchs was a three letter athlete in both field hockey and softball. She earned All-South Jersey honors in field hockey as a senior. She was also All-Group 3 twice and All-Colonial Conference.
She enjoyed playing for Coach Bea Markwick and helped her win the Colonial Conference championship. Fuchs was also tri-captain of the softball team.
Lisa is married to Steve Riley and they have three children: Shaun, 20; Erin, 17; and Eric, 13. Her father, George Fuchs '57 was a three-sport standout and was inducted into this Hall of Fame in 1997.
Coach Ben Marks always had high praise for his 1944 unit. The strong 1943 squad was composed entirely of senior starters, so a complete rebuilding job was needed. The reserves of the previous year responded with an 18-6 record, which included a 14-0 mark as it swept through the Camden Suburban League.
Coach Ruth Woolston led her 1950 hockey team to an undefeated season that was capped by the championship of the New Jersey Scholastic Field Hockey Cup. Along the way, the Panther girls scored 52 goals to only 17 for the opposition and posted three hard-fought wins (3-2, 5-3 and 3-2 again) over their biggest rivals in those days, Gloucester High. Ironically, only Collingswood itself could prevent the '50 team from achieving an all-winning season. The Alumni team held the varsity to a 1-1 tie in their traditional Thanksgiving Day season finale. Letter winners of the 1950 powerhouse included captain Ruth King, Marie Tratta, "Babs" Gallimore, Ruth Ogden, Audry White, Betty Wallstin, Mildred Blumberg, Stella Melnick, Barbara Endy, Virginia Scriboni, Edie Robinson, "Toots" Malsberger, "Teddy" Rapp, manager Katherine McClean and a sophomore star, Rosemary Deniken, who was the team's high scorer that year. While it took a total team effort to bring home the undefeated season and championship, it should be noted that several players on that team have already been inducted into the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame for their individual accomplishments. They are Rosemary Deniken Blankley (charter 1991), Coach Ruth Woolston Pond (1992), Ruth King Cline (1993), Barbara Gallimore Fisher (1998), Betty Wallstin Clifford (1999) and Edie Robinson Kluge (2001).
A three-sport star at Collingswood, Ruth went on to play at Temple. She returned to her scholastic Alma Mater where she served with distinction as a teacher and coach.
As an undergraduate, Ruth was recognized as one of the area's top performers in field hockey, basketball and tennis. In hockey, she starred on two championship teams. She was a two-year starter in basketball and tennis.
In her outstanding coaching career, Ruth brought home four championships in swimming and two more in hockey. Her dedication and knowledge of all sports made her a favorite among the girls who gained much success under her tutelage.
At the graduation ceremonies in 1946, Louise was selected as the best female athlete in the school. In fact, she ranks as one of the best, ever.
She was captain of the championship field hockey team of 1945, co-captain of the softball team, and a proficient basketball player. Winning the South Jersey title in hockey remains her greatest thrill.
In an era when girl athletics received a minimum of publicity, Louise praises coach Ruth Woolston Pond for her inspirational leadership. She also recalls with fondness her teammates for their dedication to winning.
While a student athlete at Collingswood High School in the mid-1980s, Colleen DiClemente was a member of the Fall Cheerleading Team and the Lacrosse Team. However, she would find her greatest success on the Basketball court When she was a junior member of the State Championship winning CHS Girls' Basketball team, Colleen DiClemente was a scoring contributor via her "deadly" 18-foot jump shot. When her Senior season rolled around with DiClemente as the only returning letter winner, Coach John Bach knew that they would be rebuilding and was hoping that Colleen would be able to assume a greater leadership role. Colleen was up to the task and Bach credited her for playing with "the temperament and intelligence he expected her to". With the team benefitting from her leadership, they went on to a 19-6 season which included defeating Haddonfield twice!! The team qualified for the Group II playoffs, but lost in double overtime to Middle Township in the quarterfinal round. In an unfortunate side note, Colleen was unable to play in that game as she was sidelined with a broken finger…. Colleen served as Team Captain and earned 2 Varsity letters. Recognized for her exceptional play that season, she was named Al Carino Club player of the Week as well as being named to the 1st Team Colonial Conference, 1st Team Group II, and Honorable Mention All-South Jersey. The most memorable moment in her CHS Athletic career occurred when the 1986 Girls' Basketball Team won the State Championship. She considers herself to be "truly blessed" to have had outstanding basketball coaches her entire career starting in the Woodlynne Public School where she was coached by Mr. Robert Murtha and the late Mr. Butch McLean. Once at Collingswood, she was coached by HOF Coach John Bach and Mary Baldwin. Colleen went on to Marymount College where she continued her Basketball career under Coach Bill Finney, another much admired coach. During her junior season, she became the all-time free throw percentage leader hitting 80% of her shots from the line. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and was elected to Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities for Academic Achievement. Colleen is married to Thomas Dyer and is the mother of daughter, Shelby, and son, Max. She works in the Retail Management field and, in her spare time, enjoys watching her children play sports.
Hale was a strong rebounder but also had the ability to move outside, where he developed an excellent shot and also could drive to the hoop. His powerful moves made him a standout player on the Ben Mark coached teams of 1936 and 1937. The latter team won the Camden Suburban League title.
Conrad "Corky" Leise has a unique title in the history of Collingswood football. He was the star who was not the starter.
On the championship team of 1945, Coach Skeets Irvine utilized Leise on the offensive as center, end, running back and back-up quarterback. On defense he was an end, linebacker, defensive halfback and safety. He also was an inspirational player whose very entrance into the game seemed to arouse positive emotions.
Big Craig Milnes was an outstanding football and baseball player at Colls High in the mid-1960s and was also a solid contributor in basketball. He earned a total of six letters, two in each sport. He co-captained both the football and baseball teams.
Milnes was a bruising fullback and rugged defender (once blocking a kick for a touchdown) for two winning teams produced by Coach Dick Ridinger. He received first-team All-Colonial Conference honors in the gridiron sport and achieved the same recognition in the diamond sport. In baseball, he was the cleanup hitter and first baseman, but also stole home for the only run of the game in the semi-finals of the South Jersey Group 3 Tournament in his junior year.
Milnes also played football at West Chester State and has had a long teaching and coaching career at Pemberton High School, where he was head softball coach for 23 years and also coached football and girls' basketball. In addition, he has been a powerful hitter on two national champion independent softball teams, one as recently as 2004.
Dale Bonsall '57 played three years of varsity football at Collingswood but received more acclaim as one of the Panthers' first outstanding wrestlers. He had a record of 31-9-1, placed third in South Jersey and co-captained the 1956-57 squad.
He went on to post a 38-12-1 record at West Chester State and then began a long and highly-successful coaching career. He was 8-4 as head coach at Western Maryland College in 1961-62, when he also secured a master's degree His Haverford (Pa.) High teams posted five undefeated seasons and compiled an overall 43-3 record from 1962-68.
Bonsall then returned to his alma mater, West Chester, for 21 years as an assistant and one year as head coach. Along the way, he coached several All-American wrestlers and served as a Pennsylvania wrestling official. Following his college coaching years, he served as Team Foxcatcher junior development coach and piloted his teams to two national cadet club championships.
More recently, he was Team Renegade developmental coach and coached four cadet and three junior national freestyle champions.
He has been inducted into both the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame, as well as the Southeast Pennsylvania Regional Wrestling Coaches Hall of Fame.
Job Titles:
- Director at the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades
Dale Plummer of the class of 1981 played basketball for three years, but it was in the sport of tennis where he really made his mark. Dale was a four-year letterman who led the tennis team to South Jersey Top Ten finishes in all four years.
He co-captained the team in his senior year and finished with over 40 career wins. For his athletic endeavors, he was a recipient of a Gold "C" award.
Plummer then attended Widener University, where he was a four-year starter, and set the school record for career wins with 41. He also played #1 singles in his senior year. Immediately upon graduation, Widener offered him to become head men's tennis coach. He became the youngest NCAA head coach and guided the Pioneers to a 33-22 record in his four seasons at the helm - the most wins by any tennis coach in the school's history.
For the past 27 years, Plummer has been the athletic director at The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades, a junior college in Media, PA. During his tenure the college's teams have won 2 national championships, 15 conference titles and has had 45 All-Americans and 53 Academic All-Americans.
He is married to Debbie and has two children: Ryan, 20, and Laura, 16.
Dan Miller is a 1962 graduate of Collingswood High. After graduation, he joined the Coast Guard, where he had the distinction of serving on the honor guard for President Kennedy's funeral. He then returned to his job at Kenmac Flowers, married his sweetheart, Betty, and moved to Oaklyn. He has been very active in the Oaklyn community and shares this
year's Community Service Award with Bill Stauts, with whom he served for 30 years on the Oaklyn Board of Education. Most of those years he was vice-president to Stauts' president. Miller has worked to provide Oaklyn youth with many athletic and educational opportunities. He was active in starting the school "Learn to Swim" program and was instrumental
promoting the school athletic fields re-design, which allowed for additional activities. He was a coach for years with the Collingswood-Oaklyn Soccer Club and has been an umpire for 30 years in the Oaklyn-Bettlewood Little League. Dan advocated for and followed up on a previously-failed project that would see the Oaklyn Lions Park receive tennis courts and other facilities that included a basketball court and deck hockey rink. With four children, he is now retired from his job as owner of Kenmac Flowers, where he spent 52 years and employed hundreds of Oaklyn and Collingswood residents.
Dan Trainer never played a varsity sports at Collingswood High, but over the years he has coached dozens of boys who have made their marks in Panther athletics. Soon after graduation in 1958, Dan began helping to coach in the Collingswood Little League program. That began a 42-year (and counting) career with Foster's (now Foster-Warne) major league team, all but the first few years as manager. During that period, his teams won many championships and one of those in recent years became the first Collingswood Little League squad to go undefeated for the entire season. Trainer also got involved when the junior wrestling program was launched. He has served 29 years as junior wrestling coach and 18 years as treasurer of the Collingswood Varsity Club. The junior program and Varsity Club have provided the foundation and support for Collingswood High's success on the mats. Dan even found time to serve as an assistant football coach. In all three youth sports, Trainer has helped to install the fundamentals of the games, as well as the sportsmanship and competitive spirit that his charges take into high school sports. He has truly provided service to the community of Collingswood throughout his adult lifetime.
Dana Curry was a standout for Collingswood in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse during the years 1990-94.
The highlight of her hockey career was winning the state championship with a record of 22-0-2. She was captain of the team and won All-Colonial Conference for the second year and was All-Group 2 and All-South Jersey.
Dana was also a 1,000-point scorer in basketball. She captained the team in her senior year and was Outstanding Player in the Al Carino Game following her senior season. She was named All South Jersey Honorable Mention and Group 2 2nd Team twice.
In Lacrosse, she was an All-South Jersey performer and two-time All-Conference choice.
She went on to graduate from Ursinus College in 1998. She is married to John Cornog and has two children Kayleigh (10) and Tyler (6).
Dan Aydelotte followed Bob Young as a baseball standout at Collingswod. He played a year of football and wrestled for two years, but starred in four years of baseball. In 1988, his junior year, he was a second-team All-Colonial Conference outfielder.
But he reaped many awards in 1989, his senior year. He was first-team All-Conference and All-Group 2 and was also a first-team All-South Jersey and All-State outfielder. Aydelotte was also picked for the South Jersey Central team in the annual Carpenter Cup and considers it a highlight of his career that he played for the team that won the Carpenter Cup.
He played baseball with the Pete Rose ("Charlie Hustle') attitude and for this he thanks his Dad for instilling. Aydelotte went on to earn a civic engineer degree at Widener University. He is married to Kimberly and they have three children: Amanda, 11; Kristen, 9; and Kelly, 5.
Dan Schmid is a 1977 graduate who stood out in football, basketball and track during his years at Collingswood High. He earned All-South Jersey Group 3 football honors in his junior and senior years. He also made the All-South Jersey teams chosen by the Inquirer (second team) and Courier-Post (third team).
He was a strong two-way end in Tom Reim's first year of coaching. In fact, he caught a 20-yard TD pass from Jeff Pedano to help Reim beat his alma mater, Woodbury, that year. Schmid also played on a conference championship basketball team and received All-Conference honorable mention.
Schmid later was a member of the U.S. Naval Academy that played in the 1979 Holiday Bowl and earned a business degree from Rutgers University. He is now engaged to Vicki Burke and serves with the U.S. Department of Defense, fulfilling assignments in the Middle East, Near East, East Asia and Europe.
Danielle Dayton was Colls High's MVP in field hockey (two years), basketball and lacrosse. An All-State hockey player, she was the Field Hockey Club of South Jersey's High School Defensive Player of the Year, the Inquirer's Field Hockey Player of the Year and twice an All-South Jersey first team selection.
In lacrosse, she was honorable mention All-American, All-South Jersey first team player and scored 100 points her senior year (173 total goals). She also lettered in basketball.
At graduation Danielle received the Howard T. Irvine Memorial Award, the Beatrice Markwick Memorial Scholarship Award and was the first female recipient of the John Sohanchak Memorial Award. She extended her career at Ohio State University, where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees.
Daria '69 was captain of the field hockey team also a letter winner in basketball and lacrosse. She was voted the Most Athletic female in her senior class and received All-Colonial Conference honors in hockey.
"I loved sharing the experience of playing and winning with other women - great women," she says of her Collingswood years. For Daria, that also included being an exchange student to Argentina.
What she learned participating in sports at Collingswood helped her as a founding member and captain of the River Sirens boat team for the last ten years. They were the first dragon boat team on the Cooper River.
Darlene Hahn Tickner '65 was the star center-forward who scored 35 goals for an undefeated Colls hockey team of 1963. She also held the distinction of being chosen the captain of the first Colls lacrosse team and was MVP of the lacrosse team in 1965. When Darlene came to Collingswood High as a sophomore, all the girls in Oaklyn had played softball and she expected to play that sport at Colls High as well. But legendary coach Bea Markwick said, "No way. We are going to start a lacrosse team." Darlene knew nothing about lacrosse, but mastered the sport in short order. When she became a phys. ed. teacher and coach at Oaklyn Junior High, she started a lacrosse team to help the girls from Oaklyn be better prepared at Collingswood. She now lives in Florida, where she received a master's in physical education from the University of South Florida. Darlene and her husband, Marc, have a grown son and daughter.
Darlene, Class of 1988, participated in Field Hockey, Cheerleading, and Lacrosse during her high school years at CHS. While she earned 2nd team conference in Field Hockey, her best sport was Lacrosse. While many girls start out young, Darlene didn't begin to play until her Sophomore year. When she wanted to quit after her first week, Coach Stephanie LaMaina urged her to stick with it! She went on to play for the next three years as a Defender, was a starter her Junior and Senior seasons, served as Team Captain her senior year, earned two Varsity letters, and was named First Team All-South Jersey, First Team All-Mohawk, and was featured in the Courier-Post Sports Spotlight. In addition, her Lacrosse team won the Mohawk title that season by soundly defeating Rancocas Valley by the score of 21-2!! What a fitting ending for a wonderful season and Lacrosse career for Darlene!! Following graduation, Darlene earned a B.S. from Shippensburg University, where she continued her Lacrosse career as a four-year starter for Coach Debbie Tweed, also a Collingswood Alum, and an Early Education Certificate K-8 from Rowan University. She is currently employed by the Haddon Township School District. Darlene, who currently resides in Haddon Township, is married to Stephen Sorensen and is the mother of Zachary and Samantha. She states that Lacrosse is still her favorite sport and she was even instrumental in starting a Lacrosse program in Haddon Township. She has taught her daughter to play and she is also in love with the sport!!
Darren is a 1987 graduate of CHS where he was a member of the soccer, basketball, and baseball teams.
He earned 3 letters in soccer, and as goalie for the team, recorded 8 shutouts and allowed an average of only 1½ goals to be scored against him per game.
He also earned 3 letters in basketball where he garnered All-South Jersey Honorable Mention and All-Group II First Team honors. In baseball, Darren earned two letters and was named to the 2nd team All-Conference and received Group 2 Honorable Mention. In his senior season, the team was Colonial Conference Champions and finished 10th in South Jersey with a 19-7 record.
Darren is married to Heather Hicks and is the father of Meghan (13), Samantha (11), and Andrew (9).
He resides in Ocean City, Maryland where he is employed as the general manager for 2 popular restaurants there: Sunset Grille and Micky Fins.
The "Golden Eleven" of 1958 celebrated Collingswood's 50th football anniversary by going unbeaten and untied while gaining recognition as one of the Panthers greatest teams. One of the dominating players was All-State center-linebacker, Dave Crossan. His strong offensive blocking and savage tackling on defense brought him many collegiate offers.
He went on to star at Maryland and then spent several years with the Washington Redskins.
Although noted mainly for football he also was a key factor on a powerful basketball team where he was a dominating force under the backboards.
In his Colls High days, Dave McMahon '53 earned three letters in baseball, two in football and one in wrestling. He served as captain in baseball and wrestling and was chosen to receive the school's Outstanding Senior Athlete Award.
Wrestling, under coach Dave Edinger, was added to the athletic program his senior year. Dave would go on to begin wrestling programs at several schools and establish himself as one of the top mat coaches in Eastern Pennsylvania and North Jersey.
He is being inducted into the Hall of Fame for his prowess as both athlete and long-time successful coach.
David Edinger was a graduate of East Stroudsburg University. He coached football, wrestling and basketball at Overbrook and Collingswood High Schools. He started the Jersey Wrestling Officials Association. He officiated in the wrestling state finals for many years. He is the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame Co-Founder and was presented the Harry Lake Award, which was given by the State Wrestling Association for his contribution to the sport.
Dave Gurtcheff was considered a "little guy" even by the standards of the mid-1950's, but was tough as nails as a football running back for the Panther teams of 1953 and '54. As a senior, he was named first team All-Group 4 and second team All-South Jersey. As a sophomore, Gurtcheff lettered as a diver on the swim team and placed third in the South Jersey Diving Championships. When Collingswood initiated wrestling in his junior year, Dave proved a quick learner and a standout matman. He placed second in South Jersey in the 148-lb. class as a junior, then became the Panthers' first South Jersey champion as a 158-pounder in his senior year. He also placed fourth in the state.
Dave James '62 is honored both for his track career at Collingswood and for his many accomplishments as a track and cross-country coach at Highland High School. At Collingswood, he captained the track team and was the pole vault winner at the Camden County Meet, South Jersey Group IV and South Jersey Meet of Champions competition. He also tied for first in the State Meet.
After graduating from West Chester University, he started the cross-country program at Highland and in 21 years had only one losing season - the first. He earned six Olympic Conference championships and a state championship in 1989. James was South Jersey Coach of the Year in both 1979 and 1989. He was also named South Jersey Track Coach of the Year in 1973.
James was inducted into the South Jersey and NJSIAA Halls of Fame. He is married to Sara Jean and has a daughter, Krista Mull.
Dave Jentsch, Class of 1983, was a three sport athlete who earned a total of 7 Varsity letters: 3 in Football, and 2 each in Bowling and Baseball. During the fall season you could find Dave ably performing as a tailback/linebacker on the football field where he was a member of the 1981 Colonial Conference Championship squad which went 8 and 1 for Coach Bob Barikian. He has a special memory of beating Audubon 7-6 that year when, down 6-0 late in the 3rd quarter, quarterback Bill Hunt pitched Dave the ball allowing him to score from the 5 yard line to win the game. During the winter months, Dave was a member of the Boys' Bowling team where he consistently racked up good scores to help his team earn victories. This experience helped Dave to become a 210 average Bowler who bowled a perfect game and two 800 series games. Springtime found Dave on the Baseball diamond where he excelled as an Outfielder/ Pitcher. During the 1982 season, his junior year, the team won the Colonial Conference and finished with an overall record of 18 wins and 4 losses. Highlights of his senior season include pitching a no-hitter for the first 7 innings. The game went into extra innings (11) with Dave pitching all 11---striking out 18 batters along the way while setting a school record for strike-outs. Following his 1983 senior season where he primarily pitched, Dave earned 1st Team Colonial Conference Honors as a pitcher, 1st team Group III honors as a pitcher, and 1st Team All-South Jersey as a pitcher. His record was 8 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 1.57. The team went 16-2, with a combined record of 19-4, and were repeat Colonial Conference Champs. Dave notes that from 1982-1983, the team combined for a 33-3 Colonial Conference record. With his five All-South Jersey teammates, Bill Hunt and Ron Aron (1982) and Mark Leise, Bill Narleski, and himself who were coached by Hall of Fame Coach, Ron Ross, they were a very formidable foe. A retired butcher, Dave is married to Susan DiNofa and is the father of Abigail and David, Jr. and is the step-father of Dominick and Nicholas DiNofa. He resides in Richboro, Pennsylvania where he has been actively involved in his community for the past 11 years. Dave is currently the Vice-President of the Lower Bucks Senior Babe Ruth and Classic League and an active Board member on the Northampton Township Baseball Association where he is the Director of Senior Babe Ruth. In addition, Dave has been managing in-house for travel baseball teams for a number of years.
Dave Kennedy was a star football, wrestling, and baseball player in the class of 1960. He was a rugged lineman in football, a standout heavy-weight wrestler, and capable baseball player. He lost his life in a fishing accident while living in Washington state.
Dave Steiler was a standout wrestler for Coach Sam Coursen from 1959 to 1961. He was a key member of Coursen's first undefeated team in 1961. That year he was a district and regional champion and placed second in the state at 167 pounds.
Steiler, who also played football for two years, received a bachelor's degree from Temple University and a master's degree from Springfield College. During his undergraduate days, he lost only one dual meet and three years earned second place honors in the MACC Tournament. He coached the Suffield Academy team in Connecticut to a state championship and then was head coach at Delaware Valley College, York College (where he coached Colls Hall of Famer Gary Papa) and his alma mater Temple. For the past 27 years, he has been athletic director at Cinnaminson High School and Spacken Hill High School in New York until retiring last June.
The Ridingers' great football teams of the mid-1960's were led by three straight middle linebackers. Dave Tundermann was the first, followed by co-inductee Bob MacBride and previous inductee John Sohanchak. A three-year letterman as a center/linebacker, Tundermann was All-Conference, All-South Jersey Group 3 and All-South Jersey. First in his class academically, Tundermann also received the prestigious National Football Foundation and Brooks-Irvine Scholar-Athlete Awards. He also wrestled for two years at Collingswood.
Dave Munyon was an outstanding track and cross-country runner from 1971-74 at Collingswood. He was later a standout at Glassboro State College (Rowan University).
He set school records in the mile and two-mile, breaking Ed Donohue's two-mile mark the only time he ran the event in his senior year. He was also the South Jersey Group 3 mile champion in 1974 and came in second by only a half-second in the State Group 3 run.
Munyon then became an NCAA Division 3 cross-country All-American. He is today a major in the U.S. Army with overseas duty in Hawaii and Panama. He is married to Sharon and they are parents of Samantha (11).
Debbie graduated in the Top Ten of her class of 1977. As a three year starter in three sports, her teams recorded seven championship seasons including three straight Colonial Conference championships in hockey, a South Jersey Group II championship in basketball and two State Titles in lacrosse.
Besides being an All Jersey lacrosse player, Debbie also received All Colonial Conference and All Group III honors in field hockey. She was the captain and MVP of her field hockey team during her senior year.
After graduation Debbie played four years of varsity field hockey and lacrosse at East Stroudsburg University. She then taught and coached at Oakcrest and Absagami High Schools.
Debbie (class of 1973) lettered for three years each in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She was captain of the hockey team, was named Most Valuable Player in her senior year and received first team All-Colonial Conference honors.
Debbie was co-captain of the basketball team and was honored as "Outstanding Female Athlete" for the class of 1973.
She was encouraged to play sports by her big brother, Bull Durham, and thanks her parents for supporting her and teaching her to never, never give up.
Debbie attended Camden County College and Glassboro State (Rowan University) for a total of three years. She is married to William Bartleson and has three children: Katie, 31; Becky, 29; and Bill, 28.
Debbie Tweed played field hockey, basketball and lacrosse at Collingswood, and all three teams were big winners during her tenure. She played varsity hockey as a junior and captained the team in her senior year. In both those years, the hockey team won the Courier-Post Cup and Debbie was All-Conference, All-Group 3 and All-South Jersey.
Debbie was a guard on a basketball team that won the South Jersey Group 3 championship, but experienced the ultimate thrill of playing with two state lacrosse teams in 1976 and '77. She captained the lacrosse team in her senior year.
Dee Douglas was one of the powerful linemen of his day. As a junior he cleared the way for a bevy of fleet backs that helped the Panthers annex the Group 4 title.
The next season he was selected All-Group 4 guard. His physical strength was mentioned by every unfortunate opponent.
Diane starred in lacrosse and field hockey at Collingswood High, and also lettered in basketball. She was the CHS most valuable player for the lacrosse team that won the state championship. In that game, she held one of the top scorers in check as the Colls won, 11-4.
She was an All-South Jersey honoree and was selected to the first team defense in 1979, after being named honorable mention attack the previous year. She co-captained the field hockey team in her senior year, and was named to the second team for both Group 3 and the Colonial Conference.
Diane was honored to play with her sisters, Debbie and Susan. She is married to Carl Springer and has a B.S. degree from Lehigh University.
Diane James Dapkey of the class of '66 was a star performer in field hockey, basketball and the first lacrosse teams in the school's history. She won MVP awards in all three sports and received the Gold Medal as the top senior girl athlete.
Diane played three years of varsity hockey, including a Colonial Conference championship team as a sophomore. She captained the team and was MVP as a senior. Diane lettered for two years in basketball and was MVP her junior year.
She was also a key member of the first two lacrosse teams in Colls history. Here again she captained the team and was MVP as a senior. As evidence of her all-around athletic skills, Diane held the school record for the fastest time in the 50-yard dash as part of the President's Physical Fitness Program.
Diana was selected the female athlete of the year 1947. During her high school days, she annexed three letters in field hockey and softball, and two in basketball. She had the thrill of playing on championship hockey teams all three years and was high scorer as a senior. Those title seasons remain fresh in her memory, particularly being chosen captain in her senior year. She has happy memories of hockey camp in the Poconos and the marvelous spirit which was such an important part of her high school days.
Married to Colls High athlete, Mickey, the union has produced six children and five grandchildren.
The brothers Ridinger, Dick and Jack, will always be remembered for restoring glory to Collingswood High football during the decade of the 1960's. Older brother Dick was already a highly-successful coach before taking over at Colls High in 1962. In 13 years at Paulsboro, Dick's teams were a combined 80-27-9, won four Colonial Conference titles and never had a losing season.
Collingswood football was in a rare down cycle when Dick took over the reins and brought along brother Jack, who was coaching football at their mutual alma mater, Gettysburg College. Installing a precision offense and hard-hitting defense, Dick's first Colls team produced a winning record and it was all uphill from there. In four years at the helm, Dick compiled a 25-10-1 mark. His last team (1965) produced an 8-1 mark and another Colonial title.
By then, Dick had moved into administration and would serve 20 years as assistant principal before retiring in 1984. He turned over the reins to brother Jack and all his younger brother did was produce the sixth undefeated grid team in the school's history. That 1966 squad will go down as one of the greatest to ever play for the Blue and Gold.
Jack held the reins for four more years and stepped down after the 1970 season with a credible 31-14 record as head coach. He also assisted with the wrestling and track teams and retired in 1992 after 30 years at Colls High.
Dom Mariani Class of 1980 was an outstanding football player at Colls High during the years 1978-80. He was a star back on both sides of the ball, gaining All-Colonial Conference honors and being named to the All-South Jersey team as a defensive back. Mariani saved his best for last. Collingswood had not scored against Sterling for five years prior to that 1979 game. Then Dominic intercepted a pass and made 12 unassisted tackles to lead the Colls to a 48-6 rout. Dom went on to receive a degree in biology from Rutgers-Camden and the degree of doctor of chiropractic medicine from Palmer College of Chiropractic. Her is a practicing doctor of chiropractic medicine in South Jersey.
Don DeMartin excelled in three sports in an era that was one of the most memorable in school history. In 1947, he lettered as a sophomore in football and then starred on the championship squads of the next two seasons.
As a junior, he was the most versatile player on the unbeaten, untied team, the final one coached by Skeets Irvine. As a senior, he was the leading scorer on a high-scoring unit that won the Group 4 crown. He was a starting guard for two years in basketball and a starting infielder for three years on some of Coach Bill Diemer's greatest creations.
After graduation, he spent a year at Peddie School, quarterbacking the prep school to a perfect season. At Michigan State, he was a squad member on a national college championship team.
In its long athletic history, Collingswood has been noted for its pole vaulters. No one, however, dominated the event as did Don Riley in the seasons of 1941 through 1943.
During his three varsity seasons, Riley won six gold medals - three as South Jersey champion and three more as tops in the state. He never lost a dual meets as a scholastic vaulter. His only second place was as a junior when he had to settle for the silver medal in a meet at the University of Delaware.
His first coach was his father, Walter, who had been excellent as a pole vaulter at West Philadelphia High. During Don's days at Collingswood, his father never missed a meet. In fact he was usually busy with a rake, making sure the soil in the landing pit was made as soft as possible.
Riley's best vault, 12-10, was never beaten in South Jersey as long as the bamboo pole was in use.
Donna Clark, CHS Class of 1996, was a 3 sport standout starring in Soccer, Basketball, and Lacrosse. She was also a member of the National Honor Society, participated in Student Government, and was a member of the cast of the Senior Play. During the fall, she was a 4 year Varsity performer and served as captain for the Girls' Soccer Team. She earned 2nd Team Group II honors her senior season and 1st team All-Conference honors following both her junior and senior seasons. She finished her career with 37 goals. During the winter, she was a 4 year Varsity performer on the Girls' Basketball Team where she served as captain both her junior and senior seasons. She earned post-season honors all four years and following her senior season, she was named Honorable Mention All-South Jersey and 1st Team Group II. Her team went on to defeat Haddonfield in the semi-finals of the SJ Group II Championship and eventually lost to Point Pleasant Boro in the the SJ Group II Championship final. Donna ended her career as the All-time scoring leader in Girls' Basketball with 1357 points scored. Her spring sport of choice was Lacrosse where she earned 3 varsity letters and served as team captain. Donna went on to Rowan University where she earned a BA in Health and Physical Education and played on the Women's Basketball Team for four years serving as Team Captain for her junior and senior seasons. The team participated in the Division III Women's Collegiate Basketball team all 4 years and made it as far as the Final 4 her sophomore year. Donna is employed as a Health and Physical Education Teacher at Glen Landing Middle School in Gloucester Township, New Jersey. She is the very successful Girls' Basketball Coach at Timber Creek High School where she took the team to the Group III State Finals in 2015. She was named the Courier-Post's 2014-2015 Girls' Basketball Coach of the year in 2015.
Donna, a member of the Class of 1975, is one of the outstanding female athletes of the 1970's. She earned three letters in hockey, basketball and lacrosse. Donna was named First Team All-Conference in all three sports.
Donna went on to Glassboro State College, continuing her athletic career. Today, Donna teaches at Haddonfield High School. She has been a successful field hockey and basketball coach. Donna's basketball teams won five Colonial Conference titles and three South Jersey Group II championships.
Donna resides in Cherry Hill, with husband Gary, and their sons, Sean and Blake.
Donna Seybold '86 earned a total of ten letters in three sports (four in tennis and three each in basketball and softball) during her career in Collingswood. The Oaklyn miss was a top tennis and softball player, but she will be best remembered for joining with Jeanne Mooney to lead the Colls to the state basketball championship in 1986. Seybold averaged 20 points per game in her senior year and scored over 1,000 points in her career, but would rather be known for the bullseye pass she threw to Mooney to send the championship game into a second overtime. Donna earned a basketball scholarship to Manhattan College, where she had a fine career and led the team twice to the NCAA Tournament field. She was a college coach for ten years at Loyola of Maryland and Indiana State before joining the Eli Lilly Co. as a pharmaceutical rep.
Collingswood High School has only offered gymnastics for a few years in its long history of athletics. Diminutive Doreen Slimm Deal '81 took full advantage of the opportunity provided her. Known for her fast twist, super flipping and fearless vaulting, she was a three-time All-Conference and All-South Jersey selection. Doreen led coach Nancy Tolstoy's team to participate in sectional competition and qualify for the state tournament. She was also vault champ in the Canada Classic while in high school. Doreen went on to an excellent gymnastics career at the University of West Virginia, where she was an All-East selection, placed second in the regional championships and gained All-American honors as well. Doreen placed 38th in the all-around national competition against the best gymnast of the U.S. She has also coached gymnastics for 12 years at Cherry Hill High School East and also coached at the private Cherry Hill Academy.
Recipient of the second Collingswood High Lifetime Achievement Award is Doris E. Hand, who has enriched the borough of Collingswood with leadership positions in many civic and service organizations since her graduation from Collingswood High in 1935. She is also a graduate of Philadelphia Business College and has taken additional courses at both Glassboro State and Rutgers-Camden. Doris served the Collingswood Library for 28 years before retiring in 1995. However, she has been president and is now vice-president of the Friends of the Library and still leads the Family Tree Genealogy Club, which she founded as liaison to the library. She is well-known for her efforts in organizing and leading the Friends of the Collings-Kinght House, Collingswood's historic homestead. In addition, she has been president of the Collingswood-Newton Colony Historic Society for many years, served on the borough's Historic Commission and several years ago was appointed the town's official historian. Doris has been Collingswood Blood Bank chairman, is a long-time member of the Tatem-Shields American Legion Auxiliary and has been president of the unit three times - as well as president of the Camden County Legion Auxiliary. In her younger days, she was a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout den mother, Camp Fire Girls leader and Sunday School teacher. Doris is the widow of Lawrence Hand and has a son and daughter. In short, Doris Hand has brought honor and recognition to Collingswood High School by a lifetime of service to local people and organizations. She and her long-time friend and colleague, fellow honoree Ralph Daugherty, are truly town treasurers.
Doug Frambes had the honor of pitching on the first varsity baseball team coached by Bill Diemer and was a teammate of Hall of Famers Hank Rossell, Al Usilton and George Pims. He then had a long teaching career at Riverside High School, where he also coached many outstanding basketball teams - including a state championship team.
However, Frambes is best known today as South Jersey's leading sports historian. The author of two books - including "Hail Panthers, Here They Come", the history of Collingswood football - he gained a great following for his weekly "sports scrapbook" features in the Courier Post. His sports nostalgia articles are now a popular weekly feature in the Retrospect newspaper.
Doug has been a strong supporter of Collingswood athletics for the past 50 years and as been a member of the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame Committee from the outset. The committee is honored to induct him into the Hall of Fame as a contributor to Collingswood athletics.
One of the great all-around athletes of his day, Drew starred in football, basketball and baseball, and even found time to do a little sprinting for the track team.
He starred on the championship football teams of 1945 and 1956. As a senior he was selected All-South Jersey quarterback. A triple-threat in the old-time single wing days, he was a breakaway runner, a marvelous passer and consistent punter. His game-winning touchdown run against John Bartram is fresh in the memory of everyone in the packed stands that day.
Drew was an able basketball guard and a competent baseball catcher. In the latter role he caught several of the no-hitters thrown by future big leaguer, Ray Narleski. He was selected the outstanding male athletes of the class of 1947.
Estlow utilized his speed and agility to star on two Colls High football squads. As a junior he was a halfback on the championship unit of 1936, and then earned All-Group honors as an end in his senior year. As a trackman, at the time of his graduation, he owned every hurdles record in school history. He also was leadoff runner on a superb relay team, anchored by the brilliant sprinter, Gordon Magee. This team finished second in the Championship of America Mile Relay at the Penn Relays.
He went to Denver University where he served for two years as team football captain. His greatest thrill was leading Denver to a monumental upset over state rival, Colorado. In college he continued his remarkable track career. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, however the coming of World War II shut down that opportunity. He earned a law degree but turned to the publishing world for his career. This career choice would eventually earn him the position of CEO of Scripps Howard, one of the world's great publishing empires.
Ed Friberg was an outstanding football and baseball player on some of Collingswood High's greatest teams in both sports. A halfback, Friberg ran for over 1,000 yards in both his junior and senior years. He concluded his gridiron career with 29 touchdowns and over 3,000 yards gained.
His junior team of 1965 won the Colonial Conference with an 8-1 record and his senior contingent (which he co-captained with John Sohanchek) was 9-0 and won the Courier-Post trophy as the first number-one ranked team in South Jersey in the Brooks-Irvine poll. Friberg was voted to the All-South Jersey and All-Group 3 first teams.
In baseball, Friberg was a standout on Collingswood teams that won the South Jersey Group 3 championships in both his sophomore and junior years. He batted .444 in his junior year and co-captained the team.
Few individuals have contributed more to Collingswood High School than Ed Kurkian, this year's choice for the Meritorious Service Award.
Ed was a solid reserve on the 1953 South Jersey championship basketball team, only the second sectional title in school history. As a senior he was a stalwart on another court team which reached the sectional finals. He played a year of baseball and two years of track during his undergrad days.
He returned to teach and coach baseball before becoming an administrator, a position he held until retirement. From day one he has played a major role in the development of the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame.
Ed Landis, class of 1964, competed and lettered in football, wrestling and track during his years at Collingswood High. He was a running back in football, won a district championship in wrestling and received honors throwing the javelin in track.
He attended art schools and colleges: Tyler School of Art of Temple University, Mercer County College, Philadelphia College Art (B.F.A.) and Central Washington University (M.F.A.). Landis is married to the former Gina Franchini and has three children: Wyatt, Cosima Franchini and Ocean.
Everyone in the 1946 backfield was blessed with speed, but Ed McQueston's was exceptional. Few teams were successful in containing him when he received a toss from Drew Wilson and took off around end. Many times during the season he electrified the crowd with long and spectacular runs. His speed and quick reactions made him an exceptional defensive halfback. McQueston was a star quarter-miler on the track team and was a two-year starter on quality basketball teams.
Skeets Irvine arrived in Collingswood and the brightest star in his first three seasons was Edger "Eggs" Warren. Collingswood won its first gridiron title in 1920 and was co-champion with Woodbury in 1921. Warren captained both those title teams. There were no All-South Jersey teams selected at the time, but the Newark News placed Warren on its second All-State team, a rare honor for a South Jersey player. In 1921, Eggs threw touchdown passes to Bob Wilkens and Howdey Roberts to enable the Colls to beat Camden 14-13. It was the first victory over Camden. The write-ups of the day called him big, fast, strong and deceptive runner and a ferocious linebacker. Game story after game story had his name in the first paragraph. Eggs Warren dominated his era.
Edie Robinson was the most outstanding female athlete in the class of 1952, winning the Athletic Award at graduation. She earned letters in four sports, a total of nine in her three high school years.
Edie was a hockey standout, winning three letters and captaining the team in her senior year. She also won letters as a basketball stalwart, adding two letters in swimming and one in softball to demonstrate her all-around athletic ability. A well-rounded student-athlete, Edie was a member of the National Honor Society and vocalized with the glee club, choir and ensemble.
Ed Donohue only spent his senior year (1973) at Collingswood, transferring from Paul VI. But he made the most of it, lettering in cross-country and winter and spring track.
He won the Colonial Conference cross-country title and took first in the South Jersey Meet of Champs. He also was Collingswood cross-country course record-holder at Camden County College. He also placed second in the South Jersey Sectionals and third in the State Meet. He also set the two-mile record for Collingswood in track.
Ed went on to Camden County College and Rowan University. He and his wife, Eva, have three children: Erin, Brian and Eric. His daughter, Erin, made the U.S. Olympic 1500-meter team at the Beijing Olympics.
Ed Malsberger '35 starred at end on the Collingswood High gridiron squad which achieved an unbeaten, untied regular season before losing to Bloomfield, 14-7 in a post-season unofficial state championship game.
His biggest thrill came in the Bloomfield game, when he caught a pass from Ted Laux to set up the only Panther score. He was a three year baseball infielder for Coach Sam Byham. In his post-high school days, Ed played independent baseballland softball. He not only loved participating, but had a great interest in history and statistics. His record-keeping has proved invaluable to writers and historians.
One of the great basketball players of his era, Ed Moffitt served as captain and was considered the top player on the 1934-35 units which went 17-2 under Coach Ben Mark. The only losses were to perennial powers Atlantic City and Trenton. That senior year climaxed three brilliant basketball seasons.
Moffitt also was an excellent end on that powerful 1934 championship football team. During his busy high school years, he lettered in baseball and track before graduating 1935. He married Ethel Woolston of the Collingswood family of noted female athletes. The couple are survived by son Edward and daughter Janet.
Eileen Parkinson was a star field hockey goalie, who established the South Jersey career record with 34 shutouts in her senior year (1982), when the Colls were Colonial Conference and South Jersey Group 3 champions. She captained that team and received first team All-Conference, All-Group 3 and All-South Jersey honors.
She also earned three letters in lacrosse and played for the state championship team of 1983, which also won the Delaware Valley Lacrosse League. She was second team Delaware Valley Sioux Division.
Eileen went on to play two years of field hockey at Albright College and earned her degree from Glassboro State (Rowan). She is married to classmate Jim Martin and they have a son, Ryan, who was an All-South Jersey pitcher at Cherry Hill East and received a scholarship to Iona. Their 15-year-old daughter, Megan, is an up-and-coming hockey and softball player.
Ellen Jeckot was a standout three-sport athlete during a great era of girls' athletics at Collingswood High. She lettered for three years each in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, earned All-Conference honors in each of those sports and was a strong contributor toward her teams winning conference titles in all three sports - a total of five team championships in her three varsity years. The class of '71 grad was a first-team All-Colonial Conference hockey choice in her junior year and a second-team pick in her senior season, when she also captained the team. Both those hockey squads won Colonial championships. In basketball, she was a first-team All-Colonial honoree as a senior and was the second highest scorer on the Colls team that won the Colonial Conference crown in 1970-71. She and the four other basketball starters were named co-MVPs that year. It was a similar story in lacrosse, then a comparatively new sport at Collingswood. Ellen was a first-team All-Conference performer in her senior year, when the Colls won both the Colonial Conference and Delaware Valley championships. She was one of five seniors named team MVP that year.
During her superlative career at Collingswood High, Elsie Rogers accumulated 12 varsity letters. She excelled in field hockey, basketball, tennis, swimming and diving. As a senior, she was selected on the All-South Jersey hockey team.
Frequently called "Peanut" because of her lack of size, Elsie made up for her stature with speed, skill and a competitive nature. She always played at her best when the going was the toughest.
Her contemporaries like to recall how she rallied her hockey team to a 2-1 conquest of Gloucester in a game for the West Jersey League title. Her last second desperation shot brought the Panthers a league title in a victory over Woodbury. She was considered South Jersey's finest diver.
Eric Hart '91 was a standout in track and soccer at Colls High. He was a soccer goalie who was named honorable mention All-South Jersey, second team All-Group 2 as a junior and first team All-Colonial and All-Group 2 and third team All-South Jersey as a senior. He was in the nets when Collingswood ended Haddonfield's 22-game unbeaten streak in the Colonial Conference. Hart was a three-year starter.
In track, Hart was All-Group 2 in his junior and senior years and leading scorer on the Panther team as a senior. That year he set a new Collingswood high jump record of 6'7", which was also second in South Jersey that spring.
Before his senior year, Hart measured the existing high jump mark of 6'4 ½ and wrote it on the bathroom wall where he could look at it every day. His mother saved that piece of wallpaper when the family redid the bathroom.
He also played jayvee baseball and basketball and resides in Naples, FL, with wife Chantielle and their four children.
"Ike" Eisenhart was a stalwart in football, wrestling and baseball for the class of 1973, earning three varsity letters in each sport. In football, he played fullback on offense, excelling as a blocker and ball-carrier, and on defense he was a hard-nosed defensive end.
In a big victory over Haddon Township during his senior season of 1972, Eisenhart scored the lone touchdown in the last quarter as the Colls prevailed, 7-0. He received first team All-Conference and All-Group 3 honors and was a second team All-South Jersey choice on defense.
Erich was a district champion at 168 pounds in wrestling and placed third in the regionals, also achieving All-Conference selection. During the spring seasons, he was a solid hitter and bulwark at third base for the Collingswood baseball teams.
Ferne was one of the best all-around athletes at Colls High during the decade of the 1960's. She lettered for three years in both field hockey and basketball and for two years in softball, as well as playing on the tennis team.
Ferne captained the field hockey team in her senior year and, in all sports, was known for her competitive spirit and will to win. She received the South Jersey Conference Gold Medal for "Athlete of the Year" in 1962-63.
After a fine collegiate career at East Stroudsburg, Ferne has become known as one of the top women's basketball coaches in the nation -, first at Trenton State College and for the last five years at the University of Miami (Fla.) She was Big East "Coach of the Year" in 1991-92, when her Lady Hurricanes won 28 straight games.
Florence was not a varsity athlete in high school, but met the approval of many as the high-strutting majorette of the Drum and Bugle Corps. Among those guilty of ogling the lovely lass was a great athlete named Bill Mitchell, a charter member of the Collingswood Hall of Fame.
Tonight, Mrs. Floss Mitchell joins her husband, Bill, in the Colls Hall of Fame. She enters as a contributor and no writer has the vocabulary to aptly list how enormous her contributions have been. Selfless, tireless and unbelievably organized, she is the foundation stone upon which the Collingswood Hall of Fame is built.
Next to meeting Bill, Floss most remembers the many friends she made in the class of 1944. She is proud that a large group of the nice girls she first met in high school still meet regularly.
Frank "Bud" Law has devoted his adult lifetime to serving the citizens of Collingswood, first as a member of the Board of Education for 21 years and as board president for 13 of those years. During that period he also served as president of the County Board for three years. He was elected a Borough Commissioner in 1980, serving as Commissioner and Director of Public Works for 13 years and then as Mayor from 1993-97.
Law has also served on the borough Library Board and is today the chief administrative officer for the Housing Authority. In addition, he has been a member of the Governor's High School Requirement Committee, Our Lady of Lourdes Home Health Care Board and Institutional Review Committee, Collingswood Municipal Alliance, Transfiguration Parish Council and the Knights of Columbus.
Bud was a football standout at St. Joseph's Prep School in Philadelphia and later played for Bainbridge Naval Training Station on one of the top service teams in the nation. He also attended Valley Forge Military Academy and graduated from Temple University after World War II. He was employed by Wyeth Laboratories for 38 years as district and territory sales manager.
Bud and his wife, Rita, are the parents of seven children. One is a graduate of Camden Catholic High School and the other six are Colls High grads. Several of their children distinguished themselves in athletics, as well.
Tests have determined that the Goulburn family has an unusual medical/genetic condition. Their blood runs blue and gold! That may explain why the Goulburns have produced four generations of Collingswood High athletes.
It all started with Katharine Goulburn, grandmother of this year's inductee, whose legendary accomplishments made her a charter inductee into the Collingswood Hall of Fame. Frank's father, Franklin, Jr., and uncle (Dr.) Bill, swam and played football for CHS. Frank's son, Frank IV, wrestled for four years at CHS and son Andy is a current junior wrestler, while daughter Katharine is a freshman who plays hockey and lacrosse.
Frank earned three letters in wrestling and two each in football and track. In football, he was an All-Conference end and linebacker who also earned first team All-South Jersey honors. He was the Colls' leading scorer and tackler in his senior year.
An outstanding wrestler for Coach Sam Coursen, he was a district champ and regional runnerup at 178 pounds in his senior year. Frank has given back much to his school and community. For many years he has been a leader in the youth wrestling program that has contributed greatly to the resurgence of the sport at the high school level.
Frank Jakob was an outstanding athlete who starred in one of Collingswood's most celebrated eras. He lettered on three successive championship football squads, earning All-South Jersey honors as a senior in 1936. He also won three letters in both basketball and track and was selected as the top athlete in the class of 1937.
Following high school, Jake, as he was known in his playing days, went to Pennsylvania Military College, where he starred in football, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree. In World War II, he served as ab infantry captain during the invasion and subsequent conquest in North Africa.
His leadership qualities were evident in both high school and college. At PMC, he held the high rank of Battalion Captain of the Corps of Cadets.
One of the few lineman to start for three years in the Skeets Irvine football era, Boehm started for three years, including playing on championship teams in 1940 and 1942. He was named All-Group 4 guard in his senior year. He was honored by his teammates by being named captain of the unbeaten, untied 1942 squad. His leadership was a quality greatly respected by coaches and players. In the spring of 1945, Cpl. Fred Boehm, fighting with the United States Marines on the island of Okinawa, lost a foot in combat. He now resides in Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
As a junior, Fred Kane of the class of 1928 was starting center on Collingswood's first unbeaten squad.
In his senior year, Kane's performance was so exceptional he was named All-State. Against Bridgeton he blocked four punts, accounting for a touchdown and safety. That 1927 squad captured the crown in Class A.
Fred Vanderslice, now the Superintendent of the Camden County Educational Services Commission, is best remembered in Collingswood as the person who started both the high school and community soccer programs. A graduate of Audubon High School, where he participated in track and cross country, his soccer career began in college at Morehead State University in 1965. While teaching fifth grade at the Zane-North School, playing club soccer and helping to form a community soccer league in Westville, Fred agreed to start a Collingswood High soccer club that played a JV schedule in 1968. The following year, the high school team began play in the 17-team South Jersey Soccer Association. Realizing that a feeder system was necessary to keep pace with the other schools, Vanderslice started the Collingswood Community Soccer League with four teams that played on Saturdays in the Knight Park. That program has grown and flourished in the years since and now involves hundreds of boys and girls in grassroots soccer play. Under Fred's leadership, the high school team steadily improved and he developed such outstanding players as goalies Joe Falana and Jim Birchmeier, as well as Mark Stewart and Serry Tobia. The best season record for the Colls was 5-5-5 in 1975. Vanderslice left teaching and coaching to take a position in school administration in 1978. That fall the Panthers won the Colonial Conference championship.
Furman Sherlock has gone through life with two first names. While working on the Wildwood Beach Patrol, the head lifeguard couldn't (or wouldn't) remember Furman, so he tabbed him with the name "Jerry". He cheerfully answers to either cognomen.
Sherlock was a star back on the unbeaten, untied Collingswood football teams of 1931 and 1932. He also ran leg on the great mile-relay team which captured the Championship of America Race in the Penn Relays.
Following high school, he matriculated at Villanova where he joined his high school teammate Jack Earle in the backfield. It was one of the brightest eras in Villanova gridiron history. He and Earle also ran on the first relay team coached by the fabled Jumbo Elliot.
Gary Papa is considered one of the finest wrestlers ever produced at Collingswood High and he also contributed to getting soccer off the ground at the school. In his senior year, he shared the honor as Outstanding Male Athlete in his class of 1970.
Papa was an All-Colonial Conference wrestler in his sophomore, junior and senior years. He was also a regional champion and placed second in the district championships in his sophomore year and won the districts in both his junior and senior years. He was also a regional champion and placed second in the state in his senior year, when he was an All-South Jersey selection.
Papa earned a wrestling scholarship to York College and has already achieved over 300 victories as a scholastic mat coach.
Papa played on the soccer team that started on the club level during his junior year. He was a key performer and co-captain of the soccer team in his senior year, the first official varsity season in Colls history.
Gary Williams exhibited the same leadership and intensity in his own scholastic career that he demonstrates as one of college basketball's most successful coaches.
On the hardwood, he was a three-year starter as a ballhawking guard and fierce defender. He teamed with fellow Hall of Famer Stan Pawlak (who was a class ahead) on outstanding teams of the early 1960's. In Gary's senior year, Collingswood joined the Colonial Conference and won the league basketball title. Williams was a first team All-South Jersey performer.
Williams was also a two-year starter in baseball, where he was a standout outfielder with a great arm. He was also a member of the cross-country team.
Gary went on to play at the University of Maryland. He has been a highly-successful Division 1 basketball coach who has built winning programs at four universities - American U., Boston College, Ohio State and now at his alma mater, Maryland.
Gary Williams' journey started in the Collingswood Biddy Basketball League in the old gym (now the Sam Coursen Wrestling Center). His fundamental skills, intensity, and passion for the game won him the point guard position as a sophomore for Coach John Smith. For the next three years, the basketball team had winning seasons. In his junior year, CHS upset both Woodrow Wilson and Camden High Schools. In his senior year (1962-63), Collingswood joined the Colonial Conference. That team, with Gary's on-court leadership, won Collingswood's first Colonial Conference Championship. Gary was recruited by the University of Maryland and was a three year starter for Coach Bud Milliken. In 1968, he returned to South Jersey and taught and coached at Woodrow Wilson High School. Along with his lifetime friend and Collingswood teammate, Stan Pawlak, he coached Wilson to an undefeated season and the State Group IV Championship. He then joined his Maryland Freshman coach, Tom Davis, as his assistant at Lafayette and Boston College. In 1979, Gary became the youngest Division I coach when he was hired by American University. Despite their lack of a home gym, he turned A.U. into a winning program. Tom Davis was hired by Stanford University in 1982, and Gary succeeded his mentor as head coach at Boston College in the highly competitive Big East Conference. His next move on the coaching carousel took him to Ohio State in 1986. Then, in 1989, he returned to his alma mater to resurrect the Maryland basketball program after the Len Bias tragedy. Charles "Lefty" Driesell, the University of Maryland basketball coach in the 1970's had boasted that he was going to turn Maryland into the UCLA of the East, but could never get it done. It would take three decades and a humble guy from Sharp School on the west side of Collingswood to fulfill that dream. In 2002, Gary Williams coached and willed his team to the NCAA Basketball Championship over Indiana University. Then, in 2014, Gary received the highest honor for a player or coach-he was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts-the home of basketball. Gary's other honors include: NJ Basketball Coach of the Year-1970, Eastern Basketball Coach of the Year-1981-82, South Jersey HOF, Collingswood HS Athletic HOF, Washington, D.C. Sports HOF, University of Maryland HOF, National Basketball Coaches HOF. For his fantastic career as a player and coach, we are pleased to welcome him home and to bestow on Gary Williams the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Gene Bradford was named All-South Jersey guard on the unbeaten Colls football team of 1931. It was his third year as a regular on the Irvine-coached juggernauts of that era.
He was a three-year regular in basketball and starred on the powerful Panther track and field squads. He finished second as a discus thrower in the state meet in 1932. To show his versatility, he played the lead role in the senior play.
After graduation he starred in football at Ursinus, a small college power at the time. During World War II, he achieved the rank of Lt. Commander in the Navy and saw action in the African landings.
He became a school administrator in North Jersey and for many years earned distinction in the Master's program for track and field veterans. Bradford recalls delivering the first kickoff in the new Collingswood concrete stadium.
A three-letter athlete, Capinas starred in football, track and baseball. In a season shortened by injury, he was still selected as an All-South Jersey halfback in 1952. He was also the team's kicker. Capinas was a co-captain of the football team in his senior year and, despite the injury, received multiple scholarship offers. He represented Collingswood in the Penn Relays in 1952 and his enthusiasm and dedication to Collingswood sports programs was so intense that he often practiced track in his
baseball uniform, He was voted "Most Athletic" by his classmates in 1951 and '52. Capinas' most memorable moment came in a football game at Vineland in 1950. The Colls trailed, 19-18, with 35 seconds remaining, and the Vineland
spectators lined up behind the school band, poised for a victory parade. But Capinas fielded a kick at his own 15-yard line and raced down the field through the entire Vineland team for a touchdown to give the Colls a 24-19 victory. He is now deceased.
Big George Fuchs was a rugged three-sport Colls athlete of the early 1950's. He earned three letters each in football, basketball and baseball.
In football, Fuchs played guard as a sophomore, tackle as a junior and end in his senior season, when he made second team All-Group 4 laurels. Coach Cliff Rubicam could count on George in the trenches in his first years after succeeding the legendary Skeets Irvine.
Fuchs was also a basketball warrior and remembers scoring 17 points while playing in the first game ever in the Irvine Gym. But baseball was his best sport. He was a pitcher and shortstop, captaining the team in his senior year. George signed with the Phillies and played two years of minor league ball - back in the days when the Philshad a strong farm system.
Recipient of this year's Community Service Award is George H. Kennedy, a long-time Collingswood business owner and resident who has never been too busy for the youth of the borough. A native Philadelphian, he saw action in both Europe and Asia as a sergeant in the Army during World War II. Kennedy came to Collingswood in 1950 to found Kenmac Flowers with long time partner Joe McBride, a business he still helps out with 52 years later. He also joined the Collingswood Lions Club in 1950 (and is an active member) and was asked to manage the Lions team in the formative Collingswood Babe Ruth baseball program. For the next 25 years, he managed the Lions team and was instrumental in the growth of the Babe Ruth League program. He was also chosen to serve as manager and coach of several all-star teams. Kennedy is past president of the Collingswood business Association and the Lions Club. He also served as chairperson of the Collingswood Juvenile Conference Committee for five years. George Kennedy is a well-respected and much-admired man who has devoted much of his adult lifetime to serving others in his adopted community of Collingswood.
George Lee earned a total of seven letters in football, track and basketball during his years at Collingswood High. He captained the track and football teams in 1956, his senior year.
He has memories of the team's and his own accomplishments in the major track events: the N.J. State Meet, the Penn Relays and Atlantic City Relays. He quarterbacked the football team. At the end of his scholastic career, he received the Gold Medal for "Best Male Athlete."
Lee attended Brown Prep in Philadelphia and the University of Miami (Fla.) for one year each. He now lives in Florida, is married to Bea and is the father of four children: Patricia, 54; George, 52; Michael, 49; and Stephen, 44.
George was the quarterback and leader on the championship football team of 1942. He was the first Collingswood passer to top the 1000-yard mark. In basketball he was a two year starter and one of the top set shots of his day. For three years he held down the keystone sack in baseball and did not commit and error as a senior.
After serving as a navigator on the Flying Fortresses in Europe, he returned to civilian life and earned a business degree at Temple and a law degree at Rutgers.
Pims lists as his greatest thrills playing on the unbeaten football team in 1942 and being a part of the Camden Suburban League basketball champions when he was a junior.
George was a three-sport letterman. A three-year starter at end on the football team, his reckless style of play made him a fan favorite. He was All-South Jersey for the 1940 championship team. George was also a starting guard on the first Collingswood basketball team to win a South Jersey title. In addition, he was an outfielder on the baseball team.
Gerry was a star Varsity Letter winner in football and baseball. In baseball, he was named 1st team All Colonial Conference as well as being an All Group II selection who also had the honor of participating in the Carpenter Cup as an Infielder. That football season he was 7th leading scorer in SJ with 102 points and over 1,500 yards rushing. His 1991 gridiron team was undefeated (9-0) Colonial Conference Champs; Gerry's final-seconds, come-from-behind touchdown against Haddonfield was well remembered for preserving the perfect season and title. Following the 1991 football season, he was named to the 1st Team All Colonial Conference and 1stTeam All Group II squads, and was a 2nd Team ASJ selection by both the Courier-Post and Philadelphia Inquirer newspapers. Gerry went on to Rutgers and Temple Universities earning a BA in Economics and a MBA in Finance. He and wife Kimberly are proud parents of children Julia and Jackson.
This year's Meritorious Service Award goes to a truly unsung member of the Hall of Fame Board of Directors and Executive Committee - its secretary, Gert Hanson, class of 1947. Over the years, Gert and previous inductee Floss Mitchell have been the glue that has held the Hall of Fame program together - keeping records and processing volumes of correspondence and forms on a year-round basis.
The widow of Collingwood Police Lt. Donald Hanson, Gert attended business school and raised two children, Tom and Eileen (Kirk), before working 27 years as secretary in the Colls Junior High/Middle School. She was the secretary to Principal Ed Kurkian when Kurkian founded the Hall of Fame along with Sam Coursen, John Bach, and Jack Don. For many years, until both retired, Gert was an invaluable assistant to Kurkian with both school and Hall of Fame business.
Gert is proud to have been involved in the Hall of Fame since its beginning and to have helped that dream become a successful reality. Never an athlete herself, she has done much to promote both athletics and academics. She also has personal ties, since son Tom is a teacher and coach and granddaughter Lindsay is a teacher and coach at Collingswood High School.
When Glen Ambrosius finished his outstanding athletic career at CHS, he had earned 11 letters- three in football and four each in basketball and baseball. Post-season honors in football included being named to 1st Team All- Group and 1st Team ASJ; in basketball, Glen was named Honorable Mention All-Group II in both his junior and Senior years; and in baseball, he was named to the 1st Team Colonial Conference, 1st Team All-Group II, and 1st Team ASJ. While a student at CHS, Glen was member of both the National Honor Society and the Student Council. Glen is a graduate of The University of Pennsylvania where he received a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Communications. Glen has fond memories of Friday night football games and of winning the Colonial Conference Championship in baseball during his junior year. Glen's older brother, Jim, was inducted into the CHS Athletic HOF in 2010. Married to Donna, they are the parents of a 10 year old son, Colin.
Glenn, CHS Class of 1966, who earned Varsity letters in both Baseball and Basketball, was named the Outstanding Senior Boy Athlete upon his graduation. He was also a member of the Varsity Club and the Latin Club. An outstanding shortstop, following his senior season, Glenn was named to the All-Colonial Conference team as well as to the 1st team All-State Group III team and to the 2nd team All-State All Groups team. His final baseball season at CHS was an exciting one with the team winning its last five games, ending its regular season play with a 10-6 record. They went on to compete for the SJ Group III title defeating Kennedy HS of Willingboro as well as Triton Blue and Haddonfield to win the Group III title. Glenn refers to this defeat of Haddonfield in this championship game as "the most memorable moment in his high school career". Glenn went on to earn a BS degree from the University of Maine and also served stateside as a 1st Lieutenant in the US Army while stationed in Aberdeen, Maryland and Huntsville, Alabama. Now retired, Glenn taught science at the Voorhees Middle School for 33 years where he also coached Boys' Soccer and Girls' Softball. Glenn is married to Stephanie and they are the parents of Sunday, Erin, Brett, and Jared. He is the grandfather of Zachary, Hunter, and Wesley.
While three-sport athletes were common in the days before specialization, only a handful truly excelled in all. One of those gifted performers was Gordon Leslie.
He was an All South Jersey halfback in his junior year of 1947. The next season he was off to one of the greatest starts of any Collingswood running back until an injury reduced his playing time. He still was named All Group 4 in 1948 and was a key member of Irvine's last championship team.
In basketball he was a top scorer and exceptional rebounder. On the diamond he was a tremendous hitter and fleet baserunner. Many professional teams bid for his services but he opted to go to Lafayette College where he starred for three years and served as captain his senior year. He is retired and lives in Clearwater, Florida.
In the spring of 1938 at the South Jersey Championship Track and Field Meet, Gordon Magee ran the 100-Yard dash in 9.7 seconds and the 220 in 21.4, marks that would, even today, be considered exceptional.
Magee recalls that day, "Skeets was never one to offer high praise but on that afternoon he came up to me and said, "Mac, you are hot today!" There can be little doubt he is the greatest sprinter in Colls history. He also cleared 22 feet in the broad jump, a distance that dominated his era.
In his later years he ran for Compton Junior College in California, a national power at the time. He enjoyed a splendid junior year at Tennessee before the Army grabbed him. Afterwards his running days were over.
A classmate of Betty Smith and just one year behind Babe Foster, Grace Schuler was another outstanding all-around athlete who helped produce championship teams in women's sports at Collingswood High. Grace also earned 12 varsity letters, with three each in field hockey, basketball, swimming and tennis. She excelled in all of them and enjoyed competing in sports of any kind. After graduation, Grace went on to attain All-American honors in field hockey for the United States Field Hockey Team.
Contemporaries of Hank Deighan always speak first of his extraordinary competitive drive. George Pims, his teammate on the unbeaten 1942 championship gridiron squad, stated: " Whenever we were playing pick-up football or baseball games in the park, the rules were simple - we played until Hank's team got ahead!"
Chosen All-Group 4 tackle in 1942, Hank's superlative two-way play brought the respect of all. He was a reserve on the title team of 1940 and saw regular action in 1941.
In baseball he was the regular catcher for three years and had World War II not intervened, Deighan would most certainly have received professional playing offers. He later coached successfully at Camden Catholic. In 1961 he was selected Coach of the Year for producing a perfect-record unit.
As a Collingswood undergraduate, Larsen earned many local headlines. He was All-South Jersey tackle in 1929 and the top 440 man in the area in 1930. His brilliant defensive play in a goal line stand against Woodbury in 1928 played a major role in the championship season of 1928.
The headlines became national ones in the early days of World War II. An Annapolis graduate, Larsen earned the Navy Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross as commander of Reconstituted Torpedo Squadron 8. The sinking of a Japanese cruiser was one of his military accomplishments. Those heroics were performed in the early days of the war when a few navy pilots were entrusted with the responsibility of slowing the inexorable Japanese push through the South Pacific.
Harry Hales was one of the dominant linemen of the Irvine era. He was named All South Jersey tackle for his outstanding play on the 1935 championship team. He was on his way to All-Star recognition as a junior but suffered a mid-season injury. He returned to perform brilliantly in the state championship game against Bloomfield.
Although a tackle, he was frequently moved to end by Irvine in passing situations. From this position he scored both touchdowns in a 12-0 1935 victory over South Philadelphia.
Hales was also a powerful rebounder in basketball and a consistent scorer in the weight events in track and field.
Hazel arrived in Collingswood in 1930 and for the next decade the girls athletic program was in superior hands. In field hockey she directed her team to three area titles and finished second five times. During her ten-year period as court coach her teams tasted defeat but 16 times.
She was equally successful in basketball as her teams were annually among the best in South Jersey. She also helped the girls' program in a variety of ways and was one of those primarily responsible for making Collingswood strong in girls as well as boys sports.
She married and left teaching but her contributions are well remembered.
For the third straight year, a member of the Rossell family is being inducted into the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame. Hank Rossell, Jr., an outstanding athlete of the 1970's, follows his father (Hank, Sr., of course) and aunt Louise Godshall into the Hall of Fame.
Hank was truly one of the great athletes of the 1940's, having outstanding careers in football, basketball and baseball.
He played on the 1942 championship football team and was captain of the 1943 team, where he gained All South Jersey honors at center.
In basketball, he was the leading scorer on a team which won the Camden Suburban League Championship and gained All Conference honors.
In both his junior and senior years he was a standout pitcher and outfielder on a championship team, again gaining All Conference honors.
Hank went to the University of Pennsylvania, where he was one of the few players of his day to letter in three sports.
In post graduate days he served for years as a scholastic football official, a member of the board of governors of Brooks-Irvine Club and Collingswood Board of Education.
Hank lives in Medford, New Jersey with his lovely wife Caroline. They have four children, Marie, Louise, Henry, Jr and Christine.
Hank recently retired after a long career as an executive with Sun Oil Company.
A superlative three-sport athlete in high school, Hildred Malsberger Rupertus of the class of 1935 will join her brother, Ed, in the 2001 class of the Collingswood High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Hildred earned a total of nine letters in swimming, field hockey and basketball. She served as captain of the swim team as a senior and played on championship teams in all three sports. She has fond memories of her teammates and the many friends she made at Colls High. One of her fond memories is being selected to play in a post-season field hockey all-star game at Abington, PA., in 1934. The game was played in a blinding rainstorm with three inches of mud on the field.
Howdy Roberts had the honor of scoring the first touchdown of the Irvine era. He was a three year starter in football, basketball and baseball.
He was a star end on the 1920 and 1921 championship teams. Howdy also starred in the 14-13 victory over Camden in 1922, the first Colls team to defeat Camden. In that game he was switched to quarterback, because of an injury to the regular quarterback, and played superbly.
In the autumn of 1938, Collingswood gridiron fans began to sing the praises of a flashy sophomore halfback named Hubie Werner. Many predicted true greatness. They were right. When Werner graduated in 1941, he was recognized as one of the greatest backs to play during the long and fruitful career of Skeets Irvine.
A term of the age used to describe talented players was ‘triple threat'. Hubie defined the saying as he was a brilliant runner, passer and punted in the single-wing formation that was widely utilized at the time. He also backed up the line superbly. In 1940, he was named to the All-South Jersey B backfield and finished as the second leading scorer in the area. He was one of the few South Jersey players recognized by the prestigious Maxwell Club of Philadelphia.
He was a reserve on the first South Jersey Group 4 championship basketball team and earned a starting post as a senior. He was a startingfirst baseman in the spring. He enjoyed a fine career at Maryland and one of his fondest memories is the fact that several times, Skeets Irvine came to see him play.
"Zabo" was a three-year football letterman at guard, playing on the championship teams of 1940 and 1942. As a sophomore, he saw considerable action and in his last two years played the opposite guard position from Fred Boehm. Noted for his ferocious charge, he was named All-South Jersey in 1942. He also performed on the swimming team and was a point-getter in track and field in the weight events. Although wrestling was not yet an interscholastic sport at Collingswood, he did participate in the school's first unofficial team, coached by Cliff Rubicam. An early devotee of weightlifting, Koszewski became "Mr. New Jersey" and "Mr. Abdomen" and played roles in several Hollywood movies. He lives in Santa Monica, California.
Community service is exemplified by J. Drew Coyle, a 1948 C.H.S. graduate who has devoted his adult lifetime to serving the people of Woodlynne. He devoted ten years as business administrator and member of the Woodlynne Board of Education, another ten years as school board president, and followed that with 12 years as mayor of Woodlynne-the longest tenure of any borough mayor.
In 1998, he was honored by Wal-Mart as the "Outstanding Elected Official in the State of New Jersey" and in 2001 was inducted into the Mayors Hall of Fame. He also had the distinction of being the first independent to be elected president of the New Jersey Mayors Association in 2001.
A former staff sergeant in the U.S. Marines, Coyle has also served his community as an emergency medical technician (EMT) and member of the fire company and special police. He is still employed as property manager for a major Philadelphia office building and is a committed member of the Ronald McDonald House board of directors, heading up a $4 million expansion program for that charitable program.
Few athletes dominated their era in the manner that Frank Donohue controlled the mile-run in the mid 1930's. During his junior and senior years he never lost a meet to a South Jersey runner.
In 1936, his time of 4:32.3 established a school record which held for 38 years. This mark came in the Camden Suburban League which brought together many of the top performers in the area. He also ran on the first formal cross-country team at Collingswood and was unbeaten for two years.
One of his fondest memories came in 1938, the year Collingswood celebrated its golden anniversary. A big track meet was held in which the nation's top milers, Glenn Cunningham and Gene Venske, were featured. A student at Temple where he starred as a fast starter, Donohue led at the quarter pole and has a photograph to prove it. He was a student at Temple where he starred as a distance runner.
Patrick Hill was a track standout who set the school record in the high jump by clearing 6'4" in 1970. A sign in the gym listed the previous record as 6'2 5/8", but he subsequently found out the school mark was 6'3 1/2" set in 1940 at Madison Square Garden. This gave him the incentive to keep pushing for the school record.
Hill was MVP of the spring track teams in 1969 and '70 and he earned a total of five letters in winter and spring track. He was also a two-year letterman in football.
He pursued the course of carpentry in the Camden County Vo-Tech Schools' post-secondary program and is now a foreman in Florida. He and his wife, Eleanor, have a son, Christopher.
Jack Earle moved to Collingswood from Chicago in 1928 and immediately earned a letter on a championship football team. He starred in the backfield the next three years and gained recognition as one of the Panthers all time greats. He earned all South Jersey First Team Honors in 1930 and 1931 and All State in 1931. Known by the newspaper as ‘Jack the Ripper' for his superlative running and rated hardest blocker of his time.
Jack was one of South Jersey's finest trackmen, running anchor leg on teams that won several championships at the Penn Relays. He also starred in basketball.
Jack Kelly earned six letters in football, basketball and track in 1956 and '57. In his senior year of 1957, his classmates voted him "Most Athletic Male".
Kelly lettered as an end in football and received All-Group 4 and All-South Jersey honorable mention. After playing varsity baseball as a sophomore, Kelly switched to track and lettered for two years in that sport.
His best sport was basketball, where he was the leading rebounder and a double-figure scorer on the 1956-57 team that won 13 games in a row. Kelly was All-South Jersey and All-Group 4 second team and an All-Suburban first team choice as a senior.
Jack McCloskey's coaching debut at Collingswood bordered on the spectacular as his team won the South Jersey Group 4 title, the second in school history. Among the teams defeated on the way to the crown were Trenton and Atlantic City, two schools which had dominated court play in the area. The Irvine Gymnasium had just opened in 1952 and capacity crowds regularly saluted one of the greatest teams in school history. The starting team consisted of Captain Walt Blankley, Bucky Waters, Alan Ferner, Bob Seitz, and Pete Celani. Jack Reinert and Ed Kurkian were among others who saw action. And there was a jayvee standout, Joe Bowman (also honored here tonight), who in 1959 would become McCloskey's captain at Penn. The unit produced three college captains. Besides Bowman, Blankley captained Princeton and Ferne led LaSalle. Waters starred at North Carolina State, coached at Duke and can still be heard today as an analyst for college games. Seitz, at 6'9", was one of the first giants who possessed true basketball skills. He was a teammate of Waters at N.C. State, but tragically died while still a young man. McClosky went on to become head coach at Penn and Wake Forest before embarking on a long career as a coach and executive in the NBA.
Job Titles:
- Coach at Collingswood High
Currently the head football coach at Collingswood High, McConnell earned a total of six varsity letters in football and wrestling from 1985-88. He captained the teams and was a two-year MVP in both sports. At graduation, he received both the Irvine Award and Sohanchak Award.
In football, McConnell received All-Conference, All-Group II and third team All-South Jersey laurels and was honorable mention All-State. Wrestling honors included being a district champion and two-time Christmas Tournament champion and being chosen to the South Jersey team that competed against Delaware all-stars. He defeated a state-ranked undefeated wrestler in the district tournament.
McConnell went to Catholic University, where he set two school records for most tackles. His one-season record still stands. He was chosen the USA Today Player of the Week and was the Catholic University Athlete of the Year in 1992.
One of the first of the big men, 6-4 Murphy excelled in football, basketball and track during his days at CHS. A marvelous pass receiver, he starred on the championship football teams of 1945-46. He was named All-Group 4 end as a senior.
Besides being tall, he was an agile inside man for Ben Mark's basketball squads, contributing as both a scorer and rebounder. He gained his greatest acclaim as a track athlete, consistently throwing the javelin over 200 feet, breaking the records of fellow Hall of Famer Joe Jones, along the way. In the spring of his senior year he was selected to the Look Magazine Scholastic All-America team. He attended Notre Dame, where he ranked with the nation's top javelin throwers. He later earned his master's degree at Indiana University.
Jack, class of 1935, becomes the third generation of his clan to be admitted to the Collingswood High Athletic Hall of Fame. His father, Buddy, was selected for his years as the school's number one fan and his son, Jimmy, as state wrestling champion. A fourth generation member of the family, grandson Zach Sherwood, is a current recipient of a Hall of Fame scholarship. Jack started in the 1930s as a guard on the first basketball teams coached by the celebrated Ben Mark. The big weapon for guards was the two-hand set shot and few were more accurate than Jack. He also was a baseball infielder for three years. Following high school, he performed brilliantly for Brown Prep, at the time one of the best prep basketball schools in the East. He played semipro basketball, served as a scholastic official, was one of Collingswood's first Little League coaches, announced the Colls football and basketball games and served as a writer for the Suburban Newspaper Group.
Many would say that Jim Robertson was, pound for pound, the best athlete in Collingswood history - since he never weighed over 100 pounds during his high school career. However, he was a three-year starter in cross-country, wrestling and tennis.
He was a consistent top-five scorer in cross-country and played on a championship tennis team, but it was in wrestling that Jim made his mark. He was a three-time district champion, a South Jersey champion - winning the 98-lb title. He was also captain of an undefeated team and a member of three championship teams.
Jim is part of a well-known Colls sports family. His grandfather "Buddy", father Jack, Sr. and brother Jack, Jr. were all part of Collingswood's storied sports tradition. Today, Jim is a professor at Springfield College in Massachusetts.
The winter season found Jared Moffett, Class of 1995, as a member of the Boys' Basketball team where he played forward and was a consistent scorer. He would earn 2 Varsity letters and be named to the All Colonial Conference 2nd Team following his senior season. Come the spring season, Jared could be found on the Baseball Diamond where he was an outstanding hitter. The 1994 team won the Colonial Conference going 17-1 and setting a conference record for wins. They went 23-3 overall which also set a school record for wins. During that exciting season, Jared was credited with setting the following school records: a batting average of .494, hits in a season with 39, and RBIs in a season with 28. He earned 2 Varsity letters and was twice named to the 1st Team Colonial Conference, All-Group II, and All-South Jersey Honorable Mention Teams. He was also named Co-MVP of the team. Jared would go on to play Baseball at Camden County College where he would earn All-American Junior College honors in 1997. He has been inducted into the Camden County College Hall of Fame for his contributions to Baseball at the school. He would go on to earn a Baseball scholarship to West Chester University where he would earn All PSAC (Penn State Athletic Conference) honors in 1999. He graduated with a degree in Business Management. Currently employed as an Insurance Agent for Liberty Mutual, Jared lives in West Deptford with his wife Stacey (Plotts) Moffett. They are the parents of Hayley and J.T. In his spare time, Jared enjoys watching movies and sports, playing soccer with his children, and spending time at the Jersey shore.
Jeanne Mooney Falzone will be forever remembered for that night in 1986 when she scored 37 points and led the Panther girls to a comeback victory and the only state basketball championship in school history. She and Donna Seybold paced the Colls to a best-ever 26-1 record. Mooney was selected to the All-South Jersey basketball team, named South Jersey Player of the Year and also was the state tournament MVP. She earned a total of 11 letters, four each in basketball and softball and three in tennis. She also was an All-South Jersey performer in softball. She went on to have a scintillating hoops career at Lehigh University, where she was a 1,300-point scorer.
Jerry Cabnet, on the basis of his record, was the best boys tennis player ever to wear the Blue and Gold. He was 39-1 in scholastic competition from 1961-63. His only loss came in his sophomore year when he played at #2 singles behind his late brother Lou, also an outstanding player. Moving up to first singles, he was undefeated in his junior and senior years and won every scholastic competition open to him. His steady baseline game was more than a match for every frustrated opponent. In those days, coach Chet Ollinger entered his Colls High team in a Saturday league with the Philadelphia-area country club teams featuring many of the best players in the Delaware Valley. Led by the Cabnets, Collingswood won the league championship in 1961 and Lou and Jerry captained the doubles title. Jerry started at college at Temple, then served in the Army at Okinawa. Then, in his mid-20s, he completed his college degree at Rutgers-Camden and was once again a dominant tennis player at first singles.
Jerry Mangano was a key member of the undefeated Colls "Golden Eleven" football team of 1958. He played three years of football, earning All-Group 4 second-team honors in both his junior and senior years. Mangano was a wingback (in the single-wing) on offense and was a threat both running reverses and also catching passes from quarterback Ron Giordano.
Perhaps the Colls' fastest player, Mangano was also a standout in the defensive backfield. He collared five interceptions in his senior year and earned the Sonny Carson Award for "Best Pass Defender in South Jersey."
A three-year baseball star as well, Mangano was tri-captain in his senior year and led the team in hitting with a .350 average in his junior year. In his freshman year at Collingswood Junior High, Mangano played on an undefeated basketball team and was a good high-jumper in track.
Jim Ambrosius starred in baseball and basketball for the Colls from 1986 to '89, and also played football in is senior year. He was All-Conference for two years in basketball and scored over 1,000 points, which was third highest total for Collingswood at that time.
Ambrosius was an intense athlete and nowhere more than on the baseball field. A good pitcher and hitter, he was a two-time first team All-South Jersey performer in baseball. He attended East Carolina University and earned his BA degree from LaSalle University.
He is married to Amy and the couple has three children.
Jim, an all around standout from the Class of 1979, was well known for his aggressive play. He earned a total of eight varsity letters in soccer, basketball and baseball and was selected as both captain and MVP in his senior year in all three sports.
As a sophomore, he was a member of the Colonial Conference basketball team and later helped lead the 1978 soccer team to a conference championship. Jim was also awarded numerous post season honors throughout his career including All Conference in basketball and baseball as well as All South Jersey and All State as a soccer goalie.
Following graduation, Jim matriculated at Ursinus College where he added to his athletic achievements. Besides playing three years of Varsity baseball, he was a four year starter and two year captain of the soccer team. Twice he was named MVP of the soccer team and was also placed on the Southeastern Pennsylvania Select All Star team in 1982.
Jim successfully completed law school and now practices in Atlantic City. He resides in Seaville with his wife Linda and their two children Ryan and Katie.
Jim Bruno follows in the footsteps of his brother, Steve, a 2008 inductee. Jim lettered in four sports, baseball, football, basketball and wrestling, but his best sport was baseball, in which he lettered for four years.
Among his honors in the diamond sport were All-State third team, All-South Jersey, All-Group 2 and All-Colonial Conference. He was MVP of the Colonial Conference and MVP for the Collingswood Panthers. Under his leadership, the Colls won the Colonial Conference championship in 1987 and defeated nemesis Cherry Hill East in a Diamond Classic tournament game.
Jim holds a B.A. from Rowan University and an M.A. from Seton Hall University. A former Collingswood police officer, he is a homicide detective for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. He and his wife, Colleen, are the parents of Julia, Jimmy and Joseph.
Jim McQueston earned 10 varsity letters during his brilliant career as a four-sport athlete at Collingswood.
During the spring sport season he was one of South Jersey's top sprinters and was recognized as the finest scholastic shortstop in the area. He was a basketball starter for three years and recalls defeating Millville for the Camden Suburban League title in 1933 as one of his greatest thrills.
As a senior he played football for the first time and became a superb receiver and rugged defensive end.
Following graduation in January 1934, he started in semi-pro baseball for years and played professionally with Trenton at the Inter-State League. For years he was a top football official.
Jim Skedzielewski played on the great '68 basketball team as a sophomore, then took over team leadership after the departure of Hall of Famers Steve Kaplan and Tim Wright. He emerged as an All-South Jersey and All-Group 3 forward.
"Skedz" became one of Collingswood's all-time leading basketball scorers and also played varsity baseball for two years. A class president for three years and an honor student, he also received the Howard T. Irvine Award.
Jim "Froggy" Walsh graduated from Collingswood in 1963. He wrestled and ran cross-country for two years each. His major accomplishment was winning the 1963 district wrestling championship. He defeated the reigning district champ, 5-0, in the finals held in the Collingswood gym. He also placed third in the region that year.
He was cut from the basketball team three years in a row and repeatedly told his friends "I don't wrestle!" when they asked him to come out for the team. The only reason he went out for wrestling in his junior year was that he had eighth period gym class and pretended to be going out, while hiding in the back of the wrestling room for three-quarters of the season until Mr. Coursen forced him to wrestle off.
Walsh went on to graduate from the five-year program at Drexel University. He is married to Pat and they have one son.
Jimmy Picken starred at Collingswood as a football lineman, basketball guard, and baseball catcher. He went on to gain All-American honors in basketball at Dartmouth, and served as bullpen catcher on the fabled 1927 Yankees.
He returned to South Jersey to coach powerful teams at Audubon in basketball, baseball and football. His 1937 football team was the unofficial Group 3 state champions.
Joan Pisano was president of the class of 1972 for her freshman year and all three years of high school and was also an outstanding leader and performer during one of the strongest eras of girls' athletics at Collingswood High. She earned a total of eight letters in hockey, basketball and lacrosse.
In Joan's senior year, she was the MVP of a Colonial Conference champion field hockey team. But she earned the most honors in basketball. Joan started playing the sport as a freshman under the old format of six players (two forwards, two guards, and two "rovers"), then flourished when the rules were changed to today's five-player all-court format.
Joan was captain of the 1971-72 basketball teams that came within one point of winning the state championship (which would have been the school's first state title in basketball). She was also a first-team All-Colonial Conference selection and shared the MVP award with all of her teammates.
Joann was a leader on the 1976 Colls team that won the first state lacrosse championship (the first-ever team state title won by Collingswood) and the Delaware Valley League crown. She played in the state playoffs with a broken thumb wrapped and taped and contributed a few goals along the way.
She earned three letters each in lacrosse and field hockey and two in basketball. Joann was a first-team Delaware Valley selection.
Recruited to LaSalle University, she joined a relatively new program comprised of mostly freshman. By the time Joann was a senior, she captained her Lady Explorers to the AIAW Division II national championship, 3-2, over Southwest Missouri State.
Joanne Van Istendal, a 1959 classmate of Ron Bandock, won a total of ten varsity letters at Collingswood - three each in hockey, basketball, and softball, and one in swimming. Not surprisingly, she was voted the "most athletic" girl in her class.
Joanne captained a hockey team that won the South Jersey League championship. She earned a reputation as a tough defender in both hockey and basketball. She san also be proud of winning an achievement award for attaining high scholastic honors while playing four varsity sports.
As a sophomore, Joe Bowman '55 was a top jayvee player and saw a bit of varsity action on the championship team of 1952-53 that's also being honored tonight. He went on to star the next two seasons, being selected team Most Valuable Player as a senior. That year he was chosen the Group Four "Player of the Year." He was known for his quickness and slashing drives to the basket. Bowman also ran on the track team. His biggest scholastic thrill was beating Camden. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected captain as a senior and played under his former high school coach, Jack McCloskey. Bowman graduated from the Wharton School of Business and then attended law school. Currently he is a business executive in Southern California.
Joe Brosic was one of a very few who lettered as a freshman in football during the reign of Skeets Irvine. As a sophomore, he was named All-South Jersey halfback and during each of his last two years was chosen All-Group 4. A powerful runner, he rolled over defensive linemen and linebackers as he consistently ground out yardage on reverses from his wingback position.
He was also blessed with a powerful arm, which Skeets utilized in long-passing situations. He was a top place-kicker, winning a number of games with key field goals. On frequent occasions his kickoffs would reach the enemy's end zone.
Brosic also earned four baseball letters, playing sometimes at shortstop and other times in the outfield. He appeared headed for stardom at Temple after graduation in 1941 but World War II ended those athletic dreams. During the great conflict, he flew 78 missions over Europe and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Joe Falana was Collingswood High's first soccer goalie, first soccer captain and first all-star in that sport. For three straight years he was named All-Colonial Conference. He was soccer MVP as a sophomore and junior and was named the school's Outstanding Senior Athlete in 1970-71.
While Falana is best known for his soccer achievements, he was also a three-year regular in baseball and won All-Conference honors in his senior year. He went on to stand out in both sports at the University of Scranton and also earned four letters in ice hockey.
Falana has achieved an incredible record coaching soccer at Haddonfield High. In 24 years at the helm, his teams have won six state championships, eight South Jersey Group 1 titles and more conference titles (14, including 12 straight) than any other program in South Jersey. This past season he went over the 400-win mark as a coach.
Coach Joe Gillespie, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a 1970 graduate of Northeast High School. He went on to earn a Bachelor's in Education from West Chester University and, in addition, earned a Biology degree from Rowan University and a Masters in Administration Degree from Wilmington University. Affectionately known as either "G" or "Mr. G" to his students, Joe has been a popular member of the Science Department where he has taught Biology, General Science, and Environmental Science since beginning his teaching career at Collingswood High School in the autumn of 1982. During his long tenure at CHS, Joe has coached Gymnastics, Swimming, and Track. He is best known, however, as the coach of both the Boys' and Girls' Volleyball teams with the boys' program earning him his greatest success. Joe has been with the program since its inception in 1994 and continues to coach the team. To date, he and his Boys' teams have earned 337 wins, 11 Conference Championships, and his 2008 team was named the Courier-Post Team of the Year. Joe has earned the following Coaching Honors: 2015 Star Ledger South Jersey Coach of the Year, 2011 Courier-Post Boys' Volleyball Coach of the Year, 2011 Star Ledger South Jersey Coach of the Year, and 2006 Courier-Post Boys' Volleyball Coach of the Year. Of his players, 62 have been selected to 1st team All-Stars, 58 to 2nd team All-Stars, 15 to the New Jersey All-State Team, and 16 have earned Courier-Post Player of the Week Awards. In 2008, Harrison Carsillo was named the Courier-Post Volleyball Player of the Year. Additionally, Joe has served as Assistant Volleyball Coach at Temple University (2010-2013), Temple University Team Photographer (2017), Head Girls' Volleyball Coach at Gloucester Catholic HS (2007-2009), Head Womens' Volleyball Coach at Rutgers-Camden (1999-2005) and is a former official, Rules Interpreter, and Executive Member of the SJ Volleyball Officials Association. In Joe's opinion "the most rewarding aspect of teaching and coaching, other than getting rich, are the deep, satisfying relationships that have developed with many of my former students and athletes. Watching them develop into fine human beings gives me great enjoyment". He would like to thank Mark Zuckerberg for"launching Facebook…allowing me to connect those that have spread far and wide". Joe is married to Ann and they are the parents of daughter, Katie.
Collingswood's 1944 football squad jumped off to a fast start and then slumped to suffer a rare losing season. Joe Hinger was one of the reserves who decided that their senior year would be different.
He was chosen team captain and was the inspirational leader of a squad which finished with a record of 8-1-1 and captured the South Jersey Group 4 title. His play was so outstanding that he was selected All-South Jersey center. Teammates recall that his competitive drive equaled his remarkable ability.
During his days at CHS, Hinger also earned two letters in track as a discus thrower and also performed with distinction on the school's swim team. Teammate Eivind Barth, another force in the football team's revival, said simply" "Joe Hinger was a winner."
Early in the season of 1939 when Joe was a sophomore, Skeets Irvine inserted him into a varsity game. It took only a few plays for the coaches and fans to realize that a new star was on the way. He lettered that year and then took over a regular tackle spot during the championship season of 1940. In his senior year he serve as captain and was chosen All-South Jersey tackle.
He also excelled in track and field. At the time of his graduation in 1941 he held all the school javelin records. Big for his day at 200 pounds, he possessed the speed to run on the school relay teams. He was a capable free-style swimmer, but World War II restrictions forced the school to abandon the sport in his final year.
He was awarded a football scholarship to Temple, but before the season started volunteered for the Army Air Corps. After his discharge, he coached successful Midget league football and YMCA League basketball squads.
Joe Kirk was one of the most highly recruited baseball players to ever attend Collingswood. Both professional and college scouts pursued the talented young slugger who could hit with exceptional power and seldom struck out.
As a senior he joined the football squad and played an important role as a two-way end on the championship team of 1936.
When he graduated in 1937 he accepted a scholarship to Compton Junior College in California with a promise that his next step would be with the powerful University of Southern California.
After a year in the west, he came home and matriculated at Ursinus College.
"Rocky" Riley was another great athlete of the class of 1967 at Collingswood. He lettered in wrestling, cross-country and tennis.
He received a total of five letters and was co-captain and MVP of the wrestling team. He won 21 consecutive dual meets, during which no opponent ever rode him for an entire period (at the time a wrestler had to start one period in the down position).
Riley defeated an opponent who had placed third in the state, helped the team defeat Paulsboro and placed first in the districts, enabling Collingswood to place first. He has a B.S. degree from the University of Delaware and has two children, John T. II and Devenne.
During the mid-1980s, John Bach presided over the meteoric rise of Collingswood girls basketball. His teams were 72-9
from 1984-86, which included two sectional championships and the 1986 state title. It was the first - and still the only -
state championship in Collingswood basketball history. Without question, the capstone event in Bach's career was
the 28-1 1986 team. Powered by tonight's individual honorees, Jeanne Mooney Falzone and Donna Seybold, the team roared through the Group II playoffs and won the state championship with an amazing fourth quarter rally and double-overtime victory over Harrison. Bach was named "Coach of the Week" five times and was the consensus choice as
Curreri, often known as "Jake" during his high school days, has served for three decades as the team physician for Collingswood's gridiron squads. He earned his medical degree at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathy and soon after accepted the offer to join the Blue and Gold.
He was on familiar turf. As a Colls student, he was a hard running, hard hitting two-way performer for the minions of Coach Irvine. He was a reserve on the championship unit of 1942 and then spent two years as a regular. He also lettered for two years in track and field.
His most vivid memory of his scholastic football days was the early season clash with Vineland in his senior season. It was expected to be a battle with championship implications, but the Panthers rolled to a 32-0 conquest. The game ended with a stands clearing brawl that has become a part of South Jersey football lore.
John Dennis Leary made the supreme sacrifice while serving his country in the Vietnam War.
"It is for his truly inspirational performances in the face of adversity, his silent leadership, as well as his selfless concern for his teammates that we remember John Dennis Leary" says Coach Sam Coursen.
Every community, every school should be fortunate enough to have a John Dutton, the recipient of the first Community Service Award. Dutton lettered in baseball and basketball in high school.
He later played key roles in the development of the Collingswood Little League and many other community activities. His work in uncovering the deeds to many local homes and businesses have been a blessing to historians. The Hall of Fame Executive Committee can never adequately thank John for the wealth of material he has assembled on Colls High athletic history.
He sent children Donna, John and Gary to his alma mater and all did well on the playing fields and in the classroom. Young John starred on the 1966 team, the last squad to record a perfect season for the high school.
John Grimley was an Englishman whose parents were in the mission field while he was at Collingswood High. That was Collingswood's gain, as Grimley was one of the Panther's greatest athletes in track and field.
He was state pole vault champion in 1961 and was MVP of the track team that same year. Grimley also was kicker for the jayvee football team and played intramural soccer.
He earned a B.S. degree in physical education from the University of Oregon
John Hanling went from being cut from the baseball team to becoming one of Collingswood High's greatest cross-country and track distance runners ever. He and co-captain Keyes Townsend, an inductee last year, led Collingswood's first cross-country team ever to the Group 4 championship in the fall of 1957 (Sam Coursen's first championship as a head coach in any sport).
In the springs of 1957 and his senior year of 1958, Hanling was the best miler in South Jersey. In his senior year alone, he won the following individual titles: South Jersey Group 4 Championship Mile, Brooks Memorial Mile Championship, South Jersey Coaches Invitational Championship Mile and Atlantic City Relays Mile Run Championship.
Since his high school days, Hanling reports "I've had the good fortune of running for years - in many 10 Ks, half-marathons and marathons and have made many friends along the way!"
One of the best Colls High athletes produced by Oaklyn, John Hannigan was a versatile star in football, basketball and baseball on top squads during the late 1950s. A strong-legged placekicker, he was one of the stalwarts of the undefeated Golden Eleven team in '58, primarily excelling as a linebacker/defensive back. Hannigan was a key contributor as sixth man on the 17-7 basketball team, valued for his rebounding and tough defense. In baseball, he was a power-hitting outfielder who later starred in independent leagues. He joined classmate, teammate and fellow Hall-of-Famer Dave Crossan to play football at the University of Maryland, where he again stood out as a placekicker.
John McShay '78 was perhaps the best cross-country and track miler produced by Collingswood in the second half of the 20th century. In cross-country, he was first team All-Conference and All-South Jersey Group 3 in both his junior and senior years, and All-South Jersey as a senior. That year, he was unbeaten in dual meets and was individual champion in the Colonial Conference and Camden County Championship Meets, placing second in the South Jersey Championships. John earned similar honors in track and his greatest achievement was winning the New Jersey State Indoor Mile Championship. In his senior year, he was the first-place finisher in the Colonial Conference, Camden County and South Jersey Group 3 Meets. Collingswood won the Colonial team title, edging Haddon Township by one point as McShay passed the best Hawk runner at the finish line. McShay ran the mile anchor leg on the Collingswood distance medley relay team that placed first in both the Woodbury and South Jersey Relays. That foursome set a school record that still stands.
When one speaks of Collingswood High School Wrestling, the name John Leek comes to the forefront.
John is perhaps the best wrestler in Collingswood history, to date. Having been captain of Collingswood's first undefeated team, he never lost a dual meet in three years of varsity competition. Compiling a record of 52-2-0, he won three District and two South Jersey Titles. Then, in 1959, John reached the highlight of his career winning the State Championship at 106 pounds and becoming Collingswood's first state champion.
He also lettered in cross country and track, plus won a state title in mechanical drawing.
John continued his wrestling career at Lehigh University. Later years found him coaching, wrestling and officiating.
Today, John lives in Boston, Massachusetts, where he works for Organo Genesis, Inc. He is active in community development and in the Boston Area Bicycle Association.
John Reier was an outstanding football and basketball player at Colls High in the late 1950's. He was an intense competitor and recognized team leader in both sports.
Reier was a two-way end and punter for the 1957 and '58 football teams, the latter the famous "Golden Eleven." He was a first-team All-Group 4 end and received the "Outstanding Lineman Award" for the Golden Eleven.
A forward on strong Collingswood basketball teams, Reier was a tenacious rebounder and double-figure scorer for the Panthers. He received the Al Usilton Award as the outstanding basketball player in 1959 and was an All-Group 4 second teamer in both his junior an senior years.
The All-Group 4 center in 1934, Sink was a gifted two-way player on the South Jersey championship team of 1934. The team went through the regular season unbeaten and untied surrendering but six points the entire year.
That great team finally lost in a state championship game against Bloomfield, 14-7, but Sink was extolled for his outstanding play. He also starred in baseball as both a pitcher and hard-hitting first baseman.
John had seen extensive service in both sports the previous year when he had been a teammate of his brother, Charlie, a Collingswood Hall of Famer.
John Smith achieved greatness as both a player and coach. As a senior he was active in football, basketball and baseball. He was especially proficient on the court, leading his team in scoring and rebounding. The prestigious honor, Athlete of the Year, was awarded to Smith at the school graduation.
John Sohanchak's jarring tackle on the opening kickoff against Bishop Eustace in 1966 has become part of Collingswood football lore.
He was the inspirational and spiritual leader of a team which swept through the season unbeaten and untied. Football was a collision game to Sohanchak and superlative play earned him a post on the First Team All-South Jersey squad and the Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club's award as Offensive Lineman of the Year. John's All State teammates included Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jack Tatum of the Oakland Raiders. John lettered on the track and field team throwing shot and discus.
He carried his competitive and aggressive nature into wrestling where he was unbeaten in three years in dual meets and twice captured district titles. Although a physical warrior on the football field and wrestling mat, John was a gentleman off the field who was deeply respected by his teachers, coaches, classmates and teammates.
Fisher is being honored for his 18 years of service to the Hall of Fame and its Executive Committee, including six years as chairman. He has also compiled the Hall's twice-annual newsletters.
He is a 1963 graduate of C.H.S. and played the first year (1962-63) Collingswood was in the Colonial Conference, when the Colls won the first league championship under Coach John Smith. He was a solid regular on the team led by Gary Williams and Rick Wright and had the distinction of scoring the tying and winning baskets in a big win over Paulsboro.
Fisher is also a graduate of Rutgers University and retired after teaching 35 years in the Gateway district. He also coached jayvee basketball and girls' track for the Gators.
He has been a regular fan of Collingswood teams since the day he played in the Biddy Baskeball League.
Jon has been long remembered as an outstanding four-letter (football, wrestling, track, basketball) athlete at Collingswood High from 1970 through 1973. Notable football accomplishments include first-team All-Group-3, and first-team All-Colonial Conference. In particular he has fond memories of the 1972 football team in his senior year that was co-champions of the Colonial Conference. In track Jon was a member of the 1973 mile-relay team that set a Colonial Conference record. In wrestling he proved himself while advancing to District 28 semi-finals. To round out his all seasons athletic prowess Jon was also a member of the varsity basketball team.
After high school Jon continued on to earn a degree in Business Administration at the University of Cincinnati in 1980. He currently still resides in hometown Collingswood, and is the proud father of daughter Kelsey.
The son of former Collingswood sports standout "Corky" Leise, Jon carved an outstanding career of his own as a football and baseball standout. He showed baseball promise as a star pitcher and hitter on a Collingswood Little League team that won the South Jersey championship. In high school, he was a three-year baseball letterman. Leise was both captain and MVP of the baseball team in his senior year and was an All-Group 3 selection.
In football, Leise was a two-year starter. A scrambling left quarterback, he was adept at passing and running the option. He was captain and MVP of a Colonial championship team in his senior year. Leise was an All-Group 3 and honorable mention All-South Jersey selection.
Joni Williams Rausnitz was an outstanding athlete in the class of 1964. She lettered for three years each in field hockey and tennis, and for two years in basketball.
Joni was captain of the 1963 hockey team that went undefeated and won the league championship. That same year she was the highest ranked tennis player in South Jersey. Joni was a recipient of the Knight Award for high academic achievement while playing varsity sports at Colls High.
Joseph Goldstein graduated from Collingswood High School in 1929, having been a top student and the best tennis player to represent the Blue and Gold in the first half of the 20th century. He won numerous scholastic and junior tennis tournaments in that era. He went on to attend and play tennis for Rutgers University during the depth of the depression, graduating in 1933 with a degree in education.
Goldstein returned to Collingswood High, where he spent the next 45 years as a history teacher, head of the history department and coach of the tennis team before the war put a hiatus on the program. During the late 1930s, he played first singles and fellow teacher-coach Chet Olinger played second singles on a Collingswood town tennis team that won the South Jersey league title. He also competed successfully for the Haddon Field Club over the next several decades.
Throughout his years at Collingswood High, Goldstein conducted several youth tennis clinics. When tennis was revived as an interscholastic sport during the mid-1950s, Olinger was the head coach but would often call on the willing Joe Goldstein to mentor and rally with up-and-coming players. Always gracious and encouraging, with flawless ground strokes, he helped many a Colls High player improve his game.
Josh is remembered as one of the finest football players ever to wear the Collingswood Panthers Blue and Gold when he played in the early 1990's. High school football awards impressively include All-South Jersey First Team, South Jersey Group 3 First Team, Colonial Conference First Team, Brooks-Irvine Memorial Football Club Defensive Line Scholar Athlete, and All-State First Team Defensive Tackle.
After graduation in the Class of 1992, Josh continued his education at the College of William and Mary where he graduated a two time All-American (1995-1996 seasons), including consensus honors in 1996. He was a three year All-Yankee Conference honoree (from 1994-1996), including first-team honors in 1995 and 1996. Josh was also a two-time first team All-Virginia Honoree (VaSID), which includes all Division 1 programs in the state, and a two-time First Team All-ECAC selection. He received the honor of National Strength and Conditioning All-America in the Summer of 1996.
Josh was voted captain of the 1996 W&M squad, and helped pave the way for the majority of the careers for three of the top four rushers in school history. Josh was also a key contributor to four of the school's top 10 single season rushing efforts.
In addition, he helped the team to its first of three conference championships (1996), and a NCAA quarter final appearance. The Tribe's offense averaged better than 400 yards a contest and 28 points in his four year career. Most deservedly, Josh was inducted into the College of William and Mary's Hall of Fame in 2008. Josh would like to recognizehis mother, Rebecca Milano, his father, Craig Brittingham, wife, Tegan and children, Talon and Joslyn.
Joyce McElvarr Ramamurthi, class of 1962, has the distinction of having lettered in five sports during her three-year Colls High career. She lettered for three years each in hockey and basketball, two years in swimming and tennis, and one year in softball. Joyce was an All-Conference performer in hockey in both her junior and senior years and All-Conference in basketball her senior year. She captained the hockey team and was its high scorer. She captained the basketball squad in her senior year and recorded the most steals for a guard in the days when girls' basketball was a six-player sport. Joyce also received All-South Jersey honors in diving. At the end of her career, Joyce received the 1962 Gold Medal as the most outstanding female athlete.
Judy Steele Owens is best remembered as a star on the undefeated 1963 field hockey team coached by Bea Markwick. She earned a total of nine varsity letters at CHS, three each in hockey, basketball and tennis.
Judy also captained the basketball team and played number one on the tennis team for all three of her high school years. She was named MVP of the tennis team as well.
She graduated from West Chester State University and was a member of the U.S. Field Hockey team that played in Zambia.
Julie received eight letters in field hockey and lacrosse. She was an All-South Jersey and All-State first team choice in hockey and was the Inquirer "South Jersey Player of the Year" and Courier-Post "Offensive Player of the Year" in 1990.
She also was named to the All-South Jersey first team for two years in lacrosse and was an All-Sioux first team selection. She earned both the Howard T. Irvine Award and the Beatrice Markwick Scholarship Award at graduation.
Julie received a scholarship to Syracuse University and was a three-time National All-American, earning first-team honors in both her junior and senior years. She was Big East rookie of the year and played in numerous international and AAU hockey events.
She is now a Health and Physical education teacher at Moorestown Friends. Married to Michael Sullivan, she is the mother of Kiley and Brady.
Karen was an athletic standout lettering in three sports (field hockey, lacrosse, basketball) during 1981 though 1985. She received the prestigious Howard T. Irvine Award as a senior in 1985. As a 3-year competitor in varsity lacrosse, she was named to both the All South Jersey All Star and First Teams in 1985. In field hockey Karen earned a place on the 1984 All Group 3 Team, and also on the elite All South Jersey hockey team that competed in London, England in 1984. She rounded out a busy sports schedule as member of the basketball team.
After high school she graduated with a BA in English/Economics from Rutgers University, which she attended on athletic scholarships for both Lacrosse and Field Hockey.
Karen is a 20-year resident of Jersey City and Principal of Kjmweb, an
internet branding and design firm. She consults with companies on strategic digital content management topics. As Vice President of Imagelink Graphics, a New York based digital printing and imaging company, Karen was responsible for the company's sales and marketing initiatives.
Very active in the community, she is proud producer of the Iron Monkey's annual Thanksgiving Day Dinner charity event, feeding hundreds of local seniors and community members in need. Karen has also been a Commissioner to the Jersey City Planning Board since 2007, and to the Environmental Commission since 2011 where she supports Jersey City's development and planning of green public recreational space, certified buildings, and projects.
Karen is an avid runner and has finished the New York, Philadelphia and Boston marathons. As a NYC Marathon Medical Team volunteer, she also passionately supports her running community.
She acknowledges strong family and sports connections as her greatest foundations carried throughout life.
Karen Stevens was a standout performer in three sports during one of the greatest eras of girls' athletics at Collingswood High. She earned a total of six varsity letters and received individual honors in hockey, basketball and lacrosse, in addition to being presented with the Howard T. Irvine award as the most outstanding athlete in the class of 1980. In field hockey, Stevens served as co-captain for the Blue and Gold and received first team All-Conference honors in her senior year. She was also first team All-Conference and second team All-South Jersey in basketball. Captain and MVP of the hoop squad, she was chosen to play in the prestigious North-South All-Star Game. The most memorable part of her Colls High athletic career came in her junior year, when she was a part of the C.H.S. lacrosse team that won the state championship. Stevens was then named to the All-South Jersey lacrosse first team as a senior. She went on to earn a degree in physical education and health from Asbury College and today lives and works in Florida.
Karen was a highly memorable 3-sport athlete earning 12 Varsity letters in soccer, basketball, and lacrosse squads. In soccer, she earned 1st team All-Conference and All-Group honors and was named to the 2nd team ASJ. Additionally, she received All-State recognition. In basketball, she was named to the 1st team All-Group and scored 1055 pts, hitting the 1000 point milestone with a 3-pointer which she recalls may have been the only 3-point shot she ever made. She treasures unending support from her Mom and Dad, and fondly recalls a sport reporter's comment that she was "the best player that no one ever heard of." Karen notes that her competitive spirit was at its highest when playing rival Haddonfield especially when they won. She further distinguished herself academically as member of National Honor Society. Karen went on to receive a BS degree from Drew College where she continued her sports career. She and husband Ky are happily still living in the South Jersey area.
Crane had the honor of serving as captain for the first Colls High basketball team to capture the South Jersey Group 4 championship. That was in 1940, Crane's third year as a starting guard. Ken was a fine outside shooter and skilled ball-handler. He was recognized as one of the area's finest backcourt men.
He lettered in football his junior year and became starting center on a squad that went 8-2 on the season. He received honorable mention on the All-South Jersey Group 3 Team.
After serving in the Marines in the South Pacific, Crane joined the Collingswood Police Force as a patrolman and rose through the ranks to become the borough's chief of police. During his long reign as chief, he is credited with modernizing the department.
Ken Kline '81 earned a total of nine varsity letters at Colls High - four in baseball, three in football and two in basketball. He is considered one of the top baseball players in Collingswood history as a stellar infielder. He received first team All-Colonial Conference honors in both his junior and senior years, was first team All-Group 3 as a senior (and second team as a junior), and caped his career by being chosen the All-South Jersey shortstop in 1981. In football, Kline is best remembered for his exploits as a defensive back. In fact, he was an All-Colonial Conference and All-South Jersey Group 3 selection as a DB in his senior year. He was a Philadelphia Inquirer "Athlete of the Week " and his highest honor was being a three-time recipient of the Brooks-Irvine Football Club's Student-Athlete Award. Another of his football highlights was kicking the game-winning extra point against one of neighboring Haddon Township's best team ever. Ken went on to earn a B.A. from Upsala College and is today a bank examiner for the U.S. Treasury Department.
Ken Redmer was a scrappy athlete of the mid-1950s who earned eight varsity letters in three sports. He earned three letters in each swimming and track and two in football. He ranks as one of Collingswood's best swimmers ever. In fact, while competing in dual meets against South Jersey rivals over a three-year period in both freestyle and butterfly events, he won every race but two. And in those two races he placed second. Redmer was a tough football player. He was a hard-hitting linebacker on defense and a fullback on offense. In track, he was a consistent point-getter in the 100-yard dash, the low hurdles and relay events. Ken has built a successful business in the telephone communications field. He has also served on the Oaklyn Council, coached midget football and girls' softball, and been active in the Jaycees and Lions.
Hilyard was a track and field star at Colls High, graduating in 1973. He had a great senior track season after lettering in cross-country. An outstanding half-miler in track, he received All-Conference, All-Camden County and All-South Jersey honors.
His most lasting achievement was winning the South Jersey Group III champion in the 880-yard run, a record that is believed to still stand 38 years later as a Collingswood record. He holds an associate degree from Camden County College and went on to earn a B.S. from Drexel University.
He is married to Barbara and is the father of four adult sons: Kevin, Ryan, Brendan and Shawn.
Kevin Scarborough, class of 1969, was a premier wrestler and cross-country runner for the Panther teams of the late 60s. He earned three varsity letters in each of those sports and also lettered in track. A standout wrestler for coach Sam Coursen's teams, Kevin was a district champion in 1968 and 1969 and a regional runner-up in his senior year. That same year he was team MVP and was co-winner of the Skeets Irvine Award as outstanding athlete in his class. One of Scarborough's most memorable sports moments came in his very first varsity wrestling match as a sophomore, when he pinned his Washington Township opponent to enable the Colls to win the contest by the razor-thin margin on 24-22 and go on to an undefeated season. He was also a key runner on the cross-country team for three years in addition to running track for one year. Kevin went on to earn a degree from Ursinus College. He followed his father (2002 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bob Scarborough) into the home building business and is today one of South Jersey's best-regarded home builders in his own right.
Kurt W. Engelbert Jr., namesake of his father, Kurt Sr., a St. Joseph's University Hall of Fame basketball player, is also the brother of two Collingswood Hall of Famers: sisters Cathy Engelbert and Peggy Rust.
He received letters in soccer (All South Jersey), baseball and basketball and captained the soccer team in his senior year. He played for some of the great coaches in Collings-wood history, including Neil Thompson, Ron Ross, Fred Vanderslice, Mark Ritter, and Sam Young, who are all previous Hall of Famers.
Kurt received the Buddy Robertson Award for outstanding loyalty to the school and his fellow athletes, which says a great deal about his contributions. He tributes much of his athletic ability to his early years with the support of his parents and growing up in a family of seven very competitive brothers and sisters.
Larry is a 1961 graduate who earned letters in wrestling and cross-country. He was a district champion at 148 pounds for the Colls and in the regional finals, he was leading by ten points when the referee disqualified him on a controversial decision.
He has a B.S. from Rutgers University and an M.S. from New Mexico State University. Larry was an electrical engineer who worked for Philco-Ford and had his own company. He is now retired and living in Nevada.
By all standards, Leo Bridgeman is one of Colls High's greatest basketball players ever. He still holds the school record for most points in a season (601 in 1977-78) and most points in a game (42 vs. Paulsboro in 1978). Bridgeman led the Colls to the Colonial Conference championship in his junior year and his senior team ranked first in the Suburban Newspaper Cup standings. In that senior year, he was chosen first team All-Colonial Conference and All-South Jersey Group 3 and second team All-South Jersey. Also in his senior year, he played in the inaugural Lions South Jersey All-Star game and won all-star honors for his play in the Cherry Hill East Christmas Tournament. Bridgeman also played on the tennis team and was named MVP of both basketball and tennis teams. At graduation, he received the Gold Medal plaque as outstanding athlete in the class of 1978.
Stanton ranks as one of the most versatile athletes to play for Collingswood. He performed superbly for three years in baseball, basketball and football.
On the gridiron he was a runner, passer, punter, defensive back and place kicker. In basketball he was both a gifted outside shoot and used his size and strength as a rebounder.
On the diamond he was scouted by professional teams, which could not decide if he was a better prospect as a slugger or pitcher.
For many years he was one of the principal figures in the development of the Collingswood Little League.
A three-sport athlete, Lew Yerkes was a Colls standout in football, basketball and track. He was selected the top athlete in his senior class of 1939.
Yerkes quarterbacked and captained a gridiron squad which went 8-0-2. He was equally effective as both a runner and passer.
In basketball, Collingswood captured the title in the Camden-Suburban League with Yerkes performing splendidly as a starting guard. In track he was a consistent winner in the broad jump.
Lisa Loeber won a total of eight varsity letters in tennis, basketball and softball for the Panthers. She was a recipient of the Varsity Club Gold Award for the class of 1982.
She was captain and a three-time letterman in softball and counts as her most memorable moment beating Audubon, who was leading the Colonial Conference at the time. Lisa was named to the All-Colonial first team and All-South Jersey squad and was MVP in softball all three years.
She was also an All-Colonial Conference choice in tennis and a key member of the basketball squad. She went on to graduate from LaSalle University with a BA in Criminal Justice.
Liz Ferrara competed in hockey, basketball and lacrosse at Colls High. She was the varsity goalkeeper for the hockey team during her junior and senior years, when she was All-Conference, All-Group 3 and second team All-South Jersey. Liz was captain and MVP of the team as a senior.
A two-year varsity performer in basketball, Liz' best accomplishments came in lacrosse. She played on a state championship team as a junior. As a senior, she was the team MVP, first team All-South Jersey and the Coaches Association "Player of the Year."
Lois Maxwell of the class 1946 was one of the most versatile athletes of her era. She played three years varsity basketball and softball. As a senior, she was basketball captain and co-captain, with Louise Rossell, in softball. Athletics were not her only activities in high school. Lois participated in the glee club, choir, student government and was a drum majorette. Married to Charles Stewart, of the class of 1943, the union produced Brian, Craig and Julie. She passed away in 1974.
Lois Schubert Rankins '63 was one of Collingswood's top athletes of the 1960s. She was a three-year star in basketball
Lori Glaser Arthur '77 was a three-year letterman in lacrosse and had the thrill of playing on state championship teams in 1976 and 1977. As a senior she was captain and leading scorer, earning All-South Jersey first team honors.
Lori also played one year of basketball and enjoyed great success in gymnastics in her junior and senior years, serving as captain as a senior. In 1977 she was selected as the MVP in both lacrosse and gymnastics and received the prestigious Skeets Irvine Award. Lori went on to enjoy great collegiate success in field hockey and lacrosse at Glassboro State.
Collingswood High produced many outstanding female athletes during the decades of the 1970's and ‘80's. Lori Mather Hagen, voted "Most Athletic" in her 1977 senior class, was among the best of this elite group.
Lori earned two letters in field hockey and three each in basketball and lacrosse. She was a key performer on the hockey teams of 1975 and '76, both of which were Colonial Conference champs and also Courier-Post Cup champions. Lori received second team All-Conference and All-South Jersey Group 3 honors
She was a star player in basketball and captained the 1977 team that won the South Jersey Group 3 championship by knocking off the first and second-ranked teams, Edgewood and Ocean City. A second team All-Conference selection as a junior, Lori was first team All-Conference as a senior and also was named as All-South Jersey Group 3 first teamer in both 1976 and '77.
During Lori's three years of varsity lacrosse action, the Colls were Delaware Valley League champs in 1975 and state champions in both 1976 and '77. She won first team Delaware Valley League honors and was an All-South Jersey first team selection in both '76 and '77.
She went on to play collegiate sports at Douglass College and earned a B.S. in physical education and health. Lori says she became a phys. ed. teacher "because I wanted to teach the skills and values I learned from my coaches and teachers to my students."
Lt. Col. Al Bancroft is being inducted with his father for this year's Lifetime Achievement Award. He is the Camden County Service Officer after a distinguished Marine Corps career that included over 39 years of service, including three years in the Vietnam War.
Margaret Carter Lacovara earned three letters in each hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She played on an undefeated Colonial Conference champion field hockey team, coached by Bea Markwick, and was co-captain of a basketball team that was undefeated Colonial Conference champs and won the Suburban Cup.
Defense was the name of the game(s) for Maria Talarico Chielli, a standout Colls athlete of the early 1940's. She was a two-year starter in both hockey and basketball and was a defensive stalwart in both sports.
She was co-captain and halfback of the Colls hockey teams that also featured Hall of Famers Charlotte Craig Bart and Betty Brown Black. Maria was known as a spirited player in both hockey and basketball, so it was no surprise she was voted "Peppiest" in her class.
After high school, Maria attended Camden Business College and played hockey for the Owlettes, a team comprised of mostly Temple graduates. She later instructed young children in all sports during a 29 year career as a teacher's assistant.
When Marion Stockum graduated from Collingswood High in 1916, girls' sports received little attention. However, she was a dominant player in her era.
The only varsity athletic team was field hockey and Marion served as captain and leading scorer. Although tennis was not a scholastic team sport, she competed with the best.
She once told her daughter, Claire Alden, that if she could not stop a shot on goal with her hockey stick, her long skirt often did the job. Marion certainly passed along her athletic genes to her daughter, for Claire Alden Harden was inducted into the Collingswood Hall of Fame in its third year, 1993.
Mark Leise, whose father Conrad "Corky" and brother Jon preceded him into the Hall of Fame, was one of Collingswood's standout baseball and football players of the early 1980s. He also lettered in basketball, but the diamond and gridiron sports were his forte.
In baseball, Leise was a left-handed power hitter and pitcher who twice earned All-Colonial Conference first team honors, twice was named All-South Jersey Group 3 and was also an All-South Jersey choice as a first-baseman. He led the Panthers to Colonial Conference titles in both his junior and senior years, as the Colls posted a 33-3 conference record those two seasons.
Leise was also a versatile and hard-hitting football player. He played wingback on offense and safety on defense in his sophomore (when the Colls won the Colonial championship) and junior years and switched to quarterback in his senior year. He passed and ran for several touchdowns during his gridiron career.
Mark Ritter likes to say he's the third-best Collingswood coach in his family. And that would be none too shabby, since his wife Sandy is having tremendous success as current coach of the Panther field hockey powerhouse and his dad, Astor T., is a highly respected Hall of Famer for his efforts as a boys' basketball, football and track coach in the 1940's and 50's.
But Mark himself had quite a coaching run at Collingswood after an outstanding basketball career at neighboring Haddon Township High and the College of William and Mary. As a young Colls High biology teacher, he took over the varsity reins of the Panther basketball team in 1976 and produced top-notch teams during a highly-competitive era in the Colonial Conference. His teams won some 170 games in 14 seasons at the helm, including a conference title, making him the "winningest" boys' hoops coach in the school's long history. He also coached freshmen soccer for six years.
Mark bowed out of coaching while still a young man to pursue a career as a school business administrator. He has held business administrator positions in Barrington, Haddon Heights and presently Haddon Township, and is considered one of the best in that field.
Marla Kravitt specialized in defense during her athletic career at Collingswood. She was a goalie in both field hockey and lacrosse and a defensive stalwart in basketball.
In field hockey, she posted seven shutouts in 11 outings as the Colls registered Coach Bea Markwick's undefeated season and earned the coach a state championship in the process. In lacrosse, the Colls won league honors and Marla was again solid in the nets.
She said, "I loved standing in the goal and watching the rest of the team march down the field on offense - just a beautiful sight!"
In basketball, Marla was one of two Colls (Inaugural Hall of Famer Cheryl Christinzio was the other) to gain All-Colonial Conference honors. It was noted that Marla was one of league's most outstanding defensive stalwarts.
A 1938 graduate of Collingswood High, Marvin Hume attended the University of Pennsylvania and served with distinction as a petty officer with the Naval Air Corps in the Pacific during World War II.
He is receiving the Community Service Award for establishing the tradition of holding a patriotic flag lowering ceremony every evening on Cape May beach property he owns. This ceremony, attended by up to 200 people, also enables families to honor their deceased veterans by using the flag that decorates their graves.
Marvin carries on this service despite the fact he is now 83 years old.
Maryann never played on a JV team during her four-year athletic career at Oaklyn Junior High and Collingswood High. She played hockey and basketball for four years each, while excelling in both softball and tennis in the spring.
Maryann's athletic accomplishments included being captain of a championship hockey team and pitching a no-hitter in softball. She was voted the top female athlete in the class of 1960 and was a Varsity Club officer.
Maryann went on to Temple University, where she had an outstanding career as an athlete. She went on to enjoy great coaching success at Washington Township High School.
Matt Leek of the class of 1964 comes to Collingswood all the way from Oregon to receive this award tonight. At Collingswood High, he earned six letters in cross-country and wrestling.
In wrestling, Matt (the brother of Collingswood's first state champion, John Leek) carved an enviable record in high own right. In his sophomore year, he tied the Pennsylvania state champ in a pre-season match. In his senior year, he went undefeated and was a district champion for Coach Sam Coursen.
He went on to receive a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Lehigh University. Matt and his wife Kimberly live in Ashland, OR, and are the parents of four children.
Maureen earned nine letters in field hockey, basketball and softball She was second in South Jersey hockey scoring and led the Colls in both her junior and senior years. Maureen was named to the All-Colonial Conference and All-Group teams for two years and was selected to the Philadelphia Inquirer first-team as a senior.
She also captained the basketball and softball teams, and was an All-Group softball performer for two years. She was also named MVP of her junior and senior softball teams. Overall, she led Colls teams to four Colonial Conference titles and was selected as the Most Valuable Athlete for the class of 1985,
She is single and has a son, Billy, age 17.
Missy Bandock follows her parents, Ron and Pat, into the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame. A 1981 graduate, she earned a total of seven letters - three in field hockey and two each in basketball and lacrosse.
She was a key member of the field hockey team that won a South Jersey Group 3 championship. Missy received All-Group 3 honors in hockey and was selected for the second team All-Group 3 in basketball, where she was a leading scorer.
Missy was also a strong defender in lacrosse and she counts defeating Moorestown twice (once in the regular season and once in the playoffs) as a memorable experience in senior year lacrosse.
She earned a degree in textile chemistry from the University of Delaware and works as regional sales manager for a firm that imports luxury porcelain and crystal products.
Michelle Minerva earned 11 varsity letters during her years at Collingswood and served as captain of three sports. She was a standout in basketball (four letters) and softball (three) and also played tennis (three) and a year of soccer.
She was the youngest player on the 1986 state championship team and went on to receive All-Conference honors and All-South Jersey second team men. In softball, Minerva won All-Conference, All-South Jersey and All-State honors. She was MVP of both the basketball and softball teams.
Among her memorable moments in Collingswood sports, she recalls twice turning an unassisted triple play as a softball third baseman.
Although his Christian name is William, he has traveled life's highway known as Mickey. And Mickey Mc Laughlin's efforts have made him an almost automatic choice for the Collingswood High School Hall of Fame Award for Community Service.
His greatest contributions are sons Michael, Stephen, Bill Jr., Timmy and Richard, and daughter Mary, all multi-sports stars at Collingswood. As a Hall of Famer he will join his wife, the former Diana Onofri, and his son Bill. Jr. Mickey's community service activities are almost endless. For a quarter-century he was a Little League coach and manager. For years he shared with Gibby Wilson the operation of the Collingswood Biddy Basketball League. He has been involved in midget football and has worked with youth at St John's and Holy Savior parishes. For the past 15 years he has been a member of the Collingswood Planning Board.
Mike D'Alessandro was a standout two-way tackle on the Group 4 1945 and 1946 Collingswood High School football teams. In his senior year he served as captain and was selected All-South Jersey.
After graduation, he played outstanding football at Glassboro State College and for several of the strong independent football squads which were so much a part of post-World War II life.
Following the service, Mike coached baseball at Gloucester High for five years and then returned to Collingswood. His 33 years of coaching service at his Alma Mater is the longest in school history. He was a football assistant for 17 years, a baseball aide for two years, and as head coach directed the Colls tennis squad to 19 successive winning seasons, capturing four South Jersey titles.
In 1990 he was inducted into the New Jersey Coaches Hall of Fame.
Morgen Sheaffer '93 earned a total of eight letters in soccer, lacrosse and softball at Collingswood High. She was one of the Colls' first girl soccer stars.
She won numerous honors in soccer, including the All-State first team, and was a three-time choice for the All-South Jersey first team. She was also a member of the South Jersey Group 2 first team all four years of her soccer career in Collingswood.
Sheaffer played college soccer at Monmouth University. She is single and the mother of Brynn, 10, Ty, 8, and Emersen, 6.
Nancy Campbell was a four-year letterman in softball and was an All-South Jersey selection in her senior year (1985). She has vivid memories of going to the state championship games, running the park for practice while it was snowing outside, and wearing the banana-yellow uniforms.
She went to Omega Institute for Business and received a certificate in business.
Campbell is married to Greg Watson and is the mother of Alli, 18.
Nancy DeCristofor, class of 1975, was one of the truly outstanding Colls field hockey and lacrosse players of the early 1970s - when Collingswood was a state power in both sports. She earned three varsity letters in hockey and two in lacrosse. Her hockey career culminated in being chosen to the All-South Jersey team as a senior. One of her most memorable athletic moments was playing in a state final and losing on "attack time." Nancy also has many fond memories of crisp fall days and hockey balls in Knight Park, great years with teammates, playing for Bea Markwick and just being so proud of Blue and Gold - singing on the bus coming around the corner on Collings Ave. Nancy went on to earn a degree in biology from Rutgers University and now resides in North Carolina with her husband and three daughters.
Nancy Hunt Manzoni remembers playing with halfcourt basketball rules while in junior high, then had to transition to the same fullcourt rules as the boys game had as a freshman in 1972. She went on to win three letters in basketball and was selected to the All-Conference team as a senior and the team won the Colonial Conference in a playoff with Audubon her junior year.
Hunt also was named to he All-Conference and All-Group III teams in field hockey and received three varsity letters in tennis and achieved All-Conference honors and an MVP award her senior year. She thus earned All-Conference honors in three varsity sports in her senior year.
She received a bachelor's degree in health and physical education in 1979.
Naomi Leitch is one of the few Collingswood Athletes, male or female, to earn 12 Varsity letters in just three years of high school. She was also an outstanding player and competitor in all four sports she played as a Panther - hockey, basketball, softball and swimming.
She was chosen the Most Outstanding Female Athlete in the class of 1955, and classmate Al Harris says she was unquestionably the best athlete - male or female - in that class.
Naomi played in an era before girls received individual recognition outside the walls of their own skills, but she would have been an all-star hockey and basketball player in any era. As co-captain and leading scorer, she led her Colls basketball team to the championship of the West Jersey League.
When the class of 1942 named its top athlete, Joe Jones was selected the top male, Natalie Wood the best female. She played and starred, on the strong field hockey, basketball, swimming and tennis squads of her era. She was not only admired for her athletic talent, but respected for her role as an ideal teammate. Natalie Wood always had time for people. She married the late James Johnson and the union produced Nancy, Barbara, Theresa and Christine.
Neil Elverson lettered in three sports - football, basketball and baseball - in addition to numerous student activities in the early 1950's. He was a second team All-Group 4 selection following his senior season in football. He also was a member of the National Honor Society, glee club, choir and Student Council, served as sports editor for the yearbook and was president of his homeroom all three years of high school.
He graduated from Rutgers in 1957, enlisted in the Army and studied at the Army Language School before serving a tour of duty in Army counter-intelligence. Neil then embarked on a career teaching film aesthetics and English in California.
He contracted colon cancer in 1992 and had four surgeries and 35 chemotherapy treatments, but continued to teach and battled the disease by walking eight strenuous miles five days a week. He passed away in 2011, leaving wife Marilynne and son Ian.
Neil Thompson was originally hired to serve as freshman coach in basketball, football and baseball. He immediately was recognized as a superlative teacher of young athletes. He soon became head coach in basketball and baseball and coached both with great success.
His court teams won nearly 200 games and were consistent contenders for league and group honors. In 1968 he directed his Panthers into the state semifinals. It was one of two South Jersey crowns he annexed and he also captured two Colonial Conference titles.
Few coaches could out-work Thompson who believed that attention to detail and constant repetition was the key to success. He was recognized by his peers as one of the finest coaches of his era.
"Biff" Roseboro, Class of 1968, was a lifelong resident of Collingswood until his untimely death from cancer at the age of 47. A testimony to his community involvement was the long line of people, including many youngsters he coached, who waited hours to pay tribute to him at his viewing at Foster's Funeral Home. His family and friends say Bill would be especially honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame for his community service.
"Biff" credited coach Neil Thompson for turning him into an outstanding baseball player at Colls High. He was chosen to the All-Group 3 and All-Colonial Conference first teams and was also honorable mention All-South Jersey. He made an impact on the baseball team at Camden County College before enlisting in the Marines to serve in Vietnam.
After marrying and becoming the father of four children, "Biff" devoted countless hours to the Collingswood Recreation leagues coaching and sitting on executive boards for soccer, basketball, wrestling and baseball. He also spearheaded a T-Ball program to introduce younger children to baseball.
Dr. Neil Thompson, voted "Most Likely to Succeed" in the Class of 1962 yearbook, is this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, for his selfless service as a missionary surgeon in Thailand and for his continuing efforts to recruit other U.S. professionals to work in the under-served areas of East Asia. Neil was an outstanding student at Collingswood High, as well as a contributing member of the 1961-62 undefeated wrestling team and letterman in cross-country and track. He earned his B.A. degree from Franklin & Marshall College, his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College and completed a four-year residency in general surgery at a Baltimore Hospital. During his senior year in medical school, he had a life-changing experience
to visit the Manorom Christian Hospital in central Thailand. Some eight years later, after completing his surgical residency, he joined the Overseas Missionary Fellowship (OMF) and returned to Manorom Hospital
In 1930, Hughes served as quarterback in a backfield that also included Jack Earle and Bill Conover. He was the field leader of a unit which only lost to Vineland, 7-6.
Football was but one of his athletic activities. Over his three years in the high school he earned eight letters. He was elected captain of the track and field squad and also lettered in basketball and tennis. He ranks as one of Collingswood's finest all-around athletes. Hughes also excelled in other areas, serving as president of the Class of 1931 and lead in the school's senior plan.
Although born with a disease that prevented him from playing sports, Olas Winters ranks as one of Collingswood's true all-stars. In high school he was manager of the football and baseball squads, positions he handled capably.
He was much more, though, than proficient in his duties. The athletes of his day looked upon him as a true inspiration. His devotion to his job, and his constant support of those who played, made Olas Winters almost an icon to his contemporaries. After graduation, Skeets Irvine put him in charge of sideline equipment, a post he held until 1959. Despite his physical problems he earned a degree from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. He made this field his career.
Olly Onofri earned seven letters while in high school and was selected the top female athlete in the graduating class of 1949. She starred for three years on powerful field hockey teams and was named captain in her senior year.
Her top memory of high school days was playing as a regular as a sophomore on the South Jersey championship hockey team of 1946.
Olly also played a year of varsity basketball and three years of softball. She was admired not just for her outstanding ability, but for her leadership qualities and competitive drive. In later years, she starred in field hockey in South Jersey and the Suburban Philadelphia area, in which the top players in the east played regularly.
Bruce Prutzman is one of Collingswood's finest track athletes ever and the team MVP in both 1973 and '74. He set a school record in the 440-yard run and won All-South Jersey honors in his senior year. He also received the Fred Weber Award for winning the 440 in the Camden County Meet in both '73 and '74.
Prutzman was an active athlete in all three seasons. In the fall, he played football for two years and then switched to soccer and earned All-South Jersey honors in that sport in his senior year. He participated in winter track all three years and captained that team as well.
Bruce was honored as recipient of the Howard T. Irvine Award and the Varsity Club Trophy in his senior year.
Prutzman went on to run track at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he achieved a personal best of 46.9 in the 400-meter run. He is a retired Navy Lieutenant Commander, having piloted aircraft carriers in the Western Pacific Theater.
Job Titles:
- Secretary
- Vice - Chairperson
Pat Ciervo was a member of the Bicentennial class of '76 and lettered in football, wrestling and track. In football, he played three years and earned two letters as a defensive end.
In his senior year, he was named All-Colonial Conference, All Group 3 and All-South Jersey third team defense. He also received the "Athlete of the Week" award for blocking a punt and returning an interception for a touchdown in the Panthers' upset win over Haddonfield.
Ciervo attended Catawba College and today he heads Main Street Realty in downtown Collingswood. He and his wife Pam have three children in their 20s: Natalie, Patric and Laura.
Pat Fogarty was an outstanding runner for the track and cross-country teams at Collingswood High. He received three letters in each sport and was a four-time MVP, twice in each sport.
He was named All-Colonial Conference for two years each in track and cross-country and also received All-South Jersey honors in both sports for two years. His most memorable achievement was receiving Collingswood High's highest athletic honor. He was named "Most Athletic" by his senior classmates.
Despite recurring hip and later back problems, Pat Roney Miller '59 was a standout basketball and tennis player at Colls High. A memorable moment for her was making the basketball team as a freshman after a year of walking on crutches. She was a four-year letterman who captained the team and was the leading scorer with a 17 ppg average in her senior year. Pat was also a four-year letter winner in tennis and played first singles as both a junior and senior. She captained that team as a senior as well. Pat played a year of hockey before focusing on the other two sports. At Beaver College, she was an outstanding basketball player. There was no tennis team there at the time so she switched back to hockey and was a solid performer despite her lack of high school experience.
Patrice Donohue Joya, class of 1974, participated in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse during her years at Collingswood High. She earned three varsity letters in basketball and two each in hockey and lacrosse.
During her senior year, all three teams won conference championships. Patrice captained the hockey team and won All-Conference honors in both hockey and basketball. At the end of the hockey season, she was presented with the Skeets Irvine Award as most valuable player. She received a similar award for her efforts and achievements in basketball.
Patrice Dennison follows older brothers Rick and Tim Wright into the Colls Hall of Fame. She graduated in 1970 after earning nine varsity letters, three each in hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She also had the distinction of playing on Colonial Conference championship teams in all three sports, as well as an undefeated lacrosse team in her sophomore year. Patrice was a first team All-Colonial Conference basketball team selection in her senior year. She also captained the Colls hoopsters that year. She was a second team All-Conference pick and shared the team MCP award in hockey, and Collingswood won the conference title in that sport in both her sophomore and senior years. Patrice received the Howard "Skeets" Irvine Award as outstanding female athlete in the class of 1970.
After convincing her high school softball coach, the late Neil Thompson, that she was capable of playing First Base, Patty (Hofacker) Badey '83 went on to star at that position. A four- year letter winner, Patty was also a threat with the bat as well as a base stealing threat! One of her fondest memories is of the team's qualifying for the South Jersey playoffs in 1982 where they took on and defeated Audubon. Patty served as team captain and was named MVP. She earned 1st team Colonial Conference honors following her junior and senior seasons. Following her senior season, Patty was named to the 1st team All-Group II and honorable mention All-State. Playing for the late Bea Markwick, Patty was also a solid defensive Field Hockey player from her halfback position. She was a proud member of the 1981 and 1982 Colonial Conference Field Hockey team and was named Honorable Mention All-Group III following her senior season. A memorable Hockey moment was the team's competing in the states her senior season. Patty earned both the Buddy Robertson Award and the Unsung Hero awards at the end of her senior year. Today, Patty is married to James Badey and is the mother of Erin Zimmer and Ryan James Badey. She is also the grandmother of Hunter. She is employed in the Business field and also serves as Assistant Softball Coach at Camden County College. She is "very proud to have played under some amazing coaches" and notes that it was "an honor to play for Bea Markwick". She enjoys coaching, sports, and her time spent with her "old Collingswood friends" Jackie, Joy, Ruth, and Janet.
Pattie Sue Ewan Hale of the class of 1979 was a three-sport standout at Colls High, earning seven letters
in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, Her best sport was hockey, in which she was an All-South Jersey,
All-Group 2 and All-Colonial Conference selection in her senior year.
She also earned the Silver Senior Award for the class of '79, but her most memorable event that year was winning the lacrosse
state championship on the same day of her high school prom. Pattie Sue credits her coach, the late Bea Markwick, for their team successes. She says, "If it wasn't for her, we all would never have achieved half of what we did! She is a force that still affects me as an adult today."
Paul Ritzinger is being recognized for coaching the freshman track squad from 1964-69, varsity cross-country from 1970-83 and varsity track from 1975-82. He also served as track official from 1982-96, the year he retired as a junior high math teacher and moved to Florida.
He coached three of this year's inductees, Ed Donohue, Dave Munyon and Pat Hill, among many outstanding runners and athletes. He had a glittering 128-34 record in cross-country, with seasons of 13-1 in 1974; 11-1 in 1976 plus winning the Meet of Champions and South Jersey Group 3 title; and an undefeated season in 1983, when the Colls also won the South Jersey Group 2 Meet and placed fourth in the state.
Ritzinger was chosen South Jersey "Coach of the Year" in 1977, when the Colls were Colonial Conference champions. Collingswood didn't have the numbers to repeat the same success in track, but Ritzinger managed to get the best out of his material.
Peggy Engelbert followed sister Cathy, already a Hall of Famer, as a top athlete in three sports during the early 1980s. She was a four-year letter-winner in gymnastics, qualified for the state sectionals in vaulting and earned a silver medal. She was captain and team MVP in gymnastics.
Peggy also won three varsity letters in both basketball and lacrosse. As in gymnastics, she captained and was team MVP in basketball. She was an important cog on a lacrosse team that won the state championship in sudden-death overtime, with sister Cathy scoring the memorable winning goal. Peggy was second team All-Sioux Division in lacrosse.
Her senior classmates voted her "Most Athletic" female for the class of 1983. This is a big year for the Rust family, as Peggy's husband Rob was inducted into Paulsboro High's Hall of Fame this past November.
Pete wrestled and played football for Collingswood High during the 1976 to 1979 seasons. He lettered three times in wrestling and twice in football. He was a tri-captain of the Colls football team when it won the Colonial Conference in 1978.
Pete was a two-time district champion in wrestling and was a runnerup in the regionals to qualify for the state championships in 1979. He was also tri-captain of the team which won its first district championship in 20 years.
He lives in Running Springs, CA, with his wife, Kathleen, and two daughters, Audrey and Rory. He is the woodshop teacher at the local high school and, not surprisingly, coaches wrestling.
Dr. Ralph Skowron of the class of 1947 is this year's Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for a dedicated life of service to others through medicine and his military career as an aviator and flight surgeon. He has been a top achiever in both fields and attained the rank of Brigadier General in the U.S. Air Force.
Following graduation from Colls High, he earned a B.S. degree from Villanova, attended Dickinson Law School and then entered Hahnemann Medical Center to obtain his M.D. degree in 1956. He went on to the U. of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Medicine for specialized studies in opthalmology and served residencies in that specialty at Philadelphia General Hospital and Temple University.
Meanwhile, he had become a private pilot and then enlisted in the Air Force as an officer. He furthered his studies and career in opthalmic pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Dr. Skowron has been a Class 1 FAA aviation medical examiner for almost 50 years and was an Air Force chief flight surgeon for almost 30 years. He served as the Delaware State Air Surgeon for several years and headed the entire Delaware Air National Guard as a Brigadier General for more than 12 years.
Now no more than semi-retired and living in New Hampshire, he still returns to this area to see former patients in nursing homes and military hospitals. He also continues his aviation medical examiner service, with occasional private flights which are less frequent than he might like. His family also considers him to be a world-class auction shopper.
Since his graduation in 1939, Ralph Daugherty has brought distinction to Collingswood in ways many and varied. His first start was the Army Air Corps, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He saw duty both in World War II and Korea. It would take a long page to list all the honors he has received. In 1992 he was awarded the Military Order of the World Wars Patrick Henry Silver Medallion for patriotic achievement. For over three decades he has served as president of Collingswood Celebrations, Inc. He was general chairman of the Bicentennial Committee in 1976. For years he has faithfully served Tatem-Shields Legion Post 17 in many different capacities. Ralph has served as leader in Boy Scouts America, and for years has lectured to school children on World War II and other events of his time. In 2000 he was honored by the commissioners of the borough of Collingswood for his many years of service to the community.
One of the greatest ends to play for Skeets Irvine was Ralph Reinhard ‘31, named All-South Jersey in 1929 and 1930. During his three years as a starter, the Colls lost only two games and captured two Class A titles.
Irvine was quoted as saying: "The only question I ever asked about Ralph was whether he was better on offense or defense."
A standout in three sports, Ray Beck is most remembered for a long set shot that led Collingswood High to its first South Jersey basketball championship.
Trenton was the perennial court power at the time and the victory over the capital city squad was considered the most prestigious in school history.
Beck started at tackle for successful Colls gridiron teams in 1938 and 1939 and was a three-year starting pitcher in baseball.
In his years as a top reliever with the Cleveland Indians, many of his rivals felt that Ray Narleski threw the best fastball in the American League. It came as no surprise to many South Jersey scholastic players who had the misfortune to face him when he was setting strikeout records for coach Bill Diemer's Panthers.
He signed with Cleveland out of high school and was a key member of the Indian pitching staff which accumulated a record 111 victories.
In high school, besides his pitching prowess, he lettered as a reserve quarterback on the championship football team of 1946 and then served as co-captain of the 1947 unit. His leg was as strong as his arm as many of the kickoffs landed in the enemy end zone.
A guard with a fine outside shot and superior ball-handling ability, Bucky was a key player on the 1953 Collingswood South Jersey 4 honors as a football end. In baseball, he was one of the top pitcher-outfielders of his era.
He went on to play three years with North Carolina State University. He then became a head coach at Duke and West Virginia where his teams enjoyed conspicuous success. At both schools he produced teams that reached post-season play.
For two decades Bucky has been a familiar commentator on national television. During those years he has covered many sports, including work at the Seoul Olympics of 1988.
Raymond Bancroft (1900-1970) is a posthumous recipient of the Hall of Fame's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was a 1917 graduate of Collingswood High and excelled in track.
He enlisted in the Army during World War I. When he returned, he started working for The Retrospect (Collingswood's weekly newspaper) as an advertising salesman. When publisher George DeGinther died in 1939, Mr. Bancroft succeeded him and led the newspaper until his death in 1970.
Mr. Bancroft was a noted pen-and-ink artist, whose artwork may be viewed in the Collingswood Library. He also received a Who's Who listing.
The late 1930's was a golden era for Collingswood High girls athletics. Few contributed more to the success than Dit Bailey. She won four letters in swimming, three in hockey and basketball, and two in tennis.
She not only played, but excelled, in all her activities. For three successive years she was South Jersey diving champion. As a senior, she captained a championship field hockey squad. She was also a three year starter on basketball teams which garnered two league titles.
It was not just the men of Collingswood who were area powers in the early 1930's. The gals were also highly successful, and Rheta was one of the premier stars of the day. She was a standout in hockey, basketball and track. Among her tributes was earning the title of best athlete in the school at the graduation ceremonies of 1932.
In field hockey, Rheta set a Collingswood scoring record which stood until the 1960's. One of her most fond memories is playing in the championship hockey game before a crowd of 2000 fans. Her desire to excel was so great that one time her mother called coach Hazel Nicholson Gallagher and suggested that she should arrange for a cot in the gymnasium. In 1986, Rheta was honored by the Field Hockey Club of South Jersey as the outstanding player of the 1930's.
Rich Hahn was a standout athlete from the Class of 1968 earning 2 Varsity letters in Basketball and 3 Varsity letters in Baseball. As a Senior, Rich was awarded the prestigious Irvine Award for the Most Outstanding Male Athlete in his class. In Basketball, he was a two year starter during which time the team record was 45 wins and 5 losses. Recognized as an outstanding shooter, he was also an unselfish player. Teaming with Tim Wright, they were considered one of the most feared backcourt duos in South Jersey. The season of 1967-68 found the team to be considered the #1 team in the state. A talented pitcher, Rich set a school record for starts in a three year career with 26 and finished with a record of 18-6, including a no-hitter against Group III Champion Sterling High School. He also served as team captain. Of the five teams for which he was a starter, four have been inducted into the CHS Athletic Hall of Fame with the 1967 Baseball and 1967-'68 Basketball Teams considered to have been among the best in the school's history. Following graduation from CHS, Rich went on to distinguish himself as a member of the 1st Baseball team at Camden County College. His fine pitching earned him 1st Team All-Region honors along with Honorable Mention All-American honors as well. He earned an Associates' Degree from Camden County College, attended Rutgers-Camden, and served in the U.S. Army. Rich would like to pay tribute to the late Neil Thompson who served as his only coach for both Basketball and Baseball at CHS for his "discipline and direction in many ways during his athletic career". Rich went on to become a top High School Football Official who officiated more than 15 State final games. In 2008, Rich was recognized as the High School Football Official of the Year by the Collegiate Hall of Fame. Now retired, Rich and his wife of more than 30 years, Becky, currently reside in Lake Placid, Florida. He works as a Motivational Speaker and enjoys fishing and family.
Rick Koss was an outstanding wrestler, baseball and football player in the class of '93 for Collingswood. He earned eight letters, half of them in wrestling, and was elected captain of each team.
He also won All-Group 2 honors in each of those sports and earned team MVP honors in football and wrestling. He was a two-time state second place winner in wrestling, a three-time regionals winner and a two-time district champ.
Koss was also All-South Jersey football and was a member of the 1991 Colonial Conference champions in that sport. He received a bachelor's and master's degree from Rutgers-Camden and distinguished himself as Division III NJAC Player of the Year in baseball.
Rick has coached wrestling for Triton, Audubon and Winslow High School where he is a four-time District Coach of the Year. He also had the privilege of coaching three state champions, one of whom, Jordan Burroughs, is also a World and Olympic gold medal winner. Rick is currently coaching football and wrestling at Collingswood.
John Smith produced some outstanding boy's basketball teams at Colls High in the early mid-1960's, thanks to such stars as Hall of Famers Stan Pawlak, Gary Williams and new inductee Rick Wright. Rick was a consummate guard, a great passer as well as shooter. He formed a dynamic backcourt with Williams in 1962-63, then average 20 p.p.g. as a senior after Williams had graduated. In his junior year, Wright scored 26 points in a win over Audubon that clinched the Colonial Conference title, .and in his senior year poured in 40 in a victory over Paulsboro. He was twice an All- Conference and All-Suburban selection. A versatile and fine all-around athlete, Rick also earned letters in cross-country, one in track and two in tennis, giving him nine in all. He received one of the school's top awards given to senior athletes, and went on to play basketball at the University of Delaware (where he also showed his athletic virtuosity by winning the intramural badminton tournament). Rick has taught and coached at Moorestown High for over 25 years, piloting teams in basketball, soccer and tennis.
Bob Scarborough, a man who has never forgotten his Collingswood roots, is a worthy recipient of the school's first Lifetime Achievement Award being presented tonight. A 1941 C.H.S. graduate, he married school sweetheart Olive Lafferty the following year and then served in the Army Air Corps, where he flew 19 missions over Germany as a B-17 pilot. Bob had always built things since childhood, so it was not surprising that the first house he built was completed in December, 1945. Bob and Olive still reside at that home near Collingswood high School, and raised sons Randy and Kevin there. Scarborough then founded the firm which gained him recognition as South Jersey's premier home builder and a national reputation of quality. With the help of Collingswood friends Walt riley, Jack Sansom, Bill Feather and others, he built 15,000 homes under the name of Bob Scarborough, including the communities of Barclay Farm, Tenby Chase, Wexford Leas and others. Sons Randy and Kevin became active partners in the business and now have gone on to distinguished careers in building and development - randy with apartments, town houses, commercial buildings and marinas and Kevin as the builder of 3,000 homes. In all, the Scarborough family has completed over 18,000 houses, apartments, condos, marinas, waste water treatment plants, commercial buildings, industrial facilities and miles of pipelines. To accomplish this, the Scarborough firms have employed thousands of people, including some 300 Collingswood High graduates - many of whom (including this year's Hall of Famer Van Maussner) have become successful businessmen in their own right. Bob has been a leader in the Home Builders League of South Jersey for many years, and for the past 35 years has been actively involved with the West Jersey (Virtua) Hospital Board of Trustees and the West Jersey Foundation. He has also served many years as chairman of the Knight Park Board of Trustees. With all his success, he has remained a down-to-earth guy who is a role model for our Collingswood High posterity.
The name Robert Shields is memorialized in the beautiful athletic field and in the Tatem-Shields Legion Post.
Bob Shields is the only Collingswood citizen to give his life on the battlefield in World War I. He enlisted in the US Marine Corps and was part of the great allied counter-attack in the spring and summer of 1918. At the battle of Belleau Wood, an action vital in the Marine Corps lore, he received shrapnel wounds that caused his death a few days later. At the time he was wounded he was under heavy fire and assisting wounded buddies. This action brought him posthumous decorations from the governments of France, Belgium and the United States.
He was one of Collingswood's first athletic heroes, excelling in football, baseball and track. The Colls began football in 1909 and did well from the outset. The only team it could not defeat was Camden. But the Panthers did earn ties in 1913 and '14. Bob Shields scored all the points in those contests.
Bob made his mark in wrestling and tennis at Collingswood High. He also lettered in one year of football and received the Howard T. Irvine Memorial Award in 1980, his senior year.
He earned two letters in wrestling and was a member of a district championship team in 1979. The next year he was a district champ and regional runnerup who qualified for the state tournament.
Bob played four years of tennis and holds the mark for the most career wins in boys' tennis. He captained the team in his sophomore, junior and senior years and made the 1980 All-South Jersey team. He still lives in Collingswood with his wife and three children.
Young played three years as shortstop for Ed Kurkian and Neil Thompson's baseball teams of 1963, '64 and '65 teams. He was MVP of baseball in 1965. He remembers life-enhancing inspiration from his two coaches, as well as the late mechanical drawing teacher Rudy Yeager.
He earned a BA degree in geology from Rutgers-Camden and served in the Air Force, retiring with the rank of captain. Young served in the Vietnam War as a C-130 pilot and would like to pay tribute to those seven Colls graduates who lost their lives in Vietnam.
Ron Aron, an Oaklyn product, is one of Colls High's best baseball players of the past half-century. He was a top-notch pitcher who earned two letters and hurled the Panthers to the Colonial Conference championship in his senior year, 1982. It was Collingswood's first baseball title in several years. For his efforts, Ron earned All-Conference, All-Group 3 and All-South Jersey honors. After his high school days, he also received All-American mention at the junior college level.
Aron was also a two-year letterman in basketball. A rugged forward, he was a second team All-Conference performer in his senior year. Today he is a well-respected community policing and DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer in neighboring Haddon Township.
Ron Bandock was a three-year starter and a star player for Coach "Rit" Ritter's basketball teams of the late 1950's. A strong rebounder as well, Bandock was one of Collingswood's first scorers. He went on to break the career and single-game (with 40 points) records on the hardwood.
While a knee injury curtailed his efforts to play football, Bandock earned three letters as a high jumper and hurdler on the track team. Ron was a scholastic basketball official for many years and helped establish the girls' youth softball program in Collingswood.
The Golden Eleven of 1958 is a unit that has become part of Collingswood athletic lore. The quarterback and signal caller of that all-victorious squad was Ron Giordano who excelled as a passer, runner and on-the-field leader.
He was point guard on a powerful basketball team, which narrowly missed winning the South Jersey Group 4 title. He also was a regular player, contending baseball nines where he spent part of the time as a true rarity, a southpaw second baseman.
His collegiate career at Bucknell was as successful as his scholastic days at Collingswood. Starting as 7th string quarterback, he emerged as Little All-America. He then played professional football in the strong minor league circuits that then were a part of the football landscape.
Job Titles:
- Ron Ross Retired As a Collingswood High Math Teacher in 2010. a Product of Glassboro State College ( Rowan University ), He Taught Math at Collingswood for 38 Years
He is being honored with the Hall of Fame Distinguished Coaches' Award. Ross was the varsity baseball coach for 19 years (1982 to 2000) and his teams won four championships in the ultra-competitive Colonial Conference. He is proud of the fact that at least 20 former players have coached baseball at the high school level.
Ross was also the only varsity bowling coach up to his retirement in 2010. His girls teams captured two championships in bowling.
He is married to Lois and they have three adult children: Brian, Kelly and Greg.
Ron was the recipient of the 1964 Silver Medal as the Collingswood High "Outstanding Athlete Award". He lettered for three years in both football and track. An outstanding end, he was a first team All-Group 4, All-Colonial Conference and All-Suburban selection following his senior year. He was also third team all-South Jersey in Coach Dick Ridinger's debut as Collingswood coach.
He captained the track team and ran the sprints and relays for the Panthers. He was also selected president of the Varsity Club during his senior year.
Stevenson earned his degree and played football for Winona State College and was a helicopter pilot in the Marines and a captain when he retired.
He is now retired from a lengthy career in containerized ship cargo and now lives in Southern California with his wife, Joy, an attorney.
Rosemary is one of the many outstanding athletes from Oaklyn and is considered one of Collingswood's all time great female athletes.
She was the only sophomore to play on the 1950 undefeated field hockey team. She was the team's leading scorer for three years, team Captain in 1952 and gained many All Star Honors.
Rosemary lettered for three years in basketball and softball. She gained many post-season honors in basketball, due to her scoring ability and excellent all-around play.
She went on to Beaver College in Pennsylvania, where she had an outstanding athletic career.
Ruth Hagy was one of Oaklyn's gifts to Colls High athletics. She served as captain of both the softball and basketball teams, playing basketball for three years and softball for two. Softball did not become a varsity sport until she was a junior.
In her junior season she was high scorer on the basketball squad but her senior year was marred by illness. An all-around student, Ruth labored for the school newspaper and was in the glee club and choir. After graduation, she was offered a scholarship at Temple, but decided upon marriage.
She later played semipro sports on top-level teams for several years. This 1945 Colls graduate matriculated at Glassboro State in 1964 and earned her degree in 1969, the same year as her son, Steven.
Ruth was one of the many outstanding Colls High athletes produced by the borough of Oaklyn. She credits Ruth Woolston Pond with starting her on the path to sports success.
Ruth starred in hockey, basketball and softball at Collingswood and is best remembered as captain of the undefeated 1950 hockey team, one of the school's best ever. She was the outstanding female athlete in a class of great athletes and received the 1951 Girls Athletic Award.
Both at Pennsylvania's Forty Fort High School and Springfield College, Sam Coursen established exceptional wrestling records. In fact, he was so talented that he earned a position on the 1952 United States Olympic team, which traveled to Helsinki.
For a few years he resisted going into coaching because he was hoping to wrestle again in the Olympic Games in 1956. For family reasons though, he reconsidered and took the job at Collingswood. How lucky can a school be?
Coursen immediately established Collingswood as an area power. Over a five-year stretch his squads lost but a single dual meet! John Leek and Jimmy Robertson won state titles under his tutelage.
Sam Young is a graduate of Gettysburg College and holds an M.Ed. degree from Temple University. He served in the U.S. Navy, retiring with a rank of RM2, and served the Atlantic Service Fleet.
He taught physical education at all three levels (elementary, middle school and high school) of the Collingswood school district for 30 years, retiring in 1992. Young coached several teams at Collingswood High. He coached football for 12 years and served as head coach in five of those years. He also coached as head coach of girls' tennis and as JV coach of the JV basketball and baseball teams.
Young is married to Nancy. They have three adult children: Melissa, David and Wendy.
Sandy LeDonne Verner '58 earned a total of 11 varsity letters in four sports. She was in the first year that the girls tennis program started under Chester Olinger and played #1 singles for the first four years, 1955-58.
Sandy also captained the varsity basketball team and received three varsity letters in that sport, as well as three in field hockey. She also lettered in swimming.
She attended Keystone Junior College and got an A.A. degree, then completed her baccalaureate degree (B.S.) at Rider University. Sandy is married to Ray Verner and has two grown daughters.
Sandy Ritter retired following an emotional 2004 field hockey season in which her Panther team won the third state championship during her 22-year tenure as head coach. It was especially fulfilling for both Sandy and her players since she had missed much of the previous season while recovering from a serious illness.
Sandy joined the Collingswood High faculty in 1972 and her first head coaching job was basketball. For seven years the basketball teams of both genders were directed by Ritters. Her husband, Mark, whom she met and married at Colls High, was on his way to winning more games than any boys' basketball coach in school history. Sandy also had success and one year both Ritters won league hoops championships. It should be noted that Sandy is now the third Ritter coach inducted in the Collingswood Hall of Fame, following Mark and his greatly-respected father, Astor.
Sandy also coached lacrosse at the junior high level, but field hockey was her first love. In 1982, she accepted an offer to become the legendary Bea Markwick's assistant. The very next year, tragedy struck as Markwick was diagnosed with cancer. Sandy had to take over the reins under very trying circumstances, but she was more than up to the task. She guided Markwick's last team to a South Jersey championship and, following the veteran coach's death, won a conference championship in her first official year at the helm.
Ritter went on to surpass Markwick's career victory total when she won her 304th game in 2003. Along the way, her Colls teams won 11 Colonial Conference crowns, five South Jersey championships and state championships in 1994, 2000 and 2004. More important is the relationship she has engendered with her players down through the years and the respect she gained from rival coaches and officials.
Like fellow inductee Ed Friberg, Sandy Woodside was a member of the athletically-outstanding Colls Class of '67. She lettered for three years each in field hockey and lacrosse, as well as one year in basketball.
While Friberg's football team was going undefeated in the fall of 1966, Woodside's hockey team duplicated that feat and she was captain and MVP of that Colonial Conference championship squad.
Woodside was a member of the first lacrosse team established at Collingswood High and received the Outstanding Player Award in her junior year.
Scott Wight was a top tennis player for the classes of 1976 and 1977, both of which won the Colonial Conference championship. The 1976 team also won the South Jersey Group 3 title.
Scott was undefeated in the Colonial Conference (12-0) in both years and posted an overall record of 39-7 in singles play. He was also a member of the wrestling team at Collingswood.
Wight is a graduate of Salisbury State College, where he played college tennis, and graduated with a B.S. degree in business finance. He is married to Marcelle and has three children: Megan, 25; Alex, 22; and Christopher, 18. Megan and Alex are former Hall of Fame scholarship recipients.
He retains interest in attending Colls High sports events and has been a volunteer coach in the town's recreation program.
A graduate of the class of 1932, Spec Harle was one of the top baseball and basketball players of the day. Given name Herman, he was tabbed "Spec" by Skeets Irvine, who could not recall his promising sophomore's first name when interviewed by a sports reporter.
Standing a shade over 6 feet, he was considered a big man for his day. He was the regular basketball center for two years where he was recognized as a strong rebounder and excellent passer. In later years he was a top performer for RCA Victor, Westmont, and other court teams which played in the day when Semi-Pro was an important part of life.
In baseball he was a gifted pitcher who also swung the bat well. Both at Collingswood and in the independent baseball world that followed, he was rated among the best of his day.
Van Maussner, class of 1960, was a three-year letterman in football, wrestling and golf. In football, he was one of the few underclassmen to letter on the undefeated Golden eleven squad of 1958. He started at guard as a senior and was one of the few experienced hands and bright lights of the '59 grid team. Maussner achieved much success in wrestling. He was second in Districts in his junior year, then put it all together his senior year. He was a Christmas Tournament winner, and also won both District and South Jersey championships. He also placed third in the State tournament and had the distinction of being one of the leaders of collingswood's first undefeated wrestling squad. Maussner began his lifelong interest in golf at an early age. He played three years of golf at Colls High and was the team's number one player in both his junior and senior years. A very successful businessman, Van Maussner has been an outstanding supporter of Collingswood High athletics, including both the Hall of Fame and wrestling programs.
Stan Caccia of the class of 1971 was a three-sport star (football, basketball and track) who earned nine letters and received the Howard T. Irvine Award as the outstanding athlete in his graduating class. A standout running back on the gridiron, Caccia earned first team All-Colonial Conference honors for all three varsity seasons. He was co-captain of a team that won the South Jersey Group 3 championship and was selected to the first team on both the All-Group 3 and All-South Jersey teams. A three-year letterman in basketball as well, Caccia played on a Colls team that won the South Jersey Group 3 championship. He was a second-team All-Conference performer in his senior year. Caccia co-captained the track team in both his junior and senior years. He was an All-Colonial Conference second-team selection as a junior and first-teamer as a senior and was honorable mention All-South Jersey as well.
Stan had the honor of being the first Collingswood basketball player to reach the 1000-point level. It was an extra thrill to him because it came against a great Camden team. He made All-South Jersey his last two years and as a senior was selected Player of the Year. He was the sectional champion in the discus and established a Collingswood team record.
He went on to a great court career at the University of Pennsylvania. He was honored by being named a charter member of the Big Five Hall of Fame. He also is a member of the Al Carino Basketball Club Hall of Fame.
After college he starred for years in the Eastern Professional Basketball League and served as an assistant coach at Woodrow Wilson.
In an era when many athletes have turned to specialization, Steve Selby is a throwback to the old school. He earned nine letters, evenly divided among football, basketball and baseball. His talent as an all-around achiever can be recognized by his winning All Colonial Conference Honors in each sport. He was captain of his championship teams in both basketball and baseball.
Steve gained his greatest recognition in basketball, where he was: All Suburban; All Conference; All Group III and All-South Jersey First Team. By the end of his high school career he was Colls all time leading scorer with 1,311 points.
Steve's baseball career began while playing for his dad John ( Jack) Bruno for Midlantic Bank for the Collingswood Little League. Steve took many notes and learned many lessons from his dad as well as his older brother Jack, a 1975 Collingswood High graduate pitcher and shortstop. As a pitcher, Steve compiled a 10 and 1 record as a senior that included back to back "no hitters" He was awarded All South Jersey 1st team honors as a pitcher and 2nd team All South Jersey honors as a shortstop. He pursued his passion beyond high school and was awarded 1st Team All Region shortstop at Rutgers's University in 1982. After college, Steve played in the Men's Tri-County League which was highlighted when he and his younger brother, Jim, a 1987 Collingswood High School graduate became teammates as the middle infielders for the better part of 20 years. Today, Steve proudly reflects on his career while sitting out in center field at the Collingswood Little League Field in Knight's Park on the bench named in his Dad's honor.
Steve Dilts '67 was a standout football and baseball player for some of Collingswood High's greatest teams in both sports.
He quarterbacked the teams which lost just one football game in 1965 and went undefeated in 1966. The latter team was the number one-ranked squad in South Jersey for the entire season and was the highest-scoring team in the history of the school. Dilts ran the Ridinger offense with precision and was a threat as both a runner and passer. He was first-team All Colonial Conference selection and was named to the All-Group 3 second team and honorable mention All-South Jersey.
In baseball, Dilts was 7-0 as a pitcher as the Colls won South Jersey championships in both his junior and senior years. He captained the team in his senior year. Dilts was a first-team All Conference honoree as a senior, second-tea, All-Group 3 and honorable mention All-South Jersey.
Steve captained, and, along with Tim Wright, led the 1967-68 basketball team to the South Jersey Group III finals. That team had the most wins (28), the best record and scored more points than any other Panther team.
Steve scored 1,131 points in three years and had an amazing field goal percentage of 64%. In his senior year, he was All-Conference, All-South Jersey and first team All-State, the first Colls player so named in 25 years.
A two-year letterman in tennis, Steve ranked in the top ten scholastically in his class and went on to achieve both academic and basketball honors at Rutgers University. He and his family now reside in Israel.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Vice - Chairperson
Steve Latch of the Collingswood class of 1979 was a three-year starter in wrestling. His highlight was winning the district title at 115 pounds as a junior.
He was the fourth seed and defeated the first seed, a returning district champ, in the semi-finals and the number two seed in the finals. He received the Outstanding Wrestler Award for those achievements. Steve had a three-year record of 54-14-4 and received honorable mention on the All-South Jersey team all three years. In addition, he captained the Colls team for two years.
Latch went on to attend the State University of New York and Virginia Tech, where he graduated with a degree in ornamental horticulture and turf/grass management. Today he is serving Collingswood as the middle school wrestling coach and as a member of the Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame board of directors.
Sue Coursen earned a total of nine letters at Collingswood High - three each in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse - prior to graduation in 1981. In hockey, she was captain and MVP of a South Jersey Group 3 championship team in her senior year. She was an A 11-Conference and All-Group 3 first team selection and was second team All-South Jersey.
Sue was a member of the state championship lacrosse team as a sophomore, a thrill she shared with her sister Diane. She was team MVP and a second team All-South Jersey selection as a senior.
Sue was the female recipient of the Howard T. Irvine Award as a senior. An officer of the Varsity Club for two years, she was a member of the National Honor Society and ranked 11th in her class. She went on to become a four-year starter in both hockey and lacrosse at Lehigh University and earned All-American honors in both sports.
Sue joins her sisters, Bonnie and Lori, as well as her mother, Ginny, and uncle, Donald "Dee" Douglass, as a HOF Inductee. While a student at CHS, Sue lettered in Field Hockey and Lacrosse and was awarded the Silver Medal upon graduation. Following her graduation from Glassboro State (Rowan), Sue began her teaching and coaching career. Among her fondest memories of her coaching days at Collingswood are her 7th and 8th grade Lacrosse teams which numbered over 100 girls which she coached with no assistance. Moving on to Moorestown Friends School, Sue initiated the Fencing Program which she would go on to coach successfully for six years. During her tenure, her teams won six Individual District Championships, three Individual State Championships, three District Squad Championships, and four Foil Squad State Championships. Her son Douglass, a member of two of her District winning Saber Squads, was also a two-time Individual State Saber Champion. Sue was also the 1st woman to serve as a Boys' Lacrosse coach for the Medford Black Storm team. While an assistant coach for the Middle School team, her team had an undefeated season. Sue has authored a book, Fun Fitness for Kids and is a nationally ranked Veteran Saber Fencer. Sue and her husband, Michael, currently reside in Cape May where she runs a successful personal fitness business.
Susan Davidson MacBride, class of 1967, was a three-sport standout in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse. She lettered in all three sports twice and won the Gold medal as the "Most Athletic" girl at the end of her senior year. Her greatest individual accomplishment was leading all South jersey scorers in her senior year of hockey, when her Colls team won the Colonial Conference title. She was the Most Valuable Player and captained that team.
Job Titles:
- Coach
- Shawnee As Assistant Principal and Director
Susan Rudderow Murphy is honored as the coach for her 27 years as head lacrosse coach at Shawnee High, where her teams won seven state championships, 11 league titles and nine sectional championships. She also served as assistant coach for a field hockey program that won eight state championships and 13 league championships in 14 years and was assistant coach in basketball for five years.
A math teacher for 28 years, Rudderow Murphy now serves Shawnee as assistant principal and director of athletics. She also served as lacrosse captain at Glassboro State College and was selected to play on collegiate national tournament teams all four years in college. She earned four letters in both hockey and lacrosse in college and earned an M.A. from Rider University.
At Colls High, she played both hockey and lacrosse and was named first team All-Conference in hockey.
Suzanne Friedrich earned ten varsity letters in gymnastics, basketball and lacrosse. She received four letters in gymnastics and captained the team in her junior and senior years. She received first team All-South Jersey gymnastics honors in vaulting and was team MVP.
Suzanne earned three letters in basketball and was captain of the team in her senior year. In lacrosse, she was co-captain of the team in her senior year. In lacrosse, she was co-captain of a Collingswood team that won the state championship in her senior year. She was first team All-South Jersey as a junior and won second team All-South Jersey honors as a senior.
Suzanne was the co-female recipient of the Howard T. Irvine Award as a senior. After playing four years of lacrosse on outstanding Penn State teams, she returned to teach and coach at Collingswood High from 1986-89.
Suzanne Zimmerman Williams of the Class of 1958 is this year's recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was a class officer and captain of the cheerleaders while at Collingswood and holds a B.A. degree from Upsala College. In a career which includes public service as a legislative professional on Capitol Hill and as an Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Carter administration, Williams' achievements are numerous. Among them are air, railroad and trucking deregulation, establishment of our nation's waterway user-fee system, and the Conrail, Amtrak and Northeast Corridor reauthorizations. She also played a founding role in Project Head Start and was honored for helping Southern governors develop new approaches to common economic and education problems.
Williams is recognized for her expertise in transportation, economic development and financial affairs. During her career, she has represented federal, state and local interests and leading U.S. corporations and associations, seeking a multi-dimensional approach to issue resolution. Washington magazine listed her as one of the most influential women in the Washington metropolitan area. She has received the Centennial Award for Leadership in Public Affairs and the 1997 Woman of the Year Award. She serves on the boards of directors for numerous public sector organizations and is past chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Williams is the president and CEO of Williams Aron & Associates, a public affairs consulting firm that represents, among other clients, the American Airlines Pilots' Association. She lives in McLean, VA, with her husband. They have one son.
One of Collingswood's finest all-around athletes, Laux starred in football, baseball and basketball. He lettered as a freshman on the unbeaten team of 1932, then played the next three years as a regular. In his final two years he was named All-South Jersey, and in his senior football season of 1935 was selected All-State.
Both the 1934 and 1935 teams earned South Jersey titles and Laux starred as a runner, passer, place-kicker and linebacker. He also was a three year starter in baseball and basketball. He played football at St. Joseph's College and for two years was a backup quarterback with the Philadelphia Eagles.
After playing independent baseball and football for years in the South Jersey area he moved to California where he passed away.
Ted took over as quarterback from his brother Ray in 1947 and the next year was the All-South Jersey quarterback and captain of the fabled '48 undefeated team that was Skeets Irvine's last. He was also a four-year starter in baseball. Ted was last a single-wing tailback at UCLA and was a professional baseball player in the Cleveland Indian's system.
In his senior year he was chosen Back-of-the-Year by the Brooks Irvine Memorial Football Club and was honored as All-State quarterback.
Theresa received a total of ten letters - four in lacrosse and three each in basketball and field hockey. She was a member of the 1986 state championship in basketball team.
Captain of both the hockey and lacrosse teams for two years, Theresa was an All-South Jersey selection for two years each in both sports. In addition, she was selected for the American traveling hockey team for its European tour in 1988.
Tim was the "Mr. Outside" to Steve Kaplan's "Mr. Inside" on the 1967-68 basketball team, Collingswood's best ever that came within a whisker of being state champions. Wright was the floor general with a deadly outside shot.
In basketball, he was All-Colonial Conference for three years, All-Suburban Team for two years and All-South Jersey as a senior. Tim was also a fine tennis player who lettered for three years and he also played football as a sophomore. In his senior year, he shared the Howard T. Irvine Award with Kaplan.
Tim went on to graduate from Princeton University and also holds an M.Ed. from Temple. Like so many other Collingswood High Hall of Famers, Wright chose a career in teaching and coaching.
Tom Deets ‘71was a baseball and basketball standout for Collingswood High. He was a three-year starting pitcher and was chosen first team All-Conference, All-Group 3, All-South Jersey and All-State. In the South Jersey Group 3 finals, he hurled 13 innings and struck out 21 opposing hitters.
He was also a three-year starter in basketball and played on a South Jersey Group 3 championship squad. Deets was a first-team All-Group 3 selection in his senior year.
Although well over 200 pounds, Tom Palmer did not receive permission from his parents to play football
until he was a senior. In his one year with the Panthers, however, Palmer showed he was a player.
He earned a position as a tackle on the championship unit of 1945. Then he received post-season laurels as an All-Group 4 selection. Following high school he enjoyed a fine collegiate career at Wake Forest University.
The Pittsburgh Steelers took Palmer in the 1950 draft and he earned a starting position in the NFL. He later taught and coached in Tennessee.
There were fears that the extremely promising athletic career of Tommy DePaul had ended when, just before high school, he was smitten with polio-a frequent occurrence in the pre-Dr. Salk days. But he recovered sufficiently to excel in sports at Collingswood High.
Blessed with a strong and accurate arm, DePaul, as the quarterback, directed the Panthers to many touchdowns. In baseball, he was extremely versatile, starring as a pitcher, catcher and infielder. One of his fondest memories was going the distance in a 15-inning 3-2 victory over Vineland. He also lettered in basketball.
A great admirer of the fabled Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, he cheerfully answered to the nickname of Tommy "Clipper Joe" DePaul.
The selection of Vic Falls and Ed McQueston means that all four members of the football backfield of 1946 are now in the Hall of Fame. It was a quartet that thrilled fans with its combination of speed, power and versatility. Falls was the inside runner whose strength got him through the line and then his speed would come to fore. He was, indeed, a printer on the track team. Like his teammates, he could also block and receive passes. And he was a defensive linebacker. Rooters lucky enough to see them play will never forget the backfield of Bob Fingerhut, Drew Wilson, Falls and McQueston. Vic later played college football at Richmond and returned to South Jersey to coach at Overbrook.
Ginny Mackrell earned nine varsity letters during her days at Collingswood. She was a three-year starter in field hockey, a two-year regular in basketball and swimming, and also served for two years as tennis manager.
She was chosen All-South Jersey in hockey as a senior and had the thrill of playing on squads which captured six league titles. She matriculated at Temple where she played varsity sports and earned a degree in Health and Physical Education.
She returned to Collingswood and had the honor of coaching the 1946 Panther unit to a South Jersey championship. She has been married for a half-century to George Talarico, a Collingswood Hall of Famer.
In his remarkable career at Collingswood, Walt earned eleven letters. He was All-Group 4 end in football, was a star on the basketball team, the first Collingswood unit to capture a South Jersey championship. He was a hard-hitting first baseman in baseball and a consistent point-winner in the weight events in track and field.
One of his most fond memories is a football game against Trenton when he found four opponents lined up in a row and blocked them all to set up a touchdown run by Ray Beals. Another of his most fond memories is playing a major role in helping coach Ben Mark's team defeat, among others, powerful Trenton en route to the basketball championship.
He later played for the University of Pennsylvania when that institution was a national gridiron power.
Walt Blankley was one of the best basketball players of the all-too-brief Jack McCloskey era of the early 1950s. A three year performer, Blankley came into his own as captain and floor leader of the outstanding 1952-53 squad, which also featured fellow senior Bob Seitz and junior Hall of Famers-to-be Bucky Waters and Al Ferner. All four would go on to distinguished college careers. That Colls team produced an 18-6 record, won the South Jersey Group 4 championship and made it to the state tournament semi-finals before losing a close contest to Thomas Jefferson of Elizabeth. Blankley, an excellent student as well, went on to Princeton University and had the honor of captaining that team in his senior year. He has also achieved great success in the business arena and is married to charter Colls High Hall of Famer Rosemary Deniken.
Wayne was a seven-sport letterman in football, wrestling and track at Colls High. He was a starting tackle on the undefeated 1958 football team and a South Jersey (District 7) champion wrestler in the 168-lb. class.
He earned his college degree at Montana State University. Divis was married to classmate Eleanor Eckert and they had four children. She died in 1998 and he married Lou, who is studying to be a priest. He had a custom cabinet business and recently retired and turned his business over to his son. He has made six mission trips to Uganda for his church.
Wendy Williamson is well-known in Collingswood for coaching in the field hockey rec. program for the past 26 years. She started in 1985 as a freshman at the suggestion and encouragement of her high school coach, Sandy Ritter.
She enjoyed playing hockey at Collingswood High for three years, two of them alongside her sister, Hall of Famer Julie Williamson. Wendy was a three-year letterman and an All-Group 2 choice in her senior year. She also was a four-year letterman in track and served as captain in her junior and senior years. In her senior year, she ran the 1,600 meters and was team MVP.
Williamson also was a two-year letterman in swimming. She is a graduate of the Katharine Gibbs Business School.
Although an end, Schaeffer was the leading scorer on the 1936 Group 4 championship football team. His long touchdown runs on end-around plays brought victories over Vineland and Woodrow Wilson. His brilliant play brought him All-South Jersey honors.
He was a regular on Ben Mark's 1936-37 unit which won the Camden Suburban League title. In track he was the state Champion in the pole vault.
Recruited by the University of Southern California, Schaeffer was a top vaulter on one of the top track and field teams in the nation. He has spent most of his adult life in California.
Bill Dickey, third recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, has practiced law in Collingswood for 55 years and distinguished himself by being elected to five terms in the State General Assembly. There he rose to serve as both Minority and Majority Leader, Speaker and, on two occasions, as acting Governor. Dickey suffered an eye injury at 16 which exempted him from active military service, but after graduating from Collingswood High in 1939 he did serve in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves and also helped the war effort by working the midnight shift at New York Shipyard. Since his father had suffered a disabling stroke, Bill was then the sole support of his family. While working at night, he attended and graduated from the College of South Jersey (now Rutgers-Camden) in 1941 and the South Jersey Law School in 1944. Several years later, while a practicing lawyer, he earned a B.A. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Dickey was elected president of the New Jersey Jaycees and served eight years as a municipal judge in Collingswood and two other communities. During that period, he was appointed chairman of the State Supreme Court's Municipal Court Committee and was also the secretary of the Camden County Legal Aid Society. He was president of the Collingswood Republican Club for 16 years and was three times a delegate to the Republican National Convention. After retiring from the Assembly, Dickey served with distinction for 11 years as commissioner of the Delaware River Port Authority, including two years as chairman. He has been an active leader in many community organizations, including the Salvation Army, Better Business Bureau, South Jersey Chamber of Commerce, South Jersey Development Council and the Lions Club. Dickey has performed a great deal of pro bono work for these and other organizations over the years, and is admired and respected for his integrity, humility and kindness to others.
Championship clubs and Bob "Woody" Fingerhut seemed to be a winning parlay. The 1945 championship football squad utilized two complete backfields - one of juniors, one of seniors. Fingerhut was a member of the junior foursome.
As a senior he was co-captain, along with Mike D'Alessandro, of another championship unit. He also pitched, played first base and the outfield on three of the finest baseball teams of Coach Bill Diemer's marvelous career.
Woody combined considerable ability with a competitive drive and team spirit which made him one of the most respected students and athletes of his day.