Chuckbits 2018 . . . Provided by Chuck Langerman

Chuckbits In the 2018 Calendar Year As provided by Chuck Langerman , noted South Jersey sports historian and a graduate of Cheltenham High (Montgomery County, Pa.) Chuck's email . . . chucklang@hotmail.com

--

DEC. 20 CHUCKBIT

Pictured

here

is former

Philadelphia Eagles

All-Pro tackle

Al Wistert

. Al

played his entire nine-year NFL career from 1943 to 1951 with the Eagles and

became their captain. He was named to play in the NFL's first Pro Bowl as an

Eagle. All told, Al was named to the NFL's All-Pro team

eight of the nine

years

he played in the league

. While he was playing for the Eagles

,

Al was the

head coach at Riverside High School

in Burlington County

from 1945 to 1947. I'm not making this up. In fact, with Al at the helm,

Riverside went

10-2 in 1946

and won the

South Jersey Group I

championship

. Can you imagine the Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro lineman

Fletcher Cox

coaching St. Joseph's Prep or Frankford High in his spare

time during the NFL season?? In 2009, Al Wistert was inducted into the

Philadelphia Eagles Honor Roll along with

Randall Cunningham

. Al died

on March 5, 2016 in Grants Pass, Oregon at the age of 95.

DEC. 18 CHUCKBIT Speaking of the influx of foreign basketball players in the area, one of the first I remember was Max Blank of George

Washington (Class of 1984). In this video , Brent Musburger and Red Auerbach talk about Max when he first

appeared on the scholastic basketball scene. There is no telling how good he

might have been if he didn't tear the anterior cruciate ligament in his right

knee in the Dapper Dan game in Pittsburgh. I remember an article Ted wrote about

him when he had a big game against Dobbins in a losing effort in the Public

League playoffs. And here it is . . .

WASHINGTON LOSES; NO FILL-IN FOR BLANK Mar 07, 1984 By TED SILARY, Daily News Sports Writer Seven seconds before the end of the third quarter, as he prepared to

shoot a free throw, Max Blank received an ultimate indication of how much havoc

he was creating at Murrell Dobbins Tech. "Hey, Max," a Dobbins rooter yelled, "why don't you go play some Russian

roulette? " Max Blank , who emigrated here with his parents five years ago, might

have come from the Soviet Union with love, but yesterday it appeared as if he'd somehow obtained a copy of Nikita Khruschev's old we-will-bury-you playbook. Blank turned in a memorable performance, despite the fact that Washington

failed to bury Dobbins in a Public League basketball quarterfinal, dropping an

84-76 decision. Under scrutiny by a reporter and photographer from Sports Illustrated, which

will carry a feature later this month on his the-American-dream-is-

something-like-this story, Blank shot 12-for-16 and 11-for-17 for 35 points and

grabbed 14 rebounds. The sparkling performance was limited to 25 minutes by foul trouble and

it was terminated with 4:57 remaining and Dobbins ahead, 64-56, when Blank

fouled guard Darryl Dirickson on a wing-and-a-prayer, shoot-from-the-hip,

I'm-doing-this-for-the-hell-of-it follow. Blank stretched flat-out on the floor and slapped it three times before

heading for the bench. "That was one of the worst moments of my life," he said. "I thought about

how something I had worked so hard for, and had hoped so much for, was through.

What I didn't think about right then was how much we've accomplished this year,

how we should feel proud because we came out so hungry today, played so

aggressive. "Still, losing is not something good. This hurts very much. " Don't be fooled into thinking that Blank, who has signed to attend George

Washington University, wasn't missed merely because the end-of-the-game spread

matched the spread at the time when he fouled out. The Mustangs kicked to a

16-point advantage, uncorking five slams, before Washington rallied to save some

face. "When you lose a guy like Max, the heavens really cave in, don't they?"

said Washington coach Hal "Hotsy" Reinfeld. "Boy, what a performance. How often

are you going to see something like that? I got such a kick out of watching him,

it was all I could do to watch anything else. "Max is going to be a great college player. He's finally getting the

added confidence he'll need to succeed on that level. I've seen very few 6-8

kids in years who can shoot the ball like that kid. " Reinfeld could have said, or should have said, "shoot the ball while

encased. " "We threw everything but the kitchen sink at him," said Dobbins coach

Rich Yankowitz. "Every time he got the ball, we had two or three people on him.

It didn't make any difference. He just squared up and released the ball like

nobody was around him. "If our kids didn't have respect for him before, they do now. They did

anyway, really. " "All I can say is, he's a helluva player," noted 6-5 Eric "Hank" Gathers,

one of four junior starters for Dobbins , which has reached the semifinals

tomorrow against Jules Mastbaum Tech, site undetermined, for the first time

since 1979. "In a way, I was kind of surprised he played so well. I was hoping

he'd be so hyped, he wouldn't be able to produce too much. "We were trying to push him away from the basket. A couple times we did it and

he was still able to knock down a jumper. " In a much quieter way, Gathers came close to matching Blank's effort,

totaling 31 points and 11 rebounds. Of course, he also benefited from being

surrounded at all times by capable players, the best of which were juniors Greg

"Bo" Kimble (23 points, nine rebounds) and Darrell "Heat" Gates (13 points, six

assists). You don't need a nickname to play for "Yank" Yankowitz, but it helps. Meanwhile, Dobbins ' fans made non-stop mention of the fact Max Blank is

not an original Yankee. They cheered "U-S-A" in his direction so often, you

would have thought it was the hockey rink at Lake Placid in 1980. "I heard them saying 'U-S-A,' and it made me laugh," said Blank, who

scored 1,177 career points. "Then I thought of (the television series) 'Gomer

Pyle, USMC. ' Hey, I love this country. Someday I hope to represent it in the

Olympics, and next summer in Israel in the Maccabiah Games. "I've already yelled 'U-S-A, U-S-A' a few times myself. " Yesterday, when Max Blank fouled out, even the Dobbins fans had to yell

in his direction that he'd played a great game.

DEC. 17 CHUCKBIT

Temple University Stadium

(pictured

here

),

which opened in 1928, was located on a 32-acre area in the West Oak Lane

neighborhood of the city bounded by Cheltenham Avenue. It hosted the Temple

University Owls football team until they moved to Veterans Stadium in 1978.

The football stadium had seating for 20,000 people, and with mobile seating

the capacity increased to about 35,000. On November 26, 1970, I saw Temple

and Villanova play for the Mayor's Cup at Temple Stadium. With Villanova

starting quarterback Daryl Woodring injured, junior

Drew Gordon

, a

former star at nearby

Bishop McDevitt

High School, got the start.

Gordon responded in a huge way, completing

24-of-42 passes

for

395

yards

and

three touchdowns

as Villanova upended Temple, 31-26.

Gordon's favorite target that day was flanker

Mike Siani

who had

nine catches

for

194 yards

and

three TDs

. Siani was

eventually a NFL

first-round draft choice

who played with the Oakland

Raiders and Baltimore Colts.

A few months earlier on May 16, 1970, Temple Stadium on Cheltenham Avenue

had become the center of the "rock universe." For the first time in rock

history,

Jimi Hendrix

and

The Grateful Dead

performed on the

same stage on the same day. An estimated 10,000 concert goers paid $6.50 to

sit on the stadium grass to see the show which included

The Steve Miller

Band

and

Cactus

. The music was so loud at times that it

reverberated off the windows and walls of houses throughout the usually

quiet Mt. Airy and Wyncote neighborhoods. It was the first and last concert

ever held at Temple Stadium.

Frank Rizzo

, then Philadelphia's Chief

of Police, who lived near the venue, termed the concert a "hippie

catastrophe" and made sure it was one-and-done. It would also be one of Jimi

Hendrix's last concerts. Almost exactly four months from the date of the

show, Hendrix, arguably the greatest instrumentalist in the history of rock

music, passed away in London at the age of 27.

DEC. 14 CHUCKBIT Before Quade "Primetime" Green (pictured here )

became a McDonald's All-American at Neumann-Goretti High School, he was a

Cheltenham Township schoolyard legend and hoops star at Cedarbrook Middle School

in Wyncote. Quade, who once scored 60 points in a CYO game, played for coach Brandi Butler Mills at Cedarbrook Middle. Brandi, one of the top girls'

players in Cheltenham High history, scored 1,710 points as a four-year starter

at Cheltenham before matriculating at the University of Richmond. Quade along

with Cheltenham High's Craig Littlepage ("Class of 1969") are the two

most highly recruited basketball players ever to come out of Cheltenham

Township. . . . If Quade goes to La Salle, the backcourt guys will both be from

Cheltenham Township with Quade and 6-8 freshman Jack 'Silk" Clark. A 2018

graduate of Cheltenham High, he is already seeing significant time at the

shooting guard.

DEC. 9 CHUCKBIT Pictured here with his father Matt Ortega , the head football coach at Coatesville

High School , is Red Raiders quarterback Ricky Ortega . For his career,

Ricky has completed 476-of-721 (66 %) of his passes for 7,768 yards and 102 touchdowns . And Ricky, a 6-0, 185-pound dual threat quarterback,

is only a junior . He threw for 2,237 yards his freshman

season, 3,270 yards as a sophomore, and 2,261 yards this

past season. Ricky will enter his senior season within striking distance of the Philadelphia-area (southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey ) career

passing records of 9,672 yards and 105 touchdowns set by former

Timber Creek High School and current North Carolina State signal-caller Devin

Leary in 2017. Ricky also could become the first quarterback in the

Philadelphia-area to throw for 2,000 yards in all four years of his high

school career.

DEC. 3 CHUCKBIT IN REMEMBRANCE . . . We lost one of the good guys! On Friday, November 30, Manny

Fernandez , age 78, of Elizabeth, New Jersey passed away from complications

of Parkinson's disease. With all due respect to other hardcore high school

basketball fans, nobody saw more more high school basketball games than Manny.

For 65 years , Manny went to thousands of games across the Garden State.

He purposely worked the graveyard shift at his factory job so that he could

catch a basketball game in the afternoon, then grab dinner somewhere before

going to a night game. His two favorite teams were Elizabeth High School and St. Anthony of Jersey City . He was a fixture in the 5,000-seat Dunn

Center where Elizabeth played their games, and Manny followed his beloved St.

Anthony Friars all over the USA. Right here is an article on Manny and his wife Mary by "Newark Star Ledger" sportswriter John Haley . The article written right before Manny got sick

serves as a good bio of his life. R.I.P Manny!! You Will Be Missed!!!

DEC. 1 CHUCKBIT Some local folks probably remember David Sills V , because when he

played for Red Lion Christian in Delaware and Eastern Christian Academy

in Maryland. Those teams played some City League and South Jersey high schools.

He's the kid that committed to USC in 2010 as a seventh-grader ,

and was hailed by "Sports Illustrated" as "one of the greatest prospects ever."

Fast forward eight years. David Sills V at West Virginia University is arguably

the best wide receiver in the country and a NFL prospect. Click here .

NOV. 29 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 6-5, 195-pound wide receiver Stanley King of Woodrow Wilson High

School in Camden. This Saturday, the University of Louisville commit will play his final high school football game against Rumson-Fair Haven High

School in a NJSIAA Group 3 Bowl Game held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford,

New Jersey. King will have the opportunity to break two records . This

season, he currently has 72 receptions for 1,339 yards and 13

touchdowns . He needs 96 receiving yards to break the South Jersey

single-season receiving mark of 1,434 yards set by former Timber

Creek High and Temple University wideout Adonis Jennings in 2013. For his

career, Stanley has 141 receptions for 2,442 yards and 26 receiving

touchdowns . Those numbers are all Woodrow Wilson High School records. He

will need 13 receptions on Saturday against Rumson-Fair Haven to break

the Camden City mark for receptions of 153 set in 2015 by former

Camden High and current University of Michigan defensive back Brad Hawkins .

NOV. 28 CHUCKBIT Right here is a picture from the 1967 "El Delator," the Cheltenham High School yearbook,

showing Panther soccer star and current Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu playing soccer against Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School during the

1966 season. Though he was born in Israel, Netanyahu lived his teenage years in

Cheltenham Township. Netanyahu's father Benzion moved from Israel to Cheltenham

in 1963 to teach at Dropsie College, America's first center for post-doctoral

Jewish studies, now the Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the

University of Pennsylvania. With Benzion came his children, including Benjamin,

nicknamed "Bibi," the future Prime Minister of Israel. Benjamin is arguably

the most famous graduate of Cheltenham High. Reggie Jackson ("Class

of 1964") is a celebrity in the United States and the Latin American countries,

but is virtually an unknown in other parts of the world, whereas Netanyahu, a

world leader, stands alone in my opinion as Cheltenham's most famous alumnus

worldwide. At Cheltenham, "Bibi" was fourth in his class and was a National

Letter of Commendation winner. In addition to starring on the soccer team, "Bibi"

was in the chess club and on the debating team. Ironically, on the soccer team,

Benjamin played left wing which was the exact opposite of his political

views while in high school. Netanyahu never received his 1967 "El Delator"

yearbook and didn't attend the June graduation ceremony for his "Class of 1967,"

because in late May he left Cheltenham, returned to his native Israel and

enlisted in the Israeli Defense Forces during the Six-Day War between Israel and

its Arab neighbors.

NOV. 17 CHUCKBIT

"IN REMEMBRANCE" Pictured here is the late 1949 Cheltenham High School graduate Ed Charters . Ed, a

native of Glenside, starred in football, basketball, and baseball during his

time at Cheltenham High. In fact, he scored the lone touchdown to give the

Panthers a 6-0 victory over Abington in the 1948 annual backyard football

classic. After graduating Cheltenham, Ed matriculated at Temple University,

planning to become a football trainer. As things turned out, he ended up

becoming the head football coach at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School where he

became one of the top scholastic football coaches in the state of Pennsylvania

during the decades of the 1960s and 1970s. His teams won numerous Suburban One

championships, and Ed was named "Coach of the Year" several times. The success

of his football teams at Plymouth-Whitemarsh was no accident. His teams were

well-coached, well-disciplined, well-conditioned, and above all, rarely ever

beat themselves. Every year at the Montgomery County All-Star Football game, the

Most Valuable Players on the North and South squads are recognized with the "Ed

Charters Memorial Award." Ed Charters will always be remembered for his success

as a football coach at Plymouth-Whitemarsh, but more importantly he will be

remembered as a respected influence on the lives of countless young people.

NOV. 8 CHUCKBIT

"IN MEMORIAM"

(1926---2018)

Cheltenham High and Penn State football legend

Wally Triplett

,

pictured

here

in his 1945 Cheltenham High School graduation photo, passed away today

(November 8) at age 92 after a long illness according to the Detroit Lions.

Wally Triplett was the

"Jackie Robinson of professional football."

Triplett,

who grew up in the LaMott section of Cheltenham Township, was the first

African-American NFL draft pick to play in the league. For that reason you

can find his picture hanging in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,

Ohio. Wally played in the NFL with the Detroit Lions and the Chicago

Cardinals. A running back, he played collegiately at Penn State where he was

the first black player to start and earn a varsity letter. The origins of

the now famous

"We are Penn State"

stadium cheer came

about in 1948 when Penn State's Cotton Bowl opponent, Southern Methodist

University, wanted to discuss with Penn State about leaving Triplett in

State College and not taking him to the Bowl game in Dallas. Penn State

captain Steve Suhey, whose three sons would all later play at Penn State,

responded,

"There will be no meeting. We are Penn State."

This

past May, the Cotton Bowl organization inducted Cheltenham High and Penn

State alumnus Wally Triplett into its Hall of Fame. R.I.P Wally!!!

OCT. 29 CHUCKBIT On Friday night Palmyra High School's Sam Aviles rushed for 404

yards and four touchdowns on only 11 carries in Palmyra's 41-32

triumph over Bordentown. That computes to 36.7 yards-per-carry and is the fifth-highest single game rushing effort in South Jersey history. The

highest game in area history is 478 yards by Glassboro High's Corey

Clement in 2012. Aviles scored his four touchdowns on runs of 99, 83, 62,

and 44 yards. Oh, I forgot to mention that he is a quarterback . The 404

yards shatters the South Jersey record for rushing in a game by a quarterback

which was previously 342 yards by Pennsville quarterback Dylan

Cummings in 2013. Aviles missed the New Jersey state quarterback rushing

record by two yards which is 406 yards by Devin Fuller (pictured here )

of Old Tappan in 2010. Fuller had 28 carries when he set the record. Devin

Fuller is a former UCLA and Atlanta Falcons wide receiver. He had arguably the

most accomplished offensive high school career in New Jersey high school

history. For his career, Devin compiled 10,737 yards of total offense ( 6,148 passing, 4,589 rushing) and threw for 58 touchdowns and ran for 60 .

OCT. 26 CHUCKBIT

playoffs. Eastern is currently sixth . The first 16 make it in

after this Friday and Saturday's games. Then the state geographically sorts them

into two groups of eight teams and the playoffs start next week. An

Eastern win over Kingsway this week will go a long way in ensuring a first-round

home playoff game.

OCT. 25 CHUCKBIT Yesterday, October 24, I attended the 53rd meeting of the Philadelphia Area

Basketball Junkies' Club , held at The Great American Pub in Conshohocken.

The group co-founded by the late Les Kaune and Allen Rubin in 1993 , has met at various restaurants in the Philly area over its 25 years in

existence. Its origins can be traced , Allen, Steve Keller , Norm Eavenson , and myself took in a scrimmage at

Gustine Recreation Center in Philadelphia between Roman Catholic and an AAU

squad from South Jersey. Afterwards, we had dinner and drinks at a restaurant in

Manayunk and the Philadelphia Area Basketball Junkies' Club was born. Since then

we have met twice a year in October and June at various locales in

the region. On Wednesday 32 hardcore hoop fans turned out for the latest

meeting. Among those in attendance were former Gratz coach Bill Ellerbee ,

HSBI Reports's Tom Konchalski , New Jersey Hoops Jay Gomes , EB

Hoops Ed Butler , Villanova assistant coach Mike Nardi , Director of

the All-City Hoops Classic Charles Monroe , The Philadelphia Inquirer basketball writer Mike Jensen , talent evaluators Steve Keller and Norm Eavenson , St. Joseph's University head coach Phil Martelli (pictured here ),

The Hoop Scoop's Allen Rubin , and longtime Philadelphia area impresario Hal Bailer . At the gathering, Norman Eavenson spoke about teams and players

in southeastern Pennsylvania basketball, while Allen Rubin talked about South

Jersey basketball. Steve Keller and Tom Konchalski spoke about the latest goings

on of the NCAA. Then Adam Balk spoke about Jeremy Treatman's Scholastic Play by Play Classics, and Mike Nardi talked about the Villanova

basketball program. The guest speaker was St. Joseph's head basketball coach

Phil Martelli. Last but certainly not least, the junkies passed the hat and

collected $5,310 for Coaches vs. Cancer. The meeting adjourned

approximately at 10:00. The 54th gathering of the Philadelphia Area

Basketball Junkies' Club will be next June.

OCT. 23 CHUCKBIT "IN MEMORIAM" (1936-2018) Renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Richard Rothman , pictured here in the 1954 Cheltenham High School "El Delator" yearbook, succumbed to

cancer Sunday at the age of 81. Dr. Rothman was the founder of the well-known Rothman Institute which now has 29 offices in the Greater

Philadelphia area dedicated to the treatment of musculskeletal diseases and

characterized by quality, compassion, and affordability. The Rothman Institute

has treated thousands of high school, college, and professional athletes over

the years. Physicians at the institute also have served as team physicians for

Philadelphia area high school sports teams in addition to the Philadelphia

Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, 76ers, and Villanova University. Dr. Rothman , who

graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and its medical school, devoted

his entire medical career to the specialty of orthopedic surgery with focus on

the replacement of the human hip and knee. This past May 16, Dr. Rothman

performed his last surgery, putting a 50-year surgical career to rest. On his

last day of surgery, Dr. Rothman performed five knee replacements. In his 50

years in the operating room, Dr. Rothman performed approximately 50,000 knee and hip replacements. R.I.P. Dr. Rothman!!!

OCT. 18 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is former Bishop Kenrick basketball player and current University of

Connecticut Hall of Fame basketball coach Geno Auriemma and his wife Kathy Osler , a graduate of Cheltenham High School . Geno has won an

unheard of eleven NCAA Division I women's national championships at

Connecticut and is considered by many basketball purists to be "among the best

coaches in the sport." Kathy, his wife of 40 years, graduated Cheltenham High in

1972 where she was a varsity cheerleader. She matriculated at Montgomery County

Community college in Blue Bell where she was also a cheerleader and met Montco

basketball player Geno at the the first home basketball game of the 1972-1973

season. They were introduced by Kathy's good friend and former Cheltenham High

cheerleader Robin Friedman . Geno and Kathy went out on their first date

the night they met at the basketball game and were married in 1978.

OCT. 17 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Hammonton High School running back Jaiden Abrams . The 5-foot-9,

175-pound sophomore , who just turned 15 years old last month, has carried

the ball 179 times for 1,215 yards for an average of 173.6

yards-per-game . He is second in the state of New Jersey in rushing behind Syfee Campbell of Newark Central who has rushed for 1,224 yards. Jaiden

Abrams will present a formidable challenge for the Eastern High School defense

when the (5-1) Vikings travel down to Hammonton Friday night. Earlier this

season, Abrams carried the ball 34 times for a school-record 288 yards against Shawnee. He has racked up six straight 100-yard plus games.

OCT. 16 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Burlington Township High School football coach Tom Maderia who

currently sports a career a record of 101-60 at the Burlington County

school. Maderia, a 1980 graduate of the powerful Division III Mount Union

College (Ohio) football program, also coached at Holy Cross High in Delran from

1992-2002, accumulating a coaching record of 90-28 there. With a current

career record of 191-88 , Tom Maderia stands alone in both South Jersey

and New Jersey state high school football history as the only coach to win 90

or more games at two different schools . As far as winning 90 games at two

schools, nobody in South Jersey history is even close to him. The closest to

him in state history is the Hudson County football coaching legend, the late Joe Coviello . From 1946 to 1960, Coviello won 118 games at Memorial

High in West New York, NJ, and from 1961 to 1971 he won 88 games at North

Bergen as the school's first football coach. Also, from 1937 to 1942, Coviello

won 48 games at Berwick High School in Pennsylvania. For his career, the

Columbia University graduate tallied 254 wins at the three schools. One of Joe Coviello's biggest wins was in 1946 when Memorial High pounded

St. Cecelia's of Englewood, 43-6, handing the legendary Vince Lombardi one of his worst career coaching losses. Lombardi was so embarrassed after the

blowout that the following week in practice he ordered the seniors to get their

cars and light the practice field when it got dark so that they could practice

until 10 o'clock. His players responded by winning their next game against Seton

Hall, 33-0, and the following week they shutout Pope Pius, 40-0. By the way, Memorial is the alma mater of SJ Prep football coach Gabe

Infante , who played basketball and baseball in addition to football.

OCT. 12 CHUCKBIT Ted wrote in today's TEDBIT that the

high-scoring Eastern High School football team is averaging 45.0 ppg. after

their first six games. As a follow-up, the South Jersey and New Jersey state

record for points-per-game in a season is 51.8 ppg, set by Penns Grove High in

2012. In 2012, Penns Grove outscored their opponents 621-46 on their way to

their first South Jersey Group 1 sectional championship. Here are the Top 10

team points-per-game in South Jersey history. Highest Points-Per-Game Average For a

Team in a Season Team; Year; Points-Per-Game 1. Penns Grove; 2012; 51.8 2. Salem; 1996; 48.4 3. Penns Grove; 2010; 48.2 4. St. Joseph Hammonton; 2011; 47.4 5. Timber Creek; 2016; 47.0 6. West Deptford; 2013; 46.2 7. St. Joseph Hammonton; 2017; 45.4 8. St. Joseph Hammonton; 2014; 44.9 9. Penns Grove; 2017; 44.8 10. St. Joseph Hammonton; 2005; 44.5

OCT. 10 CHUCKBIT Last Friday night, the undefeated Burlington Township football team

pounded Clearview, 50-20, to give coach Tom Maderia his 100th career

victory at Township. Burlington Township is now 5-0 for the first time in 41

years . Forty-one years ago in 1977, St. Joseph's University basketball great

and Big 5 Hall of Famer Bryan Warrick (pictured here )

quarterbacked the Falcons to a 10-0 record and the South Jersey Group 1 state

title. Bryan was a multi-sport athlete at Burlington Township. competing in

football, basketball, and track. Football was easily Warrick's best sport in

high school as he quarterbacked the Falcons to 20 straight wins and sectional

state championships in 1976 and 1977. Warrick attracted interest from Penn

State, Michigan, and UCLA as a defensive back, but he wanted to play quarterback

in college. Because of that, he decided to pursue a future in basketball. He

took his talents to St. Joseph's University where he scored 1,273 career points

and recorded 181 steals. During his junior season, Bryan helped the Hawks upset

No. 1 DePaul in the NCAA tournament, scoring a team-high 12 points. With 13

seconds remaining in the game, Bryan brought the ball up the floor and found

Roman Catholic's Lonnie McFarlan in the corner. Lonnie rose up, appearing

to be taking a long jumper and drawing two defenders, before he passed off to

Bishop Neumann's John Smith for the winning basket. Bryan was selected

with the second pick in the second round (25th overall) in the 1982 NBA Draft by

the Washington Bullets. He played for the Bullets, Los Angeles Clippers,

Milwaukee Bucks, and Indiana Pacers in four years in the league.

OCT. 4 TEDBIT Pictured here is 2009 Shawnee High School graduate Chris LaPierre . Chris is the answer

to the following trivia question: Who is the former South Jersey scholastic

athlete who edged out Millville High's Mike Trout for "The Philadelphia

Inquirer's" Male Athlete of the Year in 2009?? At Shawnee, Chris, who was

nicknamed "Shocker," was a two-sport superstar. In 2008, Chris set state records

on the gridiron for touchdowns (44) and points (272) as the Shawnee Renegades

went 12-0 and won their second straight sectional title. He finished his stellar

football career with 4,722 rushing yards and 84 touchdowns. Despite getting

offers from Rutgers, Ohio State, and Penn State among others, he passed on

collegiate football and went to the University of Virginia on a lacrosse

scholarship. At Shawnee, Chris, a midfielder was a two-time All-American and set

a school record with 199 goals. At Virginia, he was also an All-American and was

selected All-ACC twice. Chris is currently working as an equity trader at

Bronson Point Management in Connecticut. Looking back, in my opinion, Chris was

the correct choice for "Athlete of the Year." Chris was first-team All-State in

both lacrosse and football, while Mike Trout was only All-State in baseball.

Either way, it was a difficult choice.

OCT. 2 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Channel 10 NBC newscaster/sportscaster Keith Jones . Keith graduated

from New Egypt High School in Plumsted Township, New Jersey in 2003. At New

Egypt High, which participates in the Burlington County Scholastic League, Keith

was one of the few basketball players in South Jersey history to captain his

team all four years he played. Keith matriculated at Villanova University where

he majored in Communications and minored in Journalism and Philosophy. At

Villanova, Keith traveled the country with the Wildcats men's basketball team as

a student manager. Since Keith had good basketball skills, coach Jay Wright decided to also use him as a practice player in addition to his student manager

responsibilities. During his junior year, Keith roomed with Cardinal Dougherty

graduate and NBA player Kyle Lowry . Nowadays, Keith also teaches at

Villanova as an adjunct Professor of Broadcast Journalism.

SEPT. 29 CHUCKBIT Last night, Woodrow Wilson

quarterback Nick Kargman was 21-for-35 for 431 yards and six touchdowns in a 49-34 victory over Seneca. Kargman now has 26 passing

touchdowns and 2,029 passing yards this season, making him the 56th South Jersey quarter,000 yards or more .

The first 2,000 yard passer in South Jersey history was former Cherry Hill East,

Boston College, and New York Jets quarterback Glenn Foley (pictured here ).

Thirty years ago in in 1988, Foley threw for 2,187 yards to become the first

South Jersey quarter,000 yards. Here is the 2,000-yard club:

Passing Yardage in a Season Name; School; Year; yards 1.

Devin Leary; Timber Creek; 2016; 3,688 2. Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 3,545 3. Jason Amer; Holy Cross; 1999; 3,190 4. Manny Cortez; Pennsauken; 2011; 3,108 5. Max Smyth; Palmyra; 2015; 3,090 6. Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2011; 3,048 7. Tom Flacco; Eastern; 2012; 2,957 8. Kavon Lewis; Penns Grove; 2017; 2,934 9. Matt Burdalski; Holy Cross; 2001; 2,896 10. Devin Leary; Timber Creek; 2017; 2,863 11. Tom Flacco; Eastern; 2013; 2,782 12. Matt Burdalski; Holy Cross; 2000; 2,744 13 .

Ed Mebs; Holy Cross; 1996; 2,704 14. Kevin Foley; C.H. East; 1990; 2,626 15. Devin Leary; Timber Creek; 2015; 2,605 16. Mike Isgro; Absegami; 2005; 2,492 17. Joe Brennan; Camden Catholic; 2008;

2,438 18. Prince-Dru Bey; Winslow Township; 2017;

2,416 19. David Goree; W. Wilson; 1995; 2,382 20. Kahlil Trotman; Timber Creek; 2014;

2,373 21. Anthony Glaud; Winslow Township; 2005;

2,349 22. Brian Obuchowski; Holy Cross; 1998;

2,343 23. Jesse Milza; Cedar Creek; 2016; 2,339 24. Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2013; 2,323 25. Bill Belton; Winslow Township; 2009;

2,305 26. David Goree; W. Wilson; 1994; 2,279 27. Andrew Lisa; Moorestown; 2011; 2,268 28. Max Smyth; Palmyra; 2014; 2,263 29. Andrew Lisa; Moorestown; 2010; 2,240 30. Rob Curley; Holy Cross; 2004; 2,223 31. Jesse Milza; Cedar Creek; 2015; 2,208 32. Colin Wetterau; Shawnee; 2017; 2,197 33. Nick Cangelosi; Camden Catholic; 2002;

2,192 34. Tom Reilly; Holy Cross; 2006; 2,189 35. Joe Benson; Pemberton; 2015; 2,189 36. Glenn Foley; C.H. East; 1988; 2,187 37. Khalil Williams; Camden; 2014; 2,179 38. Alec Vignola; Paul VI; 2013; 2,176 39. Bill Belton; Winslow Township 2010;

2,167 40. Ken Emmons; Pennsville; 2008; 2,153 41. Sean Scanlon; Camden Catholic; 2003;

2,135 42. Cody Brown; Gloucester Catholic; 2009;

2,130 43. Al Mallen; Holy Spirit; 1988; 2,104 44. Jarren McBryde, Atlantic City, 2012;

2,099 45. Sean Scanlon; Camden Catholic; 2005;

2,098 46. Malik Muldrow; Lindenwold; 2013; 2,090 47. Mike Isgro; Absegami; 2004; 2,087 48. Jose Tabora; St. Augustine; 2013; 2,084 49. Nick Kargman; Wilson; 2017; 2,072 50. Brent Caprio; Mainland; 2008; 2,065 51. Steve Rizzo; Audubon; 2007; 2,052 52. Kevin Foley; C.H.E.; 1991; 2,042 53. Nick Kargman, Woodrow Wilson; 2018; 2029 54. Damon Mitchell; Cedar Creek; 2012; 2,023 55. Joe Flacco; Audubon; 2002; 2,016 56. Riley Giles; Deptford; 2015; 2,008

SEPT. 26 CHUCKBIT It's not well-known, but baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was also a pitcher on the Cheltenham High School baseball team in 1964. Reggie

had an electric arm with amazing velocity, but at times he experienced problems

with control. During the 1964 season, the future "Mr. October" had both his best

and worst pitching performances of his prep career. His best was a no-hitter against Norristown High, while his worst was a 3-2 eight-inning loss to

undefeated Abington High School. The hard throwing left-hander struck out 15 in his no-hitter against Norristown including six of the last eight batters. In

the eight-inning loss to Abington High School (May 7, 1964 "Times Chronicle"

article posted here ) ,

Reggie struck out 16 and only gave up one hit , but he was all over

the place with his pitches, walking an uncharacteristic 14 batters , hitting two , and was credited with three wild pitches . One can only

imagine what his pitch count was that day???

SEPT. 25 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Deslea High School's highly successful football coach Sal Marchese, Jr. Currently in his 26th season, Marchese has won nine sectional South Jersey

championships and sports a career record of 201-71-1. Marchese played football

at Delsea for his next-door neighbor and mentor John Oberg who started

the football program at Delsea in 1960. Oberg, a former running back at

Chichester High School and the University of Delaware, compiled a 230-67-16

record as head coach at Delsea. With Marchese and Oberg both tallying over 200

career wins at Delsea, the high school is the only football school in the

state of New Jersey to have two coaches that have each won 200 games at that

school. In 58 years, Sal Marchese, Jr. and John Oberg are the only two head

coaches in Delsea history, combining for 431 wins. There is only one other

school in the Philadelphia area (Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey)

that has had two coaches win 200 career games at that school. That would be

Ridley High School. Phil Marion coached Ridley to a record of 223-59-13,

and Joe McNicholas compiled a mark of 226-28-2 at the Delaware County

school.

SEPT. 23 CHUCKBIT The list if South Jersey's single-game passing leaders needs to be

updated and . . . there's a new No. 1. Yesterday, Woodrow Wilson's Nick

Kargman passed for 539 vs. Cedar Creek. That's also a state record. Below

the SJ list is one that shows the Top 5 performances in state history.

Top 16 Passing Performances in South Jersey History Name; School; Year; Yards 1. Nick Kargman; Woodrow Wilson; 539 2. Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 536 3. Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 488 4. Joe Flacco; Audubon; 2002; 471 5. Nick Kargman; Woodrow Wilson; 2018; 456 6. Tom McKeown; Holy Cross; 1994; 447 7. Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2011; 444 8. Tom Flacco; Eastern; 2012; 443 9. Jason Amer; Holy Cross; 1999; 438 10. Christian Maiden; Washington Twp.; 2013; 436 11. Khalil Trotman; Timber Creek; 2014; 433 12. Justin Long; Pennsauken; 1999; 412 13. Riley Giles; Deptford; 2015; 408 14. Tyrae Taylor; Winslow Twp.; 2015; 403 15. David Goree; W. Wilson; 1994; 402 16. Andrew Heck; Eastern; 2018; 399

--- Top 5 passing performances in NJ history 1.Nick Kargman: Woodrow Wilson; 2018; 539 yards 2.Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 536 yards 3.Cooper Heisey; Scotch Plains-Fanwood; 2017; 533 yards 4.Scott Brown; Butler; 1997; 515 yards 5.Dom Natale; Hun; 2003; 511 yards

SEPT. 22 CHUCKBIT Eastern's Andrew Heck (pic here ) last night posted the 15th highest passing yardage total in South Jersey history

. . .

Name; School; Year;

Yards 1. Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 536 2. Dan Williams; Timber Creek; 2013; 488 3. Joe Flacco; Audubon; 2002; 471 4. Nick Kargman; Woodrow Wilson; 2018; 456 5. Tom McKeown; Holy Cross; 1994; 447 6. Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2011; 444 7. Tom Flacco; Eastern; 2012; 443 8. Jason Amer; Holy Cross; 1999; 438 9. Christian Maiden; Washington Twp.; 2013; 436 10. Khalil Trotman; Timber Creek; 2014; 433 11. Justin Long; Pennsauken; 1999; 412 12. Riley Giles;

Deptford; 2015; 408 13. Tyrae Taylor; Winslow Twp.; 2015; 403 14. David Goree; W. Wilson; 1994; 402 15. Andrew Heck; Eastern; 2018;

399

SEPT. 11 CHUCKBIT Seventeen years ago on September 11, 2001, former West Deptford High

School and Fordham University fullback Nick Brandemarti (click here )

went to work just like any other day on the 89th floor of 2 World Trade Center,

but he never returned home, losing his life in the terrorist attack on the World

Trade Center. In 1996, Nick set the individual game school rushing record at

West Deptford with 340 yards against Gateway High . That

record still stands today. GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN! R.I.P. Nick!!

SEPT. 10 TEDBIT Senior Woodrow Wilson High School of Camden quarterback Nick Kargman (pictured here )

threw for a school-record 456 yards and a South Jersey-record eight

touchdown passes as Wilson rolled to a 62-6 victory over Camden Catholic on

Saturday. Florence Township High School's Brian Opre and Woodrow Wilson's Kareem Gilliard , both set the previous single-game South Jersey record of

seven on Thanksgiving Day in 1992. Kargman's eight touchdowns is one shy of the

New Jersey state record of nine , set by Kinnelon High's Kyle Presti in 2014 with a 68-42 victory of over Sussex County Tech. This coming

Saturday, September 15 at noon, Kargman will take his aerial show over to Philly

to play at Frankford High School.

SEPT. 7 CHUCKBIT There are 80 high schools in seven-county South Jersey playing football.

This season there are a record 16 new coaches which computes to exactly 20 percent of the schools

in South Jersey that field a football team. Pictured here is Robert "Cody" Hall , the new coach at Camden Catholic . Robert

Cody Hall, who played college football at James Madison University, was formerly

the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Simon Gratz High School in

Philadelphia and Glen Mills in Delaware County. Here's the list of new coaches

with the old coach in parenthesis:

West Deptford-----Jason

Morrell-----(Clyde Folsom)

Winslow Township-----Kenny

Scott-----(Kemp Carr)

Cherokee-----Brian Glatz-----(P.J.

Mehigan)

Woodbury-----Anthony

Reagan-----(Al Mailahn)

Atlantic City-----Leo Hamlett-----(Thomas

Kelly)

Cherry Hill East-----Andrew

Daley-----(Tom Coen)

Glassboro-----Tim Hagerty-----Mark

Maccarone

Collingswood-----Mike McKeown-----(Jack

McConnell)

Pemberton-----Kareem

Johnson-----(John Rosnick)

Washington Township-----Michael

Schatzman-----(Lamont Robinson)

Lenape-----Joe Wojceichowski-----(Tim

McAneney)

Camden Catholic-----Robert

"Cody" Hall-----(Nick Strom)

Gloucester-----Rob Bryan-----(Ed

Malone)

Haddon Heights-----Chris Lina-----(Rob

Bryan)

Delran-----Garret

Lucas-----(Pete Miles)

Bridgeton-----Steve

Lane-----(Dave Ellen)

SEPT. 5 CHUCKBIT The Cheltenham-Abington football rivalry, also known as the '"Backyard

Brawl" and the "Battle of Old York Road," goes back over 100 years to 1915. It's

the fifth-oldest public high school gridiron rivalry in Pennsylvania. When the

two schools meet this Friday night (September 7) in Abington, two former

Philadelphia Catholic League linemen will be coaching their respective teams.

Father Judge product Ryan Nase is the head coach at Cheltenham, while La

Salle grad Kevin Conlin is Abington's coach.

AUGUST 30 CHUCKBIT Listed below are the 11 South Jersey football coaches that

have won 200 or more games. In an amazing coincidence, the three coaches with

the most wins and four of the Top 5, are all currently coaching at their alma

maters. In fact, their alma maters are the only schools they have ever coached

at. Number one Paul Sacco (pictured here ) with

317 career wins is a 1975 graduate of St. Joseph Hammonton, while Number 2 Joe Frappolli with 302 wins graduated Florence High School in 1965. Number

three Glenn Howard , who has 284 wins, is a 1977 graduate of Paulsboro

High, and Number five Tim Gushue is a 1970 alumnus of Shawnee High with

246 career victories. Also, on the 200-win list is 1985 Delsea High School

graduate Sal Marchese, Jr. who won his 200th career game at Delsea last

December. South Jersey Coaching Wins Coach; Schools; Wins 1. Paul Sacco; St. Joseph Hammonton; 317 wins 2. Joe Frappolli; Florence; 302 wins 3. Glenn Howard; Paulsboro; 284 wins 4. Clyde Folsom; West Deptford/Bishop Eustace; 262 wins 5. Tim Gushue; Shawnee; 246 wins 6. John Oberg; Delsea; 230 wins 7. Skeets Irvine; Collingswood; 223 wins 8. Pete Lancetta; St. Augustine/Hammonton; 220 wins 9. Tom Brown; Washington Twp./Paulsboro; 216 wins 10. Tony Barchuk; Kingsway; 206 wins 11. Sal Marchese, Jr.; Delsea; 200 wins *Active

AUGUST 23 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is rising senior star quarterback Nick Kargman of Woodrow Wilson High

School in Camden, New Jersey. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound dual-threat

quarterback is one of the top signal callers in the New Jersey "Class of 2019."

Nick has the combination of tools most most colleges seek in filling their

quarterback voids. He transferred to Woodrow Wilson from Pitman High School last season after the Pitman varsity football program was suspended for the 2017

season. Last season playing for Woodrow Wilson, Nick threw for 2,072 yards and 28

touchdowns despite being injured several games. For his career, he has

thrown for 4,173 yards and has a very good chance of joining the

5,000-yard career passing club. Here are South Jersey's 5,000-yard career

passers :

- Devin Leary; Timber Creek; 2017; 9,672 yards

- Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2013; 7,695 yards

- Tom Flacco; Eastern; 2013; 7,387 yards

- Jesse Milza; Cedar

Creek; 2016; 6,659

yards

- Khalil Williams; Camden; 2014; 6,314 yards

- Kevin Foley; C.H. East; 1991; 5,928 yards

- Dustin Thomas; St.

Augustine; 2009; 5,916

yards

- Max Smyth; Palmyra; 2015; 5,823 yards

- David Goree; Woodrow Wilson; 1995; 5,673 yards

- Matt Burdalski; Holy

Cross; 2001; 5,640

yards

- Sean Scanlon; Camden Catholic; 2005; 5,591 yards

- Malik Muldow; Lindenwold; 2014; 5,564 yards

- Nolan Quinn; Middle

Township; 2009; 5,535

yards

- Rob Curley; Holy Cross; 2004; 5,402 yards

- Tom Reilly; Holy Cross; 2007; 5,289 yards

- Kahlil Trotman; Burl

Twp./Timber Creek; 2014; 5,271 yards

- Joe Flacco; Audubon; 2002; 5,101 yards

AUGUST 21 CHUCKBIT The 2018 Little League World Series is currently being played in

Williamsport, Pennsylvania. You can't miss it since it's on ESPN practically

every day and night. The Little League World Series will culminate this Sunday

(August 26) when the United States Champion meets the International Champion for

the title. Believe it or not, 63 years ago in 195 5 ,

two Philadelphia-area little league teams played in the championship game. Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Delaware Township, New Jersey, now known as Cherry Hill

Township , which are located only 32 miles apart played for the title

with Morrisville winning, 4-3, in seven innings on a walk-off home run by right

fielder Rich Cominski (pictured here ) in

the bottom of the seventh inning. Because of the close proximity of the two

towns in the title game, the 1955 World Series has become known as the "subway

series." Nowadays, with the US Champion meeting the International Champion in

the final game, the record of 32 miles for closest distance between two

teams in the championship game may stand forever. Several of the players from both the Morrisville and Delaware Township

Little Leagues ended up making their marks as noted future athletes and coaches.

Morrisville pitcher Tom Kaczor became a basketball star at Bishop Egan High School in Levittown and a prominent hoops coach in Bucks County. Tom

coached at Morrisville High, Bristol High, and Holy Ghost Prep in Bensalem,

compiling an overall record of 358-115 . At Holy Ghost Prep, he won state titles in 1972 and 1974 . Morrisville Little League star Dan

Napolean made it all the way to the Major Leagues, playing outfield for the New York Mets in 1965 and 1966. Also, Dick Hart , probably

Morrisville High School's most well-known athlete along with former Temple

University basketball standout Mike Vreeswyk , played on the school's 1958

championship football team and set the state shot put record before turning

sports into a profession. Hart played baseball for a few years in the Milwaukee

Braves minor league system. He eventually left baseball and joined the Philadelphia Eagles playing guard. He had quite a successful pro football

career in spite of never playing in college. For the Delaware Township or Cherry Hill Little League team, star Billy Hunter starred in football at Delaware Township High (later, Cherry

Hill West) and Syracuse University before playing wide receiver in the NFL with

the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins . He went to law school,

worked in the Jimmy Carter presidential administration, became a judge, and

served as executive director of the NBA Players Association. Delaware Township

Little League pitcher Tom Trotman became a legendary baseball coach at Cherry Hill West . Under coach Trotman, Cherry Hill West made the state Group

3 finals in 1987 and 1988, won the state Group 4 title in 1989 and 1990, and

captured the state Group 3 title in 1991. In 1992, they won another state Group

4 title with the best team in school history. The 1992 team went 27-3 and was

ranked Number 2 in the country by USA

Today.

AUGUST 16 CHUCKBIT With the New Jersey high school football season two weeks away, here

are the coaches in New Jersey state history that have won 300 or more games . Of

the 11 coaches, three are active: Don Smolyn of Lenape Valley with

329 wins, Paul Sacco of St. Joseph Hammonton with 317 victories,

and Florence Township's Joe

Frappolli with 302 career wins. The all-time wins leader is the late Vic

Paternostro (pictured here )

who won 373 games in his coaching career. Paternostro spent all 43 years of his coaching

career at Pope John in Sparta where he amassed a record of 373-67-5 .

Vic retired after his team's 10-1 season in 2010. Paternostro's teams won 18

NJSIAA Non-Public state championships and boasted a 44-17 playoff record.

Vic graduated from Queen of Peace High School in North Arlington, Bergen County,

and he earned a full scholarship to the University of Notre Dame where he

was part of the 1966 NCAA championship team under legendary coach Ara Parseghian. New Jersey

Coaching Wins 1. Vic Paternostro;

Pope John; 373 wins 2. Warren Wolf;

Brick Twp./Lakewood; 364 wins 3. Vin Ascolese; North Bergen/Hoboken; 356 wins 4. Tony Karcich; St. Joe’s Montvale/Bergen Catholic; 348 wins 5. Frank Bottone; New Providence; 334 wins 6. Pierce Frauenheim; Immaculata; 332 wins 7. Don Smolyn; Lenape

Valley/Green Brook; 329 wins (active) 8. Doug Wilkens;

Mountain Lakes; 328 wins 9. Paul Sacco; St. Joseph Hammonton; 317 wins (active) 10. Greg Toal; Don Bosco/Hackensack/River Dell/Saddle Brook; 305 wins 11. Joe Frappolli;

Florence; 302 wins (active)

AUGUST 11 CHUCKBIT Circled in this team picture is former professional basketball and football athlete, the late Gorham Getchell . Gorham is the answer to the following trivia question: Who is the only high school football coach in South Jersey history to coach at

least one full season who never lost a game??? Gorham grew up in

Jenkintown, Pennsylvania and was a multi-sport athlete at Jenkintown High

School from 1936-1939. He matriculated at Temple University where

he played both football and basketball. After graduating, he joined the Marines

and served his country in World War II. After the war, the 6-foot-4,

205-pound Gorham played professional basketball as a member of the Pittsburgh

Ironmen in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) during the 1946-47

season. The BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) eventually merged to

create the NBA in 1949. Gorham Getchell also played pro football with the

Baltimore Colts in the NFL during the 1947 season as an offensive end. It was

during the 1949 scholastic football season that he coached in South Jersey.

Gorham coached Haddonfield High School to their first perfect

season in 1949 with a record of 9-0 . Haddonfield finished the

season outscoring its opponents, 234-75. After the 1949 season, Gorham resigned

as head coach and relocated to California.

AUGUST 8 CHUCKBIT The other day I checked out and read a book (click here ) from my local Mount Laurel, New Jersey library entitled Wilt, Ike, & Me by David Richman. David chronicles his personal memoir in this 300-page

engaging paperback. David writes how his late father, Ike Richman ,

founded the Philadelphia 76ers , and moved NBA superstar and Overbrook

High School graduate Wilt Chamberlain into their Elkins Park home during

the 1965 NBA season . It's a lot more than a sports story, dealing with

coming of age, living with an NBA icon, and coping with the loss of a parent.

David is a terrific storyteller, making the reader feel like part of the story.

As the book begins, Ike Richman makes the incredible trade that brings Wilt to

the 76ers. For David, a 16-year old tenth grader at the time, rooming with Wilt

turned into a pretty wild ride. The stories of Wilt living in Elkins Park with

David are priceless. From Wilt sleeping diagonally on two twin beds in David's

room, to the 7-foot-1, 300-pound Chamberlain taking two mile walks around the

Elkins Park neighborhood, and to Wilt's talks on birth control. The stories of

Wilt instructing David how to drive in the Elkins Park neighborhood

are hilarious. To show David how to parallel park, he took him into North

Philadelphia. There at Broad and Olney, Wilt instructed David on the particulars

of parallel parking while hundreds of curious onlookers watched. Readers get a

unique look and perspective on the smart, funny, and charismatic Wilt. They will

hear stories about the famous athlete from Philly never told before. This book

is a great read that I highly recommend. It has much to offer everyone! AUGUST 7 CHUCKBIT It's always very difficult to predict the manifest destiny of young

college football prospects, but Highland High School's rising sophomore running back Johnny Martin III (pic here ) appears to have the right stuff. The 5-foot-9, 200-pound athlete rushed for 1,266 yards in 2017, becoming the first ninth-grade South Jersey back to

eclipse the 1,000-yard plateau since 2008 when Holy Spirit

freshman halfback Nigel Jones carried the ball 167 times for 1,207 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Cape Atlantic League in rushing.

Johnny Martin ("Class of 2021") is the first freshmen running back in Camden County football history to crack the 1,000-yard mark. That's very

impressive when you consider two Heisman Trophy winners, Woodrow Wilson's Mike Rozier and Overbrook Regional's Ron Dayne both played their prep

football in Camden County. Martin, who helped lead Highland to the South Jersey

Group 4 semifinals, has already received scholarship offers from Temple

University and Rutgers . Stay Tuned!!!

AUGUST 2 CHUCKBIT Twenty-five years ago yesterday, on a steamy, humid August 1, 1993 day in Cooperstown, New York, 1964 Cheltenham High School

graduate Reggie Martinez

Jackson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame before an overflow crowd

that included his parents Martinez and Clara and his Cheltenham High football

coach John Kracsun . Pictured here is me, standing next to Reggie's plaque in the Hall of Fame Room of the National

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Reggie is one of only two former Montgomery

County high school baseball players to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of

Fame. The other is L.A. Dodgers legendary manager Tommy LaSorda who

graduated Norristown High in 1944. Reggie Jackson is an intelligent, outspoken,

and often controversial figure who was highly recognizable, whether it be his

famous left-handed swing or from his candy bar. He hit hard, ran fast, and in a

career that spanned 20 seasons, became a positive role model for black children.

The baseball superstar from 149 Greenwood Ave. in Wyncote was an inspiration

that a baseball player could be respected, successful, and clout 563 home

runs without the aid of anabolic steroids or other performance enhancing

drugs. He was one of the most colorful and exciting players of his era, and a

prolific hitter who thrived in pressure situations. His ability to shine in

post-season earned him the nickname "Mr. October," and made him a living

legend and a Baseball Hall of Famer. Tom Taylor , who has long

tracked city basketball scoring, offered these Reggie nuggets after reading the

post right above. -- A college teammate of mine played in an all-star game with Reggie

after his senior year. Reggie, like the mighty Casey, struck out. When he got

“That’s okay. I’m going to play football.” -- About twenty years ago we chaperoned the Hershey High band on a trip

to California and landed in the John Wayne Airport. The band was divided

between two planes. When we landed we found out that Reggie Jackson had been on

the other plane and several of the kids were talking about how nice he was. Our

younger son Curt, who was about ten, was with us and asked if he could try to

get Reggie's autograph. Curt was able to find Reggie outside waiting for his

ride and Reggie couldn’t have been nicer. As you can understand I’ve been a big

Reggie fan since then.

AUGUST 1 CHUCKBIT There are currently 80 high schools in seven-county South Jersey

playing football. Of those 80 schools, Eastern High School in Voorhees, New

Jersey ranks second in the most first-round NFL draft

picks . The Vikings have had two first-rounders in the school's

history. In 1997, Chris Canty (click here ), a

1993 Eastern graduate, was selected 29th overall by the New

England Patriots coming out of Kansas State University where he played

defensive back. At Eastern, Canty was an All-South Jersey cornerback in addition

to playing quarterback his senior season for the Vikings. The other first-round

pick from Eastern High is defensive back Eli Apple (click here ) who was known in his days at Eastern High as Eli Woodward. Eli was chosen tenth in the 2016 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. He played his college

football at Ohio State University. The only South Jersey high school with more

first-round NFL picks than Eastern is Rancocas Valley High School in Mount Holly, New Jersey with three . In 1972, former Rancocas Valley

running back Franco Harris , who played collegiately at Penn State, was

chosen 13th by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then in 1984, wide receiver Irving

Fryar was picked number one overall by the New England Patriots coming out

of Nebraska, and in 1992 defensive end Alonzo Spellman , out of Ohio State

University, was the 22nd. pick by the Chicago Bears.

JULY 31 TEDBIT Three times in the history of South Jersey football, a high school

team has scored over 100 points in a gridiron game. On September 27,

1922, Woodbury High School shut out Gloucester High, 113-0 . On November 3, 1917 , Pleasantville

High School upended Ocean City High, 106-7 , and on Thanksgiving Day,

November 27, 1913, Woodstown

High blanked Glassboro, 102-0 . The highest scoring football game

in South Jersey history occurred on November 12, 2016 at Pennsauken

High School's Vince McAneney Field when Freehold High School and Pennsauken High Schoo l combined for 125 points as Freehold outlasted

Pennsauken, 69-56 in a NJSIAA playoff game. There were no overtimes. The

125 combined points is the highest-scoring high school playoff football game in

state history. The football contest literally turned into a track meet.

Pennsauken senior running back, Martin Booker, Jr, (pictured here )

the son of former Villanova University track star Martin Booker, Sr, carried the ball 40 times for 376 yards and eight touchdowns .

Meanwhile, Freehold's human highlight film, quarterback Ashante Worthy ,

rushed for 465 yards and eight touchdowns on 43 carries in

addition to throwing two touchdown passes. JULY 29 CHUCKBIT As a follow-up to the

Chuckbit on New Jersey boys' basketball coaching legend Jerry Molloy ,

below is the list of the state's all-time Top

10 boys' basketball coaching win leaders . Pictured here is current Burlington City coach Paul Collins who is currently seventh on the list with 759 wins .

Paul has been coaching 44 years at Willingboro, Riverside, and Burlington

City. He has the longest active tenure of any boys' basketball coach in the

Garden State. A 1968 graduate of now defunct Kennedy High School in Willingboro,

Paul was an All-South Jersey standout in football and basketball. He played

quarterback on the gridiron and as a guard on the basketball court he scored

1,374 career points. Collins went on to play basketball at Temple University for

legendary Owls' coach Harry "Chief" Litwack.

All-Time Wins' List

1. Bob Hurley; St.

Anthony; 1,185 wins

2. Paul Rodio; St.

Augustine; 908 wins (active)

3. Jerry Molloy; St.

Mary's (Pat), St. Patrick's, St. Michael's (Newark), St. Mary's (JC), St. Mary's

(Elizabeth), 900 wins

4. Bob Farrell; Seton

Hall Prep; 777 wins

5. Clarence Turner;

Camden; 775 wins

6. Marty Rivard;

Cresskill, Bergenfield; 769 wins

7. Paul Collins;

Willingboro, Riverside, Burlington City; 759 wins (active)

8. Tom Feraco; Middle

Township; 719 wins

9. Jim Crawford; Camden

Catholic; 713 wins

10 . Dick O'Connell;

Rutgers Prep;

705 wins

JULY 28 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the right is New Jersey high school basketball coaching legend ,

the late Jerry Molloy . From 1931 to 1973, Jerry coached basketball at

St. Mary's of Paterson, St. Michael's of Newark, St. Mary's of Jersey City, St.

Patrick's of Elizabeth, and St. Mary's of Elizabeth, winning 900 games in 42

years . Jerry Molloy was much more than a basketball coach. He was a multitasker to say the least. The official title of his full-time job was

"Hoboken's Coordinator of Youth Activities." In other words, Jerry was the Head

of Hoboken's Department of Recreation. In addition to working with kids in

Hoboken and coaching high school basketball at five different schools ,

Jerry was a colorful referee

in college basketball , officiating many games at the old Madison Square

Garden. He was also the head baseball coach at St. Peter's College in

Jersey City. Last but not least, the charismatic,

entertaining Molloy was known as the "Toastmaster of New Jersey," speaking at

hundreds of dinners, banquets, and other social functions in North Jersey and

New York City. More than once, the raconteur made as many as seven appearances

in one day. Jerry loved to tell tales of his past that once had him coaching

two high school basketball teams at the same time . Believe it or not, Jerry

once coached St. Patrick's of Elizabeth and St. Mary's of Elizabeth simultaneously . When the two schools played each other, Jerry would sit on

one team's bench the first two quarters, then switch sides for the third and

fourth quarters. I'm not making this up . With his 900 career wins, Jerry

Molloy is currently third all-time in the state of New Jersey for career

victories behind St. Anthony's Bob Hurley, Sr . (1,185 wins) and St.

Augustine's Paul Rodio (908

wins).

JULY 20 CHUCKBIT Eighteen years ago in 2000, University of Richmond junior cornerback Jason Hill , a 1997 graduate of Eastern High and now the school's athletic

director , returned an interception 44 yards for a TD with 1:22 remaining to

give Richmond a 10-3 victory over Youngstown State in a first-round NCAA I-AA

playoff game. The game was iced when Jason's older brother, senior Harold

Hill , a 1996 alumnus of Eastern, intercepted a pass with 0:41 left in the

game. Recap is here .

JULY 19 CHUCKBIT This is a follow-up to yesterday's post on

Tom and Joe Flacco playing in the Baltimore area. Pictured here on Throwback Thursday is Tom Flacco playing for Eastern High School in 2013 and

older brother Joe

Flacco , the current Baltimore Ravens quarterback, is here with some of his family in 2002 when he was playing quarterback at Audubon High School .

Joe Flacco threw for 5,101 yards in his career at Audubon High School

from 1999 to 2002. Younger brother Tom threw for 7,387 yards in one year

at Camden Catholic and three at Eastern High. Tom's 7,387 career yards is third all-time in South Jersey history, while Joe's 5,101 yards is 17th .

Their combined yardage of 12,488 yards is a South Jersey record and

second in New Jersey state history for the most combined career passing

yardage of two brothers . The state record is 13,145 yards by Chris

Simms and Matt Simms , the sons of Phil Simms , the former New York Giants quarterback and current NFL television sportscaster for the

CBS network. Chris Simms threw for 7,055 yards in his career at Ramapo High School from 1995 to

1998, while Matt Simms had 6,090 yards passing at Don Bosco Prep from 2004 to 2006.

JULY 18 CHUCKBIT You know things are going your way when you complete a touchdown pass

to yourself. On October 23, 2015, in the best passing game of his career,

Shawnee High School quarterback Mike Welsh completed 26-of-36 passes for 352 yards and five touchdowns in a win over sister

school Cherokee High. In the second quarter, on a play worthy of an ESPN Top

10, Mike Welsh's pass was batted right , and he had the presence of

mind to catch the ball on his shoulder and start running towards the left pylon

(on the Max Preps YouTube here ). The

senior scored on the nine-yard pass to himself to give the Renegades a

14-7 lead, and they went on to defeat Cherokee High, 35-14. For his career, Mike

Welsh threw for 4,158 yards and 46 touchdowns , including one to

himself. Mike led the Renegades to a pair of South Jersey Group 4 titles, and

finished his career winning more games (35) than any other quarterback in

Shawnee history. Note from Ted: Chuck asked

me whether a city QB had accomplished this feat. The answer is yes. Versus La

Salle on Thanksgiving in 2004, SJ Prep's Jim McCormick accomplished the

feat on a play that began at the 5. He threw and then caught a pass that was

batted by defensive end Scott Waters , then powered his way into the end

zone. McCormick made the catch all the way back at the 15.

JULY 16 CHUCKBIT As a follow-up to Ted's Tribute Page on the career of former Camden

Catholic basketball coach Jim Crawford , here is the list of South Jersey's all-time

winningest boys' basketball coaches . Pictured here is all-time leader, Paul Rodio of St. Augustine High School. In 41

seasons at St. Augustine, Paul has directed the Hermits to five state

championships, 14 South Jersey titles, an average of 22 wins-per-season, and 908 career victories . Paul is second in state history to only retired

St. Anthony of Jersey City coach Bob Hurley, Sr. who won 1,185 games as coach of the Friars from 1972-2017. Bob Hurley's legacy

is that he went straight to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts without ever

leaving Jersey City. He grew up in Jersey City, graduated from St. Peter's Prep

High School in Jersey City, attended St. Peter's University in Jersey City, and

coached St. Anthony for 45 years until it closed its doors in 2017.

1. Paul Rodio, St. Augustine, 908 wins (active) 2. Clarence Turner, Camden, 775 wins 3. Paul Collins, Riverside, Willingboro, Burl City, 759 wins

(active) 4. Tom Feraco, Middle Township, 719 wins 5. Jim Crawford, Camden Catholic, 713 wins 6. John Valore, Cherry Hill East, Cumberland, Camden, Holy Cross,

673 wins (active) 7. Joe Kessler, Shawnee, 667 wins (active) 8. Lou Schantz; Salem, 625 wins 9. Bill Hiltner, Sterling, Millville, 523 wins 10. Ken Faulkner, Burlington Twp., 521 wins

JULY 13 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the left is 102-year old Philadelphia-area

golfing legend Louise "Bobbie" Rose being interviewed by CBS Philly Channel 3 news anchor Jessica Dean .

Bobbie, a 1933 graduate of Cheltenham High School ,

lettered in four sports at Cheltenham High: basketball, swimming, field hockey,

and softball. She was named "Best All-Around Female Athlete" in her class four

straight years. Bobbie matriculated at Temple University where she won letters in five sports, adding tennis to her growing list of

accomplishments. After graduating Temple, she became a physical education

teacher, and in 1947 she took up the game of golf which would become her life's

passion. Over the years, Bobbie has won 60 golf tournaments including 14

straight Women's Club Titles at the now defunct Ashbourne Country Club. Now at

the age of 102, Bobbie still plays a few times a week and sports a 23 handicap.

One of golf's most challenging goals is to shoot or score your age. For

Bobbie Rose she does

it almost every time she

plays . At 102 years young, the

amazing, age-defying Bobbie drives to meet friends for lunch, creates art, and

travels in addition to playing golf.

JULY 12 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the right is current Ewing High School boys' basketball coach Shelly Dearden shaking hands with retired Naismith Hall of Fame basketball

coach Bob Hurley, Sr ,

the former coach at now defunct St. Anthony High School in Jersey City. Shelly

has quite an impressive resume at Ewing High which is located right

outside of Trenton, New Jersey. She coached the Ewing High girls' soccer team to a state

title in 1991, the girls' basketball team to a state championship in

1999, and the school's boys'

team to a state title in 2012. Shelly is the only female coach in

state history to lead a boys' basketball team to a state title. She's the

second coach in state history, along with former Neptune High School coach Ken O'Donnell , to coach both

a boys' and girls' basketball team to a state title. Shelly is also the

first and only coach in state history to coach three teams in three different

sports to state championships, and she is one of only a few high school

coaches in the United States to ever accomplish that feat. Last season,

the Ewing boys' basketball team defeated Hamilton West, 60-39, to give coach

Shelly Dearden her 500th career victory coaching both boys' and girls'

basketball.

JULY 11 CHUCKBIT Of all the high school national records, the one that amazes me the most

is the longest field goal mark . Dirk Borgognone , a field goal

kicker from Reno High in Nevada, booted a 68-yard field goal in 1985 to

set the National High School standard for the longest field goal. His 68-yard

field goal, believe it or not, is four yards more than the NFL record which is 64 yards by Matt Prater of the Denver Broncos in 2013. Shouldn't the NFL record be more than the

high school record???? Of course, in high school, they kick off a

small tee, but still? Anyway, The Philadelphia area (southeastern

Pennsylvania and South Jersey) record is 56 yards by former North Penn High

School and current Oklahoma State University kicker Matt Ammendola ,

pictured here .

The South Jersey mark is 54 yards by Bill Blackman of now defunct

Kennedy High School of Willingboro in 1973. That record was tied in 1990 by

former Holy Cross High and Ohio State field goal kicker Brad Costello .

Football has been played in South Jersey since 1881 . There have been only

11 field goals of 50 or more yards. 1. Bill Blackman, Kennedy, 1973, 54 yards 1. Brad Costello, Holy Cross, 54 yards 3. Jeff Haug, Cherokee, 1993, 53 yards 3. Merf Trout, Gloucester Catholic, 2003, 53 yards 5. Rob Juliano, Lenape, 1990, 52 yards 5. Rich Maston, Camden Catholic, 1990, 52 yards 7. Jae DeShields, Bridgeton, 2010, 51 yards 8. Mark Woods, Lenape, 1975, 50 yards 8. Kevin Cunningham, Rancocas Valley, 1983, 50 yards 8. Rob Juliano, Lenape, 1989, 50 yards 8. Scott Peeler, Cherry Hill East, 1993, 50 yards

J ULY 10 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 1945 Central High School graduate Phil "Sonny" Slosburg . At

the age of 91 , Phil has the distinction of being the oldest living former NFL

running back . Slosburg matriculated at Temple University and

starred in football and baseball. He earned six letters at Temple, three in each

sport. He earned numerous awards on the gridiron including first-team All-East honors and second team All-American after the

1947 season. In 1947, Slosburg was the 10th leading ground gainer in the country

and top ground gainer in the East. In 1948, Phil was still eligible to play for

the Owls, but decided to graduate early with a business degree. That year, he

was selected by the Boston Yanks in the fourth round (39th. overall) of

the NFL Draft. During the 1948 season, Phil played as a running back for the

Yanks. The following year the franchise moved on to New York and changed its

name to the Bulldogs. Slosburg played both offense and defense for the Bulldogs.

He retired after the season, having played 15 career NFL games. Slosburg worked

in the textile business after football and was named to the Temple University

Athletic Hall of Fame in 1979 and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of

Fame in 2000. All three of Phil's sons graduated from Cheltenham High

School, and his youngest son, Mike, played on the 1973 Cheltenham High football

team, considered one of the best teams in school history. Even today at age 91,

the Abington resident remains active by playing competitive tennis and

softball.

JULY 9 CHUCKBIT Over the years, some Philadelphia City League products have

ventured over to South Jersey to coach scholastic football. Here are five that

have each won at least 100

games in South Jersey. 1. Joe Corbi--- The late Olney High School ("Class of

1957") All-Public League guard coached at Woodrow Wilson and Deptford , accumulating a career coaching record record of 194-84-9 .

His teams won 10 conference titles, and at Deptford High School his teams won

South Jersey Group III titles in 1978 and 1998. 2. Vince McAneney ---Vince is a 1947 graduate of LaSalle College

High School . Coaching at Cherry Hill West and Pennsauken, the late McAneney

compiled a record of 192-69-5 . His teams at West Catholic (1957-1964), Cherry Hill West (1967-1969), and Pennsauken (1970-1994) won a total of 244 games. In South Jersey, his teams won 12

conference titles and won South Jersey Group 4 championships at Pennsauken in

1980, 1984, and 1986. At Pennsauken, eight of his former players made it to the

NFL. Outgoing and gregarious, McAneney was one of the most popular people on the

South Jersey sports scene. He was a great story-teller. 3. Larry Ginsburg ---The former Southern High School graduate coached at Woodbury and Eastern High Schools , compiling a

career record of 139-76-7 . He also coached at Dover High in

Delaware where he had a record of 73-25-2 , overall winning 212 games in his coaching career. Larry is a founding board member of the Adam

Taliaferro Foundation . 4. Lou D'Angelo ---The

former Central High School and Villanova University alumnus, coached at Pennsville High in South Jersey for 22 years where he had a record of 117-64-11 . His finest team was the 1974 team which went 9-0 and only

surrendered 22 points the entire season. In 1994, the Pennsville School Board

named the school stadium after him. 5. Gary Degenhardt ---Pictured here ,

the 1968 Frankford High School graduate coached Ocean City High from 1991 through 2005 to a 101-55 mark. His teams won six Cape Atlantic

League titles and three South Jersey championships in 1996, 1998, and 1999. At

Frankford High School, he was coached and mentored by legendary Philadelphia

Public League football coach Al Angelo .

JULY 7 CHUCKBIT Pictured here ,

signing a letter-of-intent to play football at Lackawanna Junior College in Scranton, Pennsylvania is Freehold High School's record-setting

quarterback Ashante Worthy .

Freehold High School is located in Monmouth County, New Jersey and is the alma

mater of Bruce Springsteen ("Class of 1967"). In 2017, the 5-foot-9,

195-pound hybrid quarterback-running back was a human highlight film. He had a

record-breaking season in 2017 that will long be remembered in the history of

New Jersey scholastic football. He set the state's modern-day single season

rushing record of 2,860

yards , breaking the old record of 2,815 yards set in 2016 by former Salem

High School and University of Wisconsin All-American running back Jonathan

Taylor. Worthy also passed for 2,106 yards in 2017, becoming the first player in New Jersey state history to rush and pass for more than

2,000 yards in a season . Ashante finished the season with 4,966 yards of

total offense and accounted for a state single-season record 61

touchdowns------41 rushing and 20 passing . Worthy averaged 8.3

yards-per-carry and 220 yards-per-game as a runner. He's essentially a

quarterback who runs like a Division I tailback. In the Central Jersey Group 4

state final (a 43-42 Long Branch victory in overtime), he had 62 touches, six

touchdowns, and 420 yards. Amazingly, Ashante would be the only player in the

Freehold backfield------on every play. There were no play fakes, no option

choices, no backs to pick up blitzes off the edge. There was never a question

which Freehold player was going to have the ball after the snap, and opposing

defenses still could not stop him.

JULY 5 CHUCKBIT At 6-foot-2, 235 pounds of chiseled muscle Mike Trout looks like

an NFL running back, but even though he played youth football, it was not his

second favorite sport. His second favorite sport at Millville High School was basketball where he was an All Cape-Atlantic League swingman during his prep

days. (Click here ).

In his early teens, Trout was already a playground legend, dunking on

18-year-olds at the schoolyards when he was only 14. Even though the Major

League Baseball's prodigy's manifest destiny was pretty much predetermined at an

early age, Trout still crashed the boards for the Thunderbolts' basketball team

in the winter like each possession took place in the final minute of a one-point

game. Under the basket, he made sure opponents earned points in the paint, and

time and time again Mike sacrificed his body to draw his share of offensive

fouls. He averaged 14.7 points-per-game his senior season and was good

for a double-double on nearly a nightly basis. Mike Trout had two of his

best games in February of 2009 during his final season playing basketball

at Millville High. On February 14, Trout scored 14 points and grabbed 18

rebounds as Millville beat Bishop Eustace, 53-48, in an Olympic-Cape Challenge

game. Then on February 24, Mike scored 17 points as Millville upset perennial

South Jersey basketball power St. Augustine Prep, 76-64 for its biggest win in

years.

JULY 3 CHUCKBIT These are the Eastern High School College Commitments according to the Camden Courier-Post . I took J ack Herman (signed pro baseball

contract) off their list and added Ryan Jennings, Jr., who they didn't

have. GIRLS' SOCCER Marlee Franden, Kean Gianna Gonzalez, Pace Mikayla Ronczka, Wilkes Madison Tyree, Rutgers

FIELD HOCKEY

Jessica Maute, St. Joseph's

Olvia Perrone, Lehigh

Isabella Sinibaldi, Quinipiac

BOYS'BASKETBALL

Matt Cotton, Yale

FOOTBALL

Zahir Goyins, East Stroudsburg

Ryan Jennings, Jr, Kutztown

BASEBALL

Joshua Roach, Chestnut Hill

Ronald Silvestro, Kutztown

BOYS' LACROSSE

Andrew Garrison, Norwich

Benjamin Smith, Kean

GIRLS' LACROSSE

Haley Dixon, Stockton

Amanda Farnswoth, LaSalle

Lauren Ferriola, Millersville

Jessica Kinser, Stockton

Savannah Slack, Virginia

Commonwealth

GOLF

Joel Hark, Muhlenberg

JULY 2 CHUCKBIT Pictured here on the right with her father Haviland "Biff" Harper and her brother, Will Harper, is 2004 Cheltenham High School graduate Laura Harper ,

the all-time leading scorer, boys or girls in Cheltenham High history with 2,009 career points and arguably the most accomplished basketball player in

school history. Laura's brother Will, a 2000 graduate of Central High, played

for their father Haviland, who was the Lancers' boys' basketball coach and

chairman of the school's math department. At Cheltenham, Laura was All-Area,

All-State, and an All-American selection. She was one of the most highly

recruited athletes in Cheltenham High history. Laura matriculated at the University of Maryland where she teamed with her good friend Crystal

Langhorne from across the Delaware River at Willingboro High to lead

the Terrapins to the 2006 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball championship with a 78-75 overtime victory over Duke. For her efforts, Laura was named the "Most Outstanding Player" in the tournament. She graduated Maryland in 2008

and went on to play professionally in the WNBA and overseas. Laura is now an

assistant women's coach at the University of Florida. Her father Haviland, a 6-7

forward at both Central High and George Washington University, racked up 17

double-doubles in his career at GW from 1972 to 1976, scoring 1,050 points and

grabbing 547 rebounds.

JUNE 29 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is the late Central Bucks West football coach Mike Pettine Sr . Mike is

the all-time leader in career wins in the Philadelphia area (southeastern

Pennsylvania and South Jersey) with 326 wins. His final record at Central

Bucks West was 326-42-4 in 33 seasons. Here is the list of football coaches in

the Philadelphia area with 250 or more

wins.

1. Mike Pettine Sr; Central Bucks West; 326 wins

2. Paul Sacco; St. Joseph Hammonton; 317 wins (active)

3. Joe Frappolli; Florence Township; 302 wins (active)

4. Kevin Clancy; Strath Haven/Archbishop Carroll; 300 wins (active)

5. Jim Algeo; Lansdale Catholic; 293

wins

6. Greg Howard; Paulsboro; 284 wins (active)

7. Gamp Pellegrini; Malvern Prep/St. Joseph's Prep/St. Thomas

More; 278 wins

8. Clyde Folsom; West Deptford/Bishop Eustace; 262 wins

9. Ron Cohen; George Washington; 261

wins

JUNE 28 CHUCKBIT Pictured holding the ball (click here )

at the recent reunion of the PIAA AAAA state finalist 1968 Cheltenham High boys'

basketball team is City Leagues' product and Shakespearean scholar, coach Paul Westhead . Paul graduated West Catholic High School in 1956 , then attended Malvern Prep for a

year to brush up on both his basketball skills -- he never played varsity at WC

-- and Shakespearean studies before matriculating at St. Joseph's University where he played for the legendary Dr. Jack Ramsey . Paul is the answer to

the following trivia question: Who is the only basketball coach in history to win both a NBA and WNBA

championship?? In 1980, Westhead coached the Los Angeles Lakers to

the NBA title on a team that featured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and a rookie

from Michigan State University named Earvin "Magic" Johnson . Then 27

years later in 2007, he coached the Phoenix Mercury to the championship

in the women's professional league. Paul coached the men's basketball teams at La Salle , George Mason , and Loyola Marymount Universities.

At Loyola Marymount, he was called "The Guru of Go" for his run-and-gun,

up-tempo freewheeling style of play that took Loyola to the "Elite Eight" in the

1990 NCAA tournament, before bowing out to eventual champion UNLV. His first

coaching job was at Cheltenham High where he guided the 1968 boys'

basketball team to a 26-0 record before losing to Laurel Highlands, 63-56, in

overtime of the PIAA AAAA title game at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena before an

estimated crowd of 13,000. The star of the team pictured in the back row, far

left was 6-foot-7 forward Craig Littlepage, who would go on to play and

coach at the University of Pennsylvania . "Page" recently retired as the

Director of Athletics at the University of Virginia.

JUNE 27 CHUCKBIT It all started with a powderpuff football game between the Deptford High

School junior and senior girls and evolved into something much bigger for Samantha Dimitri (pic here ) . On September 12, 2009 , in

the season opener, Samantha, a senior kicker on the Deptford High football team ,

became the first female

kicker in South Jersey history to score a point in a football game when she

converted her first PAT attempt midway through the second quarter. Later in the

game, she booted a 23-yard field goal to become the first girl in South Jersey history to kick a

field goal . In the 21-17 loss to Pennsville, Samantha

was perfect on her two conversion attempts in addition to making her

history-making field goal. In the Deptford High powderpuff game, played in

October of 2008, Dimitri was successful on all five of her conversion kicks, and

word got . One thing led to

another, and Samantha tried out for the football team and not only made the

squad but beat out two other male hopefuls for the kicking job. As a freshman

and sophomore, Samantha played soccer at Deptford, and in the fall of her junior

year she joined the field hockey team. She enjoyed these experiences but said

they don't match up to how she felt after her football debut.

JUNE 25 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Tim Watson , a history teacher and highly successful

football coach Cedar Creek High School in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey.

Watson is considered one of the up-and-coming young football coaches in South

Jersey, having taken a Cedar Creek team to three championship

games and one title in the program's first six years. Tim's career record at

Cedar Creek currently stands at 57-16 with a .750 winning percentage . Tim

was a Division III All-American defensive end at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ. In the year 2000 , he was drafted

by the Seattle Seahawks in Round Six, pick number 185 in the NFL Draft,

but unfortunately never got to play in a regular season game due to a serious

knee injury. In the same 2000 NFL Draft, 14 selections later, at pick number

199 , the New England Patriots took a chance on a quarterback from the

University of Michigan named Tom Brady .

JUNE 22 CHUCKBIT For many, the thought of turning one's passion into a full-time

job is unfortunately nothing more than a pipedream. But for 1985 Cheltenham High

School graduate Jim

Clibanoff it is reality. After graduating from Temple University's Beasley

School of Law in 1995, "Clib," a lifelong hardcore basketball junkie, ran a

private college hoops scouting service for 17 years, evaluating future NBA

players. A respected talent scout, he made regular appearances as a draft analyst on NBA TV and offered his thoughts on future

prospects during other media interviews. In September of 2013, Jim (pic here )

was named Director of Scouting for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA.

"Clib" is well-known in both college and professional basketball circles for

his dedication, tireless work ethic, and attention to precision and detail. On

Thursday night with the 14th pick, the Denver Nuggets selected Michael

Porter, Jr , a 6-foot-11 small forward from the University of Missouri.

JUNE 21 CHUCKBIT Who is the most accomplished former New Jersey high school boys'

basketball player??? This

question is sure to start some long discussions and controversy. Everybody has

their opinion. The NBA might have deserted New Jersey a few years ago, but that

doesn't mean the state has stopped producing many of its best players. Some of

the legends of the sport have learned to play on the Garden State's playgrounds

and for its high school teams. In no particular order, here are some names

that might come to mind: Camden's Dajuan Wagner , Hudson

Catholic's Mike O'Koren , River Dell's Billy Paultz ,

Camden's Milt Wagner , St. Joseph

Metuchen's Jay Williams , Lakewood's J.R. Smith ,

Perth Amboy's Brian Taylor , Atlantic

City's Lou Roe , St. Anthony's David Rivers , Hudson

Catholic's Jim Spanarkel ,

Paterson Eastside's Rory Sparrow ,

Paterson Catholic's Tim Thomas ,

Bloomfield's Alaa Abdelnaby ,

Delbarton's Troy Murphy ,

Holy Spirit's Chris Ford ,

CBA's John Crotty ,

Weequahic's Al Attles ,

St. Patrick's Kyrie Irving ,

Franklin Township's Roy Hinson ,

Newark East Side's Randy Foye ,

Woodbury's Dave Budd ,

New Brunswick's Gary Brokaw , East Orange's Clyde Bradshaw , St.

Anthony's Kyle Anderson , St.

Patrick's Al Harrington , Camden's Billy Thompson ,

Blair Academy's Luol Deng ,

St. Joseph Metuchen's Karl-Anthony Towns ,

Bloomfield's Kelly Tripuka , St. Rose of

Belmar's Bobby Verga , Lawrenceville

School's Joakim Noah ,

St. Michael's of Union City's Tommy Heinsohn ,

St. Anthony's Bobby Hurley, Jr ,

East Brunswick's Dave Wohl , Weequahic's Mo Layton ,

Bishop Eustace's Billy Melchionni ,

Blair Academy's Charlie Villanueva ,

St. Patrick's Sam Dalembert ,

and Sherman White and Bill Willoughby of Dwight

Morrow High School in Englewood, just to name a few. My pick for the most

accomplished former New Jersey high school boys' basketball player is a player

that was not an All-American in high school. In fact, he was not even All-State,

averaging only 13 ppg at a small Union County school that was more known for

wrestling than basketball. He was only 6-foot-3 in high school, before growing

to a 6-foot-7 high-scoring forward at the University of Miami. Rick Barry (pic here ),

a 1962 graduate of Roselle Park High School, is the only player to lead the

NCAA, ABA, and NBA in scoring for an individual season. A 12-time All-Pro with over 25,000 points in 14 seasons, Barry is a member of the Naismith

Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in addition to be named in 1996 as one of the

greatest 50 NBA players ever. In 1975, Barry led the Golden State Warriors to

the NBA championship, and he was named NBA Finals MVP. He was known for his

unorthodox but effective underhand free throw shooting technique, and at the

time of his retirement in 1980, his .900 free throw percentage ranked first in

NBA history.

JUNE 20 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is Reggie Jackson's 1964 graduation picture in the the Cheltenham

High School yearbook El Delator . In the other photo here ,

Reggie is shown hitting a double in a 1963 Cheltenham High baseball game. Reggie

earned his nickname "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the

postseason. Jackson's crowning achievement

came on October 18, 1977 with his three-home-run performance for the New York Yankees in

the World Series-clinching Game Six, blasting each homer on the first pitch off

three different Los Angeles Dodgers pitchers. He was the first player to hit

three home runs in a World Series game since Babe Ruth in 1928. During the 1963

scholastic baseball season, Cheltenham High played Marple Newtown High School from

Broomall, and Reggie hit a tape measure homer to right field in the game.

Playing second base for Marple Newtown was senior Chris Wheeler who would

later become the Philadelphia Phillies announcer and color commentator on

television and radio for 37 years. Of Jackson's home run "Wheels" said, "That

was one of the longest homers I've ever seen at any level of baseball. With no

fence at the field, Reggie could have run around the bases three times. On that

day, I realized that I would never be good enough to be a professional baseball

player and set my sights on another job in baseball."

JUNE 19 CHUCKBIT The date was Friday, November 16, 1962 . It was a historical night in the history of the NBA for several reasons. That night, Power Memorial High School opened up the the New York City Catholic League

season at Madison Square

Garden against defending champion LaSalle

Academy in the undercard of an NBA game between the New York Knicks and the San

Francisco Warriors. Power Memorial featured budding prep superstar, 7-foot

sophomore Lew Alcindor , who would later change his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar . In

the high school game, Lew Alcindor led his team to a resounding victory, and the

game was hailed as Alcindor's coming-out-party. After the game, the Power

Memorial players entered the Madison Square Garden locker room just as the San

Francisco Warriors were getting ready to come out for warm-ups. It was there in

the locker room of the storied Madison Square Garden that 15-year old Lew

Alcindor and 26-year old NBA superstar Wilt Chamberlain met for the first time ever. Looking at each other eye-to-eye, the

two seven-footers shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (pic here )

would go on to play mano-a-mano against each other 27 times in the NBA,

including 11 games in the playoffs of 1971 and 1972. Chamberlain's teams won 14 of the 27 games , while Jabbar's teams won 13. By the way, the San

Francisco Warriors defeated the New York Knicks, 127-111, in the NBA game

on November 16. That night, Wilt was just Wilt, playing all 48 minutes and

scoring 73 points which is still tied for the fourth-highest individual game scoring effort in NBA history. Wilt was 29-for-43 from the field

and 15-for-19 from the charity stripe in addition to grabbing 14 rebounds. JUNE 18 CHUCKBIT It may come as a surprise to some, but former New Jersey

Governor Chris Christie (pic here ) was a pretty good little league and high school baseball player growing up

in Livingston, New Jersey, a suburb of Newark. As a little league catcher ,

Christie called a smart game and had some pop in his bat, going "park" 15

times in his little league career. His major deficit was slow foot speed on

the base paths. He led his little league team to the championship game of the 1974 New Jersey Little League tournament, helping the Livingston Americans

upend the Bergenfield Americans, 6-1, in the state final. From there the

Livingston Americans went to the Eastern Regional Tournament in Staten

Island, New York and made it all the way to the finals before losing to New

Haven, Connecticut, 3-2. A win in the Eastern Regional final would have sent

Christie and his Livingston teammates to Williamsport, Pa. for the Little

League World Series . In high school, Chris Christie was a natural leader,

serving as Class President all three years in high school in addition to

captaining the varsity baseball team. Going into his senior season in 1980 ,

the Livingston High School baseball team looked real strong with a good nucleus

of players from the state championship little league team, but unfortunately for

Christie a phenom catcher transferred in from private school, and Chris was

relegated to a pinch hitter. The twice-beaten 1980 Livingston baseball

squad ended up defeating Steinert High from Mercer County to capture the NJSIAA Group IV state championship . In the final poll of the baseball

season, The Newark Star Ledger newspaper ranked the Livingston Lancers

(28-2-1) Number 1 in the state, but not without controversy, since

perennial power Number 2, Gloucester Catholic High, from South Jersey finished the season undefeated with a 24-0 record. Chris

Christie matriculated at the University of Delaware and opted not

continue his baseball career there.

JUNE 16 CHUCKBIT As a senior in high school in 1982, he quarterbacked the Paulsboro Red Raiders to a 34-26 triumph over Audubon in

the South Jersey Group 1 title game. As a wide receiver for the Los

Angeles Rams in 1989, he set the NFL record for most receiving yards in a game.

Such is the football career of 1983 Paulsboro High School graduate Willie

"Flipper" Anderson (pic here ) .

Willie was dubbed "Flipper" as a baby by a relative who thought his crying made

him sound like the famous dolphin. The 6-0, 175-pound speedster excelled

in football, basketball, and track and field at Paulsboro and was one of the

nation's top high school football recruits in the "Class of 1983." Flipper

matriculated at UCLA where he was the main receiving target of quarterback Troy Aikman . He was drafted

by the Los Angeles Rams in the 2nd round (46th overall) of the 1988 NFL Draft.

On November 26, 1989, Flipper set the NFL record for

most receiving yards in a game with 336 yards on 15

receptions in an overtime win against the New Orleans Saints. That record still stands

today . Flipper played ten seasons in the NFL

and finished his career with 267 receptions for 5,357 yards and 28 touchdowns,

giving him a 20.1 career yards per catch average. Anderson's son Dres

"Flipper" Anderson is now a wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts.

JUNE 13 CHUCKBIT Nowadays, in the world of Division I college basketball

recruiting, there are very few "sleeper prospects" out there anymore.

With the recruiting services, internet, social media, tip sheets, bird dogs,

AAU, and high exposure camps, there are very few unknown future stars. You can

either play or you can't! Mainland High School's Osun Osunniyi (pic here )

is the rare example of a player that managed to slip under the radar. The Somers

Point, New Jersey resident didn't start playing basketball until eighth grade . As

a 6-foot-1 ninth-grader, he came off the bench for the Mainland Mustangs

freshmen team in 2014. He then grew to 6-4 as as a sophomore and 6-8 as a

junior. As a 6-9 senior at Mainland in 2017, Osun averaged 14.4 ppg, 11.4

rebounds, and 5.6 blocks per-game and shot 71 % from the field. Most of his

college offers were from Division II and Division III schools. La Salle and Lafayette were the only two Division I schools that showed strong

interest. Former La Salle head coach Dr. John Giannini was impressed with

his amazing potential, and he convinced Osun to commit to the Explorers in

March of 2017. Both La Salle and Osun agreed that he should attend prep school

at the Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut for a year to add some bulk to his

slender frame. At Putnam, Osun grew to 6-10 and signed a National Letter of

Intent basketball scholarship in November with the Explorers. In March of 2018,

he led Putnam Science Academy to the National Prep Championship game , and

took MVP honors in the title game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, and

five blocks in a 74-66 overtime victory over Northfield-Mount Hermon from

Massachusetts. After La Salle and coach Dr. John Giannini decided to part ways,

Osun decomitted from La Salle and opened up his recruiting process. With his

stock going through the roof, he narrowed his choices down to Syracuse , Georgetown , and St. Bonaventure. On Monday, May 21, Osun decided

to continue his education and playing career at St. Bonaventure .

According to St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt , "Osun oozes with

potential. His ceiling is very high. He has so much God-given ability, and he's

a great kid who is level-headed. Osun has a great wingspan, he runs the court

well, and has a natural talent for blocking shots and is a very good rebounder.

He can score around the basket." Needless to say, former Mainland High School

center Osun Osunniyi is no longer an unknown talent!!

JUNE 11 CHUCKBIT Note: Chuck is a proud Cheltenham grad (Class of 1973). This pic shows Cheltenham High School "Class of 1945" graduate Wally Triplett .

Wally, now 92 years old, is the "Jackie Robinson of professional football." Triplett, who grew up in

the LaMott section of Cheltenham Township, is the first African-American NFL

draft pick to play in the league. For that reason you can find his picture

hanging in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Wally played in the

NFL with the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Cardinals. A running back, he played

collegiately at Penn State where he was the first black player to start and earn

a varsity letter. The origins of the now famous "We are Penn State" stadium cheer came about in 1948 when Penn State's Cotton Bowl opponent,

Southern Methodist University, wanted to discuss with Penn State about leaving

Triplett home in State College and not taking him to the Bowl game in Dallas.

Penn State captain Steve Suhey , whose three sons would all later play at

Penn State, responded, "There will be no meeting. We are Penn State." This past May 8, the Cotton Bowl organization inducted Cheltenham

High and Penn State alumnus Wally Triplett into its Hall of Fame.

JUNE 10 CHUCKBIT This

past Thursday, Thursday, June 7, I attended the 52nd meeting of the Philadelphia Area Basketball Junkies' Club , held at The Great American Pub

in Conshohocken. The group, co-founded by the late Les Kaune and Allen Rubin in 1993 , has met at various restaurants in the Philly area

over its 25 years in

existence. Its origins can be traced , Allen, Steve Keller, Norm Eavenson , and myself took in a scrimmage at Gustine

Recreation Center in Philadelphia between Roman Catholic and an AAU squad from

South Jersey. Afterwards, we had dinner and drinks at a restaurant in Manayuank and the Philadelphia Area Basketball

Junkies' Club was born. Since then we have met twice a

year in October and June at various locales in the

region. On Thursday, 31 hardcore hoop fans turned out for the latest

meeting. Among those in attendance were former Gratz coach Bill Ellerbee ,

HSBI Report's Tom Konchalski , former Philadelphia Daily News

sportswriter Dick "Hoops" Weiss , head scout at Basketball Finders Sam

Rines, Jr , Director of the All-City Hoops Classic Charles Monroe , The Philadelphia Inquirer basketball writer Mike Jensen , talent

evaluators Tom Strickler , Steve Keller , and Norm Eavenson ,

NBA scout Elan Vinokurov , La Salle head coach Ashley Howard , La Salle assistant coach Donnie Carr ,

The Hoop's Scoop's Allen Rubin , and longtime Philadelphia area basketball

impresario Hal Bailer . At the gathering, Dick Weiss spoke about the state

of high school basketball in the Philadelphia area. Tom Konchalski informed the

group about Condoleezza Rice's Commission on College Basketball and his

days in college at Fordham University with then classmate Donald Trump . Elan

Vinokurov, the President and Owner of EV Hoops, detailed the upcoming NBA Draft.

The guest speaker was recently hired LaSalle basketball coach Ashley Howard (pic here ).

The meeting adjourned approximately at 10:00. The 53rd gathering of the

Philadelphia Area Basketball Junkies' Club will be next October.

JUNE 8 CHUCKBIT As a youngster growing up in Moorestown, New Jersey in the

early part of the 20th century, Walter French (pic here )

dreamed of becoming a professional athlete. As an adult, he surpassed his goal,

becoming a pro athlete in two sports , football and baseball, and winning both a NFL championship and a World Series . Walter attended Moorestown High School from 1914 to 1917, starring in football, basketball,

baseball, and track. At only 5-foot-9, 160-pounds, French had to rely on

quickness and speed. In 1915, Walter and classmate Al LeConey , a future

Olympic Gold Medal winner, led Moorestown to its only victory ever in the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Walter matriculated at Rutgers University

where he starred on the gridiron before transferring to the United States

Military Academy in West Point, New York. At West Point, he earned All-American

honors on the football field and played center field on the school's baseball

team. In 1923, French signed with the Philadelphia Athletics , managed by

the legendary Connie Mack . He played six years with the Athletics as a

substitute outfielder and pinch hitter. He had a .303 batting average in the

Majors and played in the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs, which the

powerful Athletics won decisively in five games. The Philadelphia Athletics were

loaded in 1929 with players like catcher Mickey Cochrane , first baseman Jimmie Foxx , left fielder Al Simmons , and pitchers Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg . Against Connie Mack's wishes, Walter French started

playing running back for the Pottsville Maroons in the NFL and was

instrumental in helping the Maroons defeat the Chicago Cardinals, 21-7, for the NFL championship at Comiskey Park in Chicago on December 6, 1925. French

led the NFL in rushing that season with a 5.4 yards-per-carry average. In 1936,

after his playing days were over, Walter went 's coach from

1937 to 1942.

JUNE 6 CHUCKBIT This pic is of former All-South Jersey running back Greg Wanamaker . Greg is the

answer to the following trivia question: Who is the only running back in New

Jersey state history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season at three different

schools?? Greg started playing football at the age of seven in his

hometown of Camden before commencing his high school career at Timber Creek High in 2004 . Unfortunately, Wanamaker's prep career got off to a rocky

start when he tore his ACL and MCL in a scrimmage before his first game as a

freshman on the varsity, and he was on the shelf for the rest of the season. In 2005 , the 6-foot-1, 200-pound halfback had a breakout year at Timber

Creek, rushing for over 1,000 yards in his sophomore season . Then in 2006 , after transferring to Camden Catholic High School in Cherry

Hill, Greg rushed for 1,501 yards and 19 touchdowns in his junior

campaign. For his final year in high school in 2007 , Greg enrolled at Lindenwold High and rushed for 1,450 yards and 20 touchdowns. Greg

went on to play collegiately at Pierce Junior College in Los Angeles and at

Division I Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland.

JUNE 5 CHUCKBIT Pictured here is 1969 Middle Township High School graduate and former All-South Jersey

basketball player Stedman Graham . Stedman, a 6-6 forward scored 1,179 career points at

Middle Township, a small school located down the shore in Cape May Court House.

Stedman played college ball at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene Texas, where

he earned a bachelor's degree in social work. He played professionally in Europe

for a few years before returning to the the U.S. to work on his master's degree

in education from Ball State in Indiana. Maybe you have never heard of him, but

you may have of heard of his longtime significant other------ media

proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist Oprah

Winfrey. Stedman and Oprah met 32 years ago in 1986 and were engaged to be

married in 1992, but decided they would rather have a "spiritual union."

Stedman's enduring relationship with Oprah Winfrey has perhaps overshadowed his

long list of accomplishments accumulated over the course of an impressive career

as chairman and CEO of S. Graham and Associates, a management and marketing

consulting firm specializing in the corporate and educational fields. He's a

prolific writer, the author of 11 books, two of which became New York Times bestsellers. Stedman also founded the nonprofit organization Athletes Against

Drugs in 1985 which is dedicated to developing leadership in underserved

youth through scholarships and education.

JUNE 4 CHUCKBIT Click here for pics of autographed baseball cards. The 1944 Burlington City High

School baseball team was "special." Not only were they one of the top teams

in the state of New Jersey ,

but they featured three players, Barney Schultz , Sam Calderone ,

and Eddie Miksis , who

all went on

to play in the Major Leagues. Barney Schultz was

a knuckleball relief pitcher who played for all or parts of seven seasons

between 1955 and 1965 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago

Cubs. Barney had a career record of 20-20 with 35 saves. The 1964 season was his

best year. Barney was instrumental in the St. Louis Cardinals'

drive to the National League pennant, pitching the final out against the New York Mets to win the pennant and saving two games

in late September against the slumping Philadelphia Phillies . He appeared

in four games of the 1964 World Series against the New York Yankees and recorded

a save in the first game of the World Series which the Cardinals won in seven

games. Sam Calderone was All-South

Jersey in both football and baseball at Burlington City High School. In the

Majors, he was a reserve catcher, playing three seasons with the New York Giants

and Milwaukee Braves. One of his biggest highlights as a pro came on August 17,

1950 when he hit an inside-the-park home run against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the

same game in which Dodgers' great Pee Wee Reese also hit an

inside-the-park homer. Eddie Miksis debuted

in the Majors at the age of 17 and went on to have a 14-year career as a

utility infielder and outfielder with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, St.

Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Cincinnati Reds. Miksis hit .236 for his

career and played all four infield positions in addition to playing in the

outfield at times. He played in both the 1947 and 1949 World Series with the

Dodgers against the New York Yankees. Miksis batted .273 in eight World Series

games.

JUNE 1 CHUCKBIT Devin Leary will graduate from Timber Creek High School this month as the most prolific

passing quarterback in South Jersey, New Jersey state, and Philadelphia area

(southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey) history. For his career, Devin was

566-for-910 (62.2 %) for 9,672 yards and 105 touchdowns .

Statistically speaking, his junior season was his strongest when he threw for 3,688 yards and 48 touchdowns , both state records. During his junior

campaign, Devin threw for a career high 398 yards in a 59-21 victory over

Absegami. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound North Carolina State recruit also

finished with 566 career completions and 10,197 yards of total offense (passing and rushing) which are both new South Jersey records. His 9,672 career

yards and 105 touchdowns breaks the former state record of 8,732 yards and 96 touchdown passes ,

set by Butler High's (Morris County, NJ) Scott Brown in 1997. Leary and

Brown are the only quarterbacks in Garden State history to throw for over 2,000 yards in three different seasons . Devin's career yardage and

touchdowns also eclipses the Philadelphia area mark of 8,551 yards and 94 touchdowns , set by Perkiomen Valley's Stephen Sturm in 2016. Sturm

is now playing at Division II Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

Stephen Sturm's father, Ken Sturm, played linebacker on the late coach Bill Bernardo's Northeast High 1968 Public League Champions and was the

former head coach at Overbrook High in Philly. Here's the Philadelphia Area 7,000-yard Passing Club: 1. Devin Leary; Timber Creek; 2017; 9,672 yards 2 .Stephen Sturm; Perkiomen Valley; 2016; 8,551 yards 3 .Pat Devlin; Dowingtown East; 2005; 8,162 yards 4 .Dylan Cummings; Pennsville; 2013; 7,695 yards 5. Jon Jon Roberts; West Chester East; 2015; 7,592 yards 6 . Tom Flacco; Eastern/Camden Catholic; 2013; 7,387 yards 7 .Anthony Paoletti; Marple Newtown; 2017; 7,048

yards

--

| MAY

30 CHUCKBIT Pictured is Steve Farquhar , a former 6-2 shooting guard at

Calvary Baptist Christian High School in the Kirkwood section of

Voorhees Township, New Jersey. During the 1984-1985 basketball season, Steve was the talk of the South Jersey basketball community and

beyond with

his scoring accomplishments. In one season of 30 games, he scored

1,494 points for a 49.8 ppg. average at tiny Calvary

Baptist High to lead the USA in scoring . How tiny is Calvary

Baptist?? Well, when Philadelphia Daily News sportswriter Ted Silary called the school to do a feature piece on Farquhar, the Principal of

the school answered the phone. Calvary Baptist, an independent school

which emphasized college preparation, had an enrollment of only seven students in the senior class and 35 in the entire school in 1985.

The school had no home court, practicing at the Hoops Sports Center in

Cherry Hill. Farquhar's 49.8 ppg. average is still a Philadelphia area

and New Jersey state record in addition to being fifth

all-time in the USA . During the 1984-1985

season, Steve sank 398 free throws which is still a national

record. One could only wonder how many points he would have scored

if he had the benefit of the three-point line. The national record

is 54.0 ppg, set by Bobby Joe Douglas of Marion, Louisiana

during the 1979-1980 season. For his career, Farquhar scored 2,701

points in 72 games for an average of 37.5 ppg . Steve turned down

an offer from Drexel University, instead matriculating at then Division

II Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. At Liberty, he was

a four-year letter winner, playing during the school's transition to

Division I basketball. From there Steve went on to become a math teacher

and successful boys' basketball coach in the Cincinnati, Ohio area. His

son, Zach , followed in his father's footsteps, earning a

basketball scholarship and also playing for the Liberty Flames . . .

Click here for Ted's story on Steve's 68-point outburst.

--

---

| MAY 27 CHUCKBIT Not many high school baseball teams can claim that their

double-play combination on the diamond were All- Pro NFL

players with a Super Bowl ring apiece. But such is the

case with the 1967 South River High School baseball

team. South River, New Jersey, a small town a few miles

south of New Brunswick, is one-and-a-quarter square

miles with a population of approximately 15,000. The 1967 South River High baseball team featured

All-State senior shortstop Joe Theismann and

sophomore second baseman Drew Pearson . The

dynamic duo were also the guards on the school

basketball team and of course the passing-receiving

threat on the undefeated 1966 South River football

team . Theismann, an All-American quarterback at

Notre Dame under legendary coach Ara Parseghian ,

played 12 seasons with the Washington Redskins. He was a

two-time Pro Bowler and helped the Redskins to

consecutive Super Bowl appearances, winning Super Bowl

XVII, 27-17, over the Miami Dolphins in 1983. Drew

Pearson succeeded Theismann as the starting quarterback

at South River before matriculating at the University of

Tulsa where he converted to wide receiver. Pearson

played for the Dallas Cowboys and was a three-time First

Team All-Pro in 1974, 1976, and 1977. He helped the

Cowboys to three Super Bowl appearances and earned his

Super Bowl ring when the Cowboys defeated the Denver

Broncos, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII in 1978. Pearson was

known as "Mr. Clutch" for his numerous clutch catches in

game-winning situations, especially the "Hail Mary"

reception from Roger Staubach that sealed the

victory in a 1975 playoff game against the Minnesota

Vikings, one of the most famous plays in NFL history.

MAY 25 CHUCKBIT Atlantic City has long been a

mecca of high school basketball in the Garden State. The

seashore town's basketball tradition is filled with success and

exploits of talented players such as Willie Glass, Ralph

Tally, Lou Roe, Bobby Martin, Walt Montford, Donnie Marsh ,

and Ray Bethea , just to name a few. Current Atlantic City

coach Gene Allen, a Philadelphia

native, who moved to the seashore resort as a seventh grader,

has coached the Vikings to three state championships in 2005,

2012, and 2013. In 2017, Atlantic City crushed Egg Harbor

Township, 64-29, to give coach Allen his 300th career victory at Atlantic City .

Coach Allen became the third Viking coach to win 300 or more games at the schoo l .

In doing so, Atlantic City achieved high school boys' basketball

history that no other state high school can claim. Atlantic City

is the first high school in New Jersey history to have three coaches who have each won 300 or more games at that school . The first hoops coach at the school to win 300 games was Mike Sweeney who won 307

games from 1931-1955. In 1920,

while at the University of Pennsylvania, Sweeney led the nation

in scoring and helped the Penn Quakers defeat the University of

Chicago, two games to zero, in a best-of-three tournament at the

end of the season to determine the national champion before the

NCAA tourney as we know it began in 1939. In fact, Penn played

their games at Weightman Hall, because the Palestra was not

built until 1927. The second Atlantic City coach to win 300

games at the oceanside school was Bill Swain who won 352 games from 1955 to 1977.

Swain, an Atlantic City High graduate, is the winningest boys'

hoop coach in school history. Over the years there have been

a few schools in the state with two coaches who have won 300

games including Camden with coaching legends Tony Alfano and Clarence Turner . Former Camden coach John Valore won 671 career games, but most of those were during his 36

seasons at Cherry Hill East.

MAY 23 CHUCKBIT As the saying

goes, "records are made to be broken," but the South Jersey

boys' basketball record of 51 consecutive victories may

never be broken. The original mark was set by Moorestown High School , which won

51 straight games from 1958 to 1960, while winning state Group

3 championships in 1958 and 1959. The Quakers were coached by Pete Monska and featured future

NFL Hall of Famer Dave Robinson, Leroy Peacock ,

and high-scoring Ed

Douglas , who once scored a then

state-record 84 points in a 1959 game against Hamilton

High. Camden

High , coached by the legendary Tony

Alfano, who won 428 games at "The Castle on the

Hill," captured state Group IV titles in 1959 and 1960 and tied

Moorestown's South Jersey win streak of 51 straight. Camden,

then known as the Purple Avalanche, featured stars Ron "Itchy" Smith, Golden "Pete" Sunkett and Sam Fisher, Jr . Ironically,

coaches Tony Alfano and Pete Monska were both from the "City of

Brotherly Love." Alfano played football, basketball, and

baseball at Southern High in Philly before

helping Temple University win the 1938 NIT title. Moorestown

head coach Pete Monska was a 1944 graduate of the old Northeast High School . The

last South Jersey team to complete a season undefeated was 32

years ago in 1986 when Camden High with Lou Banks and Vic Carstarphen finished with a 30-0 record.

Camden, coached by the late Clarence Turner , was ranked No. 1 in the country in 1986 by USA Today . Since 1989, the

NJSIAA Tournament of Champions (T of C) has been played to

determine which school will be crowned the No. 1 overall

basketball team in the state. Each year, only one team in the

state can finish undefeated. In its 30 years of existence, North

Jersey parochial schools have dominated the T of C. South Jersey

schools have only won the T of C twice-----Shawnee in 1992 and

Camden in 2000. In fact, Camden in 2000 with Dajuan Wagner is the last public school in the state to win the Tournament of

Champions. Speaking of records that may never be broken, the New Jersey state and national record for consecutive wins by

a boys' high school basketball team is 159 wins , set by Passaic

High from 1919 to 1925. The Passaic "Wonder Teams" were

coached by Professor Ernest A. Blood, who was inducted

into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1960.

MAY 22 CHUCKBIT Philadelphia Eagles emerging star

running back Corey Clement is best known for his role in

the "Philly Special" in Super Bowl LII, but Corey was also a

prolific, record-setting running back at Glassboro High

School in South Jersey. His career numbers at Glassboro were

619 carries for a South Jersey-record 6,254 yards with 85

rushing touchdowns and 90 touchdowns overall. Six years ago, on

Friday, September 28, 2012 , often described as the

"night South Jersey running backs went bonkers," Corey had

the best rushing output in his prep career. Earlier that night,

Wildwood High School and future University of Delaware tailback Wesley

Hills rushed for 452 yards and eight touchdowns in a 38-14 victory over Maple Shade. Hills' 452 yards rushing in

the game eclipsed the former South Jersey record of 429 yards in 2004 by Terrance Riley of Paul VI High, and his eight

touchdowns in the game equaled the mark of eight established in

1950 by Roger Morton of Florence High. Approximately two

hours later, Corey Clement topped Hills' short-lived new record,

rushing for 478 yards and seven touchdowns on only 14

carries in a 45-23 win over Gloucester City. Corey's 478

yards rushing in a game remains a South Jersey and Philadelphia

area (South Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania) record, but it

is not a New Jersey state record. The New Jersey state and national mark is 754 yards by John

Giannantonio of now defunct Netcong High (Morris County, NJ)

in a 61-0 shutout of Mountain Lakes in 1950. Giannantonio, a

5-foot-7, 137-pound sophomore halfback also scored nine touchdowns in that Thanksgiving Day triumph over

Mountain Lakes. He would later play college ball at Villanova

University , but came nowhere close to duplicating his high

school stats on the Main Line. His national high school record

though has stood the test of time. The closest challenge to his

standard was in September of 2015 when Journey Brown of

Meadville High in Pennsylvania rushed 30 times for 722 yards and 10 touchdowns in a NBA-like score victory of 107-90 against DuBois High.

MAY 21 CHUCKBIT

Finding space for

athletic fields in densely populated urban cities across the

United States is often a problem for city high schools. The

Union City School District in North Jersey came up with a novel

approach to this problem. Union City, NJ is the most densely

populated city in the USA with 51,810 people per square mile .

When the new Union City High School was built, there was

no room in town to build the football field, so when you can't

build outward, you have to build up. The school officials

decided to build the football field three stories up on the

roof of Union City High School. Pictured above is a photo of Roosevelt Stadium , an artificial turf facility which

hosts football, baseball, soccer, and field hockey. The

third-floor stadium presents a great view of the Empire State

building and Midtown Manhattan. The grandstand holds 2,400

spectators and there's room for another 1,800 temporary seats

for football games. There's netting around the stadium to

prevent footballs and baseballs from going out in the street

below. The athletic field has been dubbed "The Eagle's Nest" in honor of the Union City High School mascot. In 2019, Shawnee

High School will be the first South Jersey school to play on the

rooftop when they travel to Union City as part of their home and

home football series.

MAY 19 CHUCKBIT This list of

the 30 South Jersey players that have played in a Super Bowl or

appeared on a Super Bowl roster may be of interest to the

readers of your website. I included Victor Hobson of St.

Joseph's Prep on the list. Even though he did not play for a

South Jersey high school, Victor grew up and lived in Mt.

Laurel, playing for the Mount Laurel Fleetwood Indians youth

football teams. Also, on the list is former Philadelphia Eagles

offensive tackle and radio color commentator Stan Walters .

Stan played at St. Mary's High School in Rutherford, NJ, before

prepping for a year at the now defunct Bordentown Military

Institute in South Jersey. Bordentown Military Institute, which

was located off of Route 130 in northern Burlington County,

fielded a football team from 1887 to 1971. The military school

sent ten players to the NFL which is tops among all schools in

South Jersey. The most renowned football player to play at

Bordentown Military Institute was NFL Hall of Famer and former

Denver Broncos halfback Floyd Little . An athlete with

Philadelphia roots that played football at Bordentown Military

was 1955 Olney High School graduate Lee Elia . Lee played

running back at Bordentown Military in the fall of 1955 and was

one of the leading individual football scorers in South Jersey.

Of course, he went on to coach and manage the Philadelphia

Phillies. Longtime Philadelphia Phillies fans might also

remember a left-handed pitcher from Delaware by the name of Chris Short, who transferred to Bordentown Military

Institute to play his senior year of high school before being

signed by Phillies scout Jocko Collins.

South

Jersey Players in Super Bowl Compiled by Chuck Langerman

Name;

Position; High School; Super Bowl Team; Super Bowl Number Randy Beverly; DB; Wildwood; Jets;

III Gary Brackett; LB; Glassboro; Colts; XLI, XLIV Corey Clement; RB; Glassboro; Eagles; LII Andre Collins; LB; Cinnaminson; Redskins; XXVI Doug Colman; LB; Ocean City; Titans; XXXIV Ron Dayne; RB; Overbrook; Giants; XXXV Mike Devlin; C; Cherokee; Bills;

XXVIII Joe Flacco; QB; Audubon; Ravens; XLVII Irving Fryar; WR; R.V.; Patriots; XX Jamaal Green; DE; W. Wilson; Eagles; XXXIX David Griggs; LB; Pennsauken; Chargers; XXIX Franco Harris; RB; R.V.; Steelers; IX, X, XIII, XIV George Hegamin; OT; Camden; Cowboys; XXX Dwight Hicks; DB; Pennsauken; 49ers; XVI, XIX * Victor

Hobson; LB; St. Joseph’s Prep; Arizona; XLIII Pete Kugler; NT; C.H. East; 49ers; XXIII, XXIV Brison Manor; DE; Bridgeton; Broncos; XII Kareem McKenzie; OL; Willingboro; Giants; XLII, XLVI Bryant McKinnie; OL; Woodbury; Ravens; XLVI Shaun Phillips; LB; Willingboro: Broncos; XLVII Derrick Ramsey; TE; Camden; Raiders, Patriots; XV, XX Isaac Redman; RB; Paulsboro; Steelers; XLV Dave Robinson; LB; Moorestown; Packers; I, II Dave Rowe; DT; Deptford; Raiders; XI Jim Ryan; LB; Bishop Eustace; Broncos; XXI, XXII Logan Ryan; DB; Eastern; Patriots; XLIX, LI Alex Silvestro; DL; Paulsboro; Patriots; XLVI Ed Smith; TE; Pemberton; Falcons;

XXXIII John Taylor; WR; Pennsauken; 49ers; XXIII, XXIV, XXIX Stan Walters; OT; Bordentown Military Institute; Eagles; XV *Victor Hobson grew up in Mount Laurel but played his

scholastic football at Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s Prep.

MAY 17 CHUCKBIT I saw Ted's May 4th picture of Eastern High alumni English Gardner (Olympic gold medal) and Logan Ryan (two Super Bowl

rings), and I wondered if any South Jersey high schools could

match Eastern High's gold medal and ring count. Of all the South

Jersey schools, there are only three others that have a graduate with at least one Olympic gold medal and

graduates with at least two Super Bowl rings. All three of the

schools are located in Burlington County and each has a

professional Hall of Famer in their respective sport. The three

high schools are: 1. Willingboro ( 10 Olympic gold medals/two Super Bowl rings) -----Track

and Field legend Carl Lewis ("Class of 1979") won nine

gold medals, and LaMont Smith , a sprinter, won a gold

medal in the 4x400 meters relay at the 1996 Summer Olympics in

Atlanta. Former Willingboro High and Penn State offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie won Super Bowl rings with the New York

Giants in Super Bowls XLVII and XLVI. 2. Rancocas Valley (one Olympic gold medal/four Super Bowl

rings) ----- Kelsi Worrell , a swimmer specializing in

the butterfly, captured a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics

in Rio de Janeiro as part of the USA's women's winning 4x100

medley relay team. Football great Franco Harris ("Class of

1968") earned four Super Bowl rings, leading the Pittsburgh

Steelers to victory in Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV. 3. Moorestown (two Olympic gold medals/two Super Bowl

rings) ----- Al LeConey, a sprinter, was a gold medal

winner in the 4x100 meter relay race at the 1924 Summer Olympics

in Paris, and Lauren Schmetterling, a rower, earned a

gold medal in the Women's eight competition in the 2016 Summer

Olympics. Hall of Fame linebacker Dave Robinson ("Class of

1959") earned his two Super Bowl rings when the Green Bay

Packers won the first two Super Bowls played.

MAY 13 CHUCKBIT Ten

years ago this month, on May

23, 2008 , in a South Jersey

Group IV quarterfinal baseball game, 13th-seeded Cherry Hill

East upset 5th-seeded Millville, 11-5, by intentionally walking

Millville junior outfielder and future Major League Baseball

prodigy Mike Trout three times, including

once with the bases loaded .

Once the game began, Trout, leading off as usual, was

intentionally walked. Next at-bat with a runner on first, he was

intentionally walked again. On his third at-bat with the bases

loaded, in a show of utmost respect, he was intentionally

walked, allowing a run to score. On Trout's final at-bat, Cherry

Hill East had a good lead and with the game looking safe, East

coach Erik Radbill let his pitcher throw to Trout,

enabling the host of professional scouts in attendance see what

they came to see. Trout rocketed a line drive through the box,

almost decapitating the Cherry Hill East pitcher. In modern Major League Baseball history, only two players have been intentionally walked with the bases

loaded. In 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks intentionally walked Barry Bonds with the bases

loaded, and in 2008 with the bases loaded, the Tampa Bay Rays

intentionally walked Josh Hamilton of the Texas

Rangers.

MARCH 22 CHUCKBIT Seventy-three years go on St. Patrick's Day,

March 17, 1945, the New Jersey Group A (only Non-Public Group in

those days) state championship game was played at the Elizabeth,

NJ Armory. In that game, tiny St. Cecilia of Englewood shocked

Trenton Catholic, 55-51. The St. Cecilia coach was a 32-year old

former Fordham University football lineman, who taught physics,

chemistry, and Latin at the small Catholic high school by the

name of Vince Lombardi . Even though football was

Lombardi's first love, he still won 105 varsity

basketball games in his time at St. Cecilia.

Ironically, in the NFL as head coach of the Green Bay Packers

and Washington Redskins, he also won 105 games . Of course, the Super Bowl Trophy, with his name

etched on it, now resides in the City of Brotherly Love.