The annual induction ceremony for the Hoboken/Demarest High School Sports Hall of Fame will take place Saturday, April 6, at the Hoboken Elks Club at 1005 Washington St. in Hoboken, beginning at 7 p.m.
The list of honorees includes Dwayne Peterson, who was an All-State football player in 1989 and once scored nine touchdowns in a game; Danny Ortiz, perhaps the best pitcher to ever come out of Hoboken; Walter Baumann, who was a standout basketball player for Demarest in the '50s and went on to become a star at St. Michael's in Vermont, as well as the head coach there; Dennis DeLorenzo, a grid star at Hoboken in the '70s; Milton Goggans, who was a fine basketball player in the '60s and went on to the University of Vermont; Nick Martinelli, a baseball standout in the '60s; and Michael Purvis, who was a three-sport All-County performer during his senior year at Hoboken (1991).
James Marnell will be presented with the Jimmy Malloy Memorial Award for his service to the youth of Hoboken.
Tickets for the event are $45 which includes a buffet dinner, beer and wine. A cash bar will be provided.
Anyone wishing to attend should send a check to Buddy Matthews at 15 Church Towers, Hoboken, N.J. Please make the check out to the "Hoboken/A.J.Demarest Sports Hall of Fame." For further information, Matthews can be reached via e-mail at budredwing@aol.com or call at (201) 653-4359.
It should be a fun night for all and it's definitely a worthy night of recipients.
You know it's a sign that I'm getting old when kids who I remember as youngsters, like Ortiz, Purvis and Peterson, are being selected as Hall of Famers. Makes me feel ancient.
But it also draws to mind my favorite Michael Purvis story. In 1987, Purvis was part of the 13-year-old Hoboken Sandy Koufax baseball team that later on became known as the Hoboken Ambassadors, playing in Russia.
However, when the team won a regional tournament in Bergen County that summer, enabling the team to go to the Sandy Koufax World Series in Puerto Rico, Purvis was all excited with the news.
"We're going to Puerto Rico?" Purvis exclaimed. "Man, I have to get one of those Mexican hats."
One of my all-time favorite quotes. It's safe to say now that Purvis knows the difference between Puerto Rico and Mexico. We'll find out for sure when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame in a few weeks...
There was some concern whether the fabulous Friars of St. Anthony would be able to handle having 10 full days off, between the Parochial B state championship game and the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions.
"It was kind of a funny feeling," standout All-American guard Elijah Ingram said last Sunday, before the Friars faced Bergen Catholic in the semifinals. "We're used to playing two, three games a week and now we have this long lay-off. We had some players sick and banged up, so it's good to get some recuperation time. But having the time off makes it feel like the beginning of the season again. But we're definitely feeling confident. Everybody feels like we could win it again."
All concern went out the window Wednesday night, when Ingram scored 25 points, leading the Friars to a 66-55 victory over Bergen Catholic, setting up today's showdown with Neptune for the T of C championship game.
Will the Friars be denied? No way, no how. Especially since Neptune was the lone team to defeat the Friars this season. It's time for revenge, with Ingram finishing his brilliant career on a high note. Prediction: St. Anthony 65, Neptune 56.
...In what turns out to be the first trade of head coaches in the history of Hudson County baseball, former Hudson County Prep baseball coach Derek England is now the head coach at Hudson Catholic, while long-time Hudson Catholic skipper Mike Zadroga has now replaced England at County Prep.
It's quite remarkable how things work out, but chances are that both coaches will be happier with a change of scenery...
The high school baseball season begins next week, so we'll have our full array of previews and prognostications in next week's editions of The Hudson Reporter, as well as full coverage of the St. Anthony-Neptune clash for the T of C title...
Former Hudson Catholic baseball standout Brian Ellerson, currently playing shortstop at Montclair State, says that his reconstructed knee is 100 percent and he feels great as the season begins for the Red Hawks. If he has recovered, Ellerson should have a solid campaign with the Red Hawks and should get drafted by the major leagues come June...
Former Secaucus standout hurler Chris Paciga is among the top newcomers on the Montclair State staff this spring...
Good news for new St. Peter's College coach (and overall good guy) Jimmy Walsh, the Weehawken native, who began his collegiate coaching career last week and collected four wins, which is what the Peacocks won all of last season...
The Seton Hall women's track team is led by two Jersey City natives in sprinter Mia Campo, the former St. Mary's standout, and Celeste Banks, the former Snyder standout, who handles distance races and the high jump for the Pirates. Local track legend Charlie Mays, also of Jersey City, is one of the SHU assistant coaches...
Although the Peahens of St. Peter's College lost to Cincinnati 76-63 in overtime last week in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Peahens have nothing to be ashamed of. They came very close to capturing their first-ever NCAA Tournament win -
when a last-second Cincy shot rolled in, forcing overtime - and they hung tougher than any other SPC team ever before in the Grand Dance...
Finally, here's a salute to a long-time friend and former colleague Mike Spina, who called it a career after 35 years of sports writing at both the Hudson Dispatch and the Jersey Journal. Spina covered a lot of events during his heyday and our relationship goes back to the days of the Jersey Indians, of Rickey Henderson and Jersey City's Roosevelt Stadium some 25 years ago.
"Behind the Mike" had a sartorial splendor in its writing, especially when it came to Mike's beloved North Bergen. I enjoyed the days at the Dispatch when the three heavyweights, namely Spina, Ed "The Faa" Ford, and myself, used to go toe-to-toe and belly-to-belly with our weekly columns and high school football selections.
It's not going to be the same without reading "Behind the Mike" in the local papers. I wish him well in retirement from this thankless and sometimes painful profession... - Jim Hague
Post a Comment