| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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Harry Babcock
Elected in 1996 ... 1949 Pearl River H.S. graduate ... first player chosen in 1953 National Football League draft, taken by the San Francisco 49ers, with whom he played until injuries forced him to retire in 1956 ... while at Pearl River, made second-team All-County as a single-wing blocking back in football, and also was All-County as a basketball forward and baseball catcher ... at the University of Georgia, he was converted to offensive end and made All-Southeastern Conference in 1951, leading the circuit with 41 receptions for 666 yards ... was a three-year starter at that position, breaking the school records for receiving yardage and receptions ... he scored the winning touchdown for the East in the 1952 East-West Shrine Game ... also batted .323 as cleanup hitter for the Georgia baseball team in 1951... he was an All-SEC center fielder that year.
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Bob Bacheller
Elected in 1979 ... Congers H.S. Class of 1929 ... earned 16 letters in baseball, basketball, track and tennis at Congers, and captained the baseball and basketball teams for three years ... his name is synonymous with tennis in Rockland County ... after excelling at Colgate University, including winning the Eastern Division Doubles Tournament with partner Ted Kaiser, he went on to a superb tennis career ... among his many titles are the 1931 Rockland-Bergen Men’s Doubles Championship with Orville Lewis of Haverstraw, the Steingester singles title in 1933 and ‘34, the Hudson Valley singles title in 1936, the 1939 Rockland County Men’s Singles crown, the 1952 Rockland mixed doubles title with his wife, Elaine, and the Rockland-Bergen doubles championship with McDonald Deming in 1961 ... Bacheller was one of the premier players in the country in the 65-and-older age group ... he was ranked in the top 10 in the East in all of the senior age groups he played in ... Bacheller was a tireless ambassador for tennis who helped form the Nyack Field Club (the site of many major tournaments) and lobbied successfully for the construction of tennis courts in Clarkstown, where he sat on the school board.
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Ron Becraft
Elected in 1988 ... graduated from Suffern H.S. in 1949 ... a second-team All-County basketball player who averaged 9.8 points per game to help lead the Mounties to their fourth straight Rockland PSAL title in 1948 ... also lettered in baseball as a pitcher and first baseman ... at Cortland State, he led his team to 29 consecutive victories and established a school scoring record (since broken) of 16.6 points per game ... Becraft went on to star in local amateur basketball leagues ... in 1956, he averaged 40 points per game, and in 1957 he led County Welding to the league crown by averaging 29 points per game ... that same year, he led a Rockland all-star unit against the New York Knicks; Becraft outscored the Knicks’ renowned Connie Simmons in that game ... he once scored 56 points in a game. |
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JOE BIDDY
Suffern High School
Suffern High School’s track and cross country
history is legendary. With Hall of Fame athletes
such as Ervin Levine, Ralph Consiglio, and Tim
St. Lawerence, and coaches like Joe St.
Lawerence, Nick Mottola, and David Gaunt,
the foundations of the programs were in good
shape. Then along came Joe Biddy, and he
brought the programs to new heights.
Joe arrived in Suffern in 1967 and served as an
assistant coach for two years. In 1969 Joe was
elevated to the position of Head Boys’ Cross
Country Coach. After 40 years and a lot of
miles, Joe’s boys’ cross country team total stands
at 616 career victories (522 duals and 94 invita-
tionals), which is the New York State career
record. During that time his teams won 13
league titles, 13 county meet titles, 15 sectional
Class A titles, 2 New York State Public School
team titles(1993, 1999), and one New York
State Federation Team title (1993). From 1986-
1995 Joe Biddy’s Suffern boys’ team compiled a
132 dual meet win streak, which is still a record
for a Rockland County boys’ team. Individually,
Joe has coached over 75 first team All County
runners and one of his athletes, Justin
Romaniuk, went on to win the New York State
title in 1999.
In 1973, after only a year of the program’s existence,
Joe took over the reins of the Boys’ Indoor
Track and Field program. And when the Girls’
indoor track program was started in 1978, Joe
was appointed as the Head Coach of Boys’ and
Girls’ Indoor Track, a position, along with Boys’
Cross Country Coach, that he still holds to this
day. Joe’s boys’ teams have won 61 invitational
meets, 7 league titles, 9 Rockland County meet
titles, and 17 Sectional team titles. The girls’
teams have gone on to win 120 invitational
meets, 23 league titles, 24 Rockland County
meet titles and 18 Sectional team titles. During
that time, Joe has coached 106 Boys Rockland
County Individual Champions and 170 Girls
Rockland County Individual Champions.
On the State and National level, the Suffern
Boys’ and Girls’ Indoor Track Team coached by
Joe Biddy has been outstanding. The team has
had 126 sectional champions qualify for the
New York State meet. From that 126, 53 went
on to become New York State Champions. Joe
sent 46 Sectional relay teams to the New York
State meet and had 43 place winners. Suffern
has won 10 New York State Federation relay
titles at various distances and the Girls’ team
won the a State Federation relay title six years
in a row (2001-06), the only school, boys or
girls, to achieve that feat. On the National
level, Joe has had 2 individual champions and 3
relay champions.
In 2006 Suffern High started a Girls’ Golf team
and, because of his love of the sport, Joe
became the Girls’ Golf coach. In the three years
that Joe coached the Girls’ Golf team, they won
2 Rockland County tournament titles.
If you put together all of Joe’s championships,
the record is astounding: 43 league meet titles,
48 county meet titles, 50 sectional titles. In
addition to that, Joe was selected as “Coach of
the Year” by the Journal News over 40 times,
and, in 2000, he was selected by a committee of
county coaches as the “Boys’ Cross Country
Coach of the Millennium” Joe and his wife
Barbara, live in New City, and have two children,
Marci, 34 and Gregory 30. |
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Jay Bohnel
Elected in 1993 ... 1959 Pearl River H.S. alumnus ... fleet-footed, elusive halfback who played three years of varsity football, co-captained the team for two years and was instrumental in Pearl River’s undefeated 1958 PSAL championship team ... unanimous first-team All-County selection ... scored 20 touchdowns over three seasons ... once held Rockland record for longest run from scrimmage, 90 yards ... earned 13 varsity letters in football, baseball, basketball, track and volleyball ... All-County baseball second baseman in 1959 ... as a sophomore, broke the previous Rockland County record for the half-mile in track (while finishing second to Tappan Zee’s Gene Martin) ... two-year varsity wingback and safety for Rutgers University, contributing to Scarlet Knights’ undefeated (10-0) 1961 campaign ... helped organize Buc Eleven Gridiron Club and the Alumni Football program in Pearl River ... held leadership positions for many years in Pop Warner Football and in the Monsey and Spring Valley Little Leagues ... assistant coach for the ultra-successful Fred Eller Post OTB Pirates American Legion baseball team.
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Josh Bolack
Elected in 1985 ... Haverstraw H.S., Class of 1942 ... great all-round athlete whose best sport was baseball ... four-year varsity performer and two-year All-County shortstop ... also earned All-County laurels as a soccer forward and basketball guard ... in addition, won varsity letters as a tailback in football and pole vaulter in track ... played on several championship and all-star baseball teams while serving military duty in the Army... once played on a service all-star team with Ted Williams, a club managed by Babe Ruth ... later played minor-league baseball for the Class C Stockton Ports of the California League ... as the everyday shortstop, Bolack helped the team win the league and playoff titles ... set a league record with hits in eight straight at bats ... played for the Providence Chiefs for two years before retiring ... helped found the Haverstraw Red Raider Midgets football program ... was very active in local youth baseball and basketball leagues as well. |
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Jerry Bonomolo
Elected in 1992 ... 1951 Pearl River H.S. graduate ... attained high levels of success in each sport he played ... made All-County in football, baseball and basketball ... led Rockland PSAL basketball circuit in scoring his senior year and was the county’s Most Valuable Player ... in his four years of varsity baseball, Pearl River was county champion twice ... the Pirates earned one county co-championship in his three years of varsity football, and in his two seasons of varsity basketball, Bonomolo led his team to one Section 9 title, one outright Rockland championship and one co-championship... after his high school playing days, he was a key cog on the County Welders’ championship team in Rockland amateur basketball, and excelled during a 10-year rec softball career ... Bonomolo enjoyed a successful 20-year career as a coach at Nanuet High School ... the Golden Knights’ basketball team won three sectional titles in the ‘70s under Bonomolo, who amassed more than 150 career wins ... he was the New York Daily News Coach of the Year in1974-75 ... Bonomolo also was varsity golf coach for six years, earning a league title one year, and was an assistant football, baseball and volleyball coach. |
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Marvin Branche
Inducted in 1984 ... 1950 Spring Valley H.S. graduate ... one of Rockland County’s all-time great weightmen in track and field ... dubbed “the greatest all-around trackman in two decades” in Rockland in a 1950 Journal-News article ... that year, he set a County discus record — 160 feet, 3 inches — that stood for 25 years ... was Rockland record-holder in the javelin for 31 years ... his County shot put mark of 51-6 1/2 wasn’t surpassed for 20 years ... a left-hander who won throwing righty on those occasions when his throwing elbow was sore ... also showed great speed as part of the Tigers’ 440- and 880-yard relay teams that competed in the 1949 state meet, and turned in some stellar 440-yard dash efforts ... a bruising fullback in football and top-notch heavyweight wrestler, he earned 11 letters in five sports (basketball and baseball were the others) ... at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., he routinely competed in four to six events per meet, frequently winning most of them ... against Valley Forge Military Academy, he won six events in one day (100, 120-yard high hurdles, shot put, long jump, discus, javelin) and tied for first in the high jump ... he also starred as a heavyweight wrestler and as an offensive and defensive end in football.
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Jim Brechbiel
Elected in 1983 ... one fo the finest running backs in Rockland gridiron scholastic annals...dominant player on the dominant North Rockland teams of 69-71. New York State Player of the Year in 1971...four year varsity player...led the Red Raiders to 17 straight victories his junior and senior seasons. Reliable placekicker as well...his junior year he set a one season record of 1,109 yards and 120 points and made All-County. |
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Darryl Brown
Elected in 1988 ... 1972 Nanuet H.S. alumnus ... considered by many Nanuet’s best basketball player ever, and one of the top performers in County history... concluded his three-year varsity career with 1,188 points, then a Rockland record ... lithe 6-foot-7 pivotman whose quickness and sinewy strength enabled him to dominate inside with deft moves and fakes ... smooth shooter from outside, too ... led Nanuet to Section 9 Class B championship his senior year ... two-time All-County selection ... New York Daily News first-team All-Star ... also excelled in track as Rockland and Section 9 high jump and triple jump champion, and former county record-holder in both events ... at Fordham University, he graduated as the school’s ninth-leading all-time scorer with 1,233 points ... his junior year, Brown was named MVP of the ECAC Holiday Festival for leading the Rams to the tourney title ... he was a third-team All-America and first-team Academic All-America, as well as two-year Fordham MVP ... Brown played professionally in Sweden for two years after being drafted by the Boston Celtics and being the team’s final roster cut in 1975 and ‘76. |
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JEFF BROWN
Clarkstown South
When Jeff Brown first stepped onto the
basketball court, no one knew how far that first
step would take him. Now Jeff is one of the
most respected and successful college basket-
ball coaches in the North East.
During his high school years at Clarkstown
South, Jeff was a three time All-County selection.
In his senior year, Jeff averaged an astounding
26.9 points a game and set the Rockland
County career scoring record in 1978 with
1,428 points. This record lasted for nine years
until Bill Kurisko of Nanuet exceeded it by 16
points. Jeff then held on to the second spot in
career scoring for the next 18 years. He is gen-
erally acknowledged as the best basketball player
in Clarkstown South’s history. In his senior year,
Jeff lead his undefeated (20 wins) team into the
New York State regional finals against a power-
house and also undefeated Mount Vernon team
that boasted two future NBA players (the
McCray brothers). Unfortunately, Jeff and the
Clarkstown South team fell short of their goal
of a victory against Mount Vernon and a state
championship, but wound up as the number 3
ranked high school team in New York State.
Jeff earned a basketball scholarship to the
University of Vermont and went on to have a
highly successful career there. By the time he
graduated from Vermont, Jeff scored 1,336
points and became the third highest scorer in
the school’s history. Today Jeff ranks 10th on
the scoring list. Jeff captained his team his sen-
ior year, and was selected honorable mention
All New England. For these accomplishments
Jeff was inducted into the University of
Vermont’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
After graduation, Jeff spent three years as the
top assistant basketball coach at Manhattan
College where he built his reputation as a first
rate recruiter and strategist. In 1985 Jeff
returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach
for nine years. At Vermont his responsibilities
included advance scouting, player develop- ment, on the floor coaching, and game-day
preparations. In 1994 Jeff took over the head
coaching position at Bates College in Lewiston,
Maine. In 1997 Jeff landed the job as the head
coach at Middlebury College and is still there
today. This year Coach Brown was the unanimous
choice of the NESCAC (New England Small
College Athletic Conference) as Coach of the
Year after leading his team to its first conference
championship with a 24-3 record. He is now in
his 12th year at the helm of the Middlebury
Panthers, and over the last two seasons, the
Panthers have a record of 43-11 and two
straight NCAA tournament appearances.
When basketball season is over Jeff is also the
assistant Girls soccer coach at Middlebury
College, plus he donates his time to the
Middlebury Special Olympics and is a community
United Way fundraiser. He lives in Middlebury
with his wife Renee and three lovely daughters,
Vanessa 21, Michelle 19, and Nicole 15. |
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Jim Brown
Inducted in 1978 ... Nyack H.S., Class of 1952 ... One of the foremost recreation softball players ever in Rockland County ... for more than a quarter-century, he dazzled opponents with his searing line drives, rifle arm as acatcher, and unflappable clutch hitting ... known for his prodigious home run power ... began playing softball at the callow age of 15 and just got better and better ... he led the famed Apollo XII team to five straight major tournament championships, three in the Deer Head tourney and two in the Haverstraw tournament ... was voted best hitter in the 1974 Haverstraw Tournament.. played major-league softball with the Hawthorne Chevys of the Atlantic Seaboard Softball League ... in 1965, hit one of the longest home runs ever at Suffern Athletic Field ... also hit the longest home run on record at Baer Park in Reading, Pa. ... also played for the great Orange Lantern teams... in high school, Brown was All-County in football, basketball and baseball... in basketball, he led Nyack to the Section 9 Class A title in 1950 and a co-championship in the RCPSAL in 1950-51 ... batted better than .400 as an All-Rockland shortstop. |
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Roger Brown
Elected in 1975, the second class of inductees ... a 1956 Nyack H.S. graduate... during an outstanding 10-year career in the National Football League, which ended in 1969, Brown, a 300-pound defensive tackle, was named All-Pro four times, played in the Pro Bowl six times, and was chosen the NFL Lineman of the Year in 1962 ... the defensive front four of both teams he played with, the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, gained the nickname “Fearsome Foursome.” ... with the Lions, he was joined by Alex Karras, Darris McCord and Sam Williams ... the Rams’ front line was even more well-known, with the likes of Brown, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones and Lamar Lundy ... in high school, Brown was an unstoppable 245-pound fullback who led the Rockland PSAL in scoring in the 1954 and 1955 seasons ... Brown was a standout in other sports as well while at Nyack ... he was a Rockland and Section 9 champion in wrestling and in track and field as a discus thrower ... Brown also starred on the gridiron in college at Maryland State ... he is also a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. |
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Lew Brundage
Elected in 1991 ... 1951 Pearl River H.S. graduate ... the “go-to” player for the Pirate football teams in 1949 and ‘50 ... the fireplug halfback led Rockland in scoring his junior year with 69 points on 11 touchdowns and three conversions ... was third-leading scorer in the county his senior year... Brundage was first-team All-County in 1949 and ‘50, and second team in 1948 ... thrived in Coach Ira Shuttleworth’s Single Wing offense ... produced 11th-hour heroics on several occasions to help lift Pearl River to victory... teamed with Jerry Bonomolo for dynamic one-two punch ... also was a fine track sprinter who clocked 10.3 seconds for the 100-yard dash ... a key player on Pirates’ 1950 Rockland PSAL championship squad ... Brundage later devoted a great deal of time to the Pearl River Alumni football team, which he coached for many years, and the Pearl River Midget football program, which he coached for 11 years. |
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Johnny Burns
Inducted posthumously in 1991 ... honored for his varied contributions to athletics in Rockland ... trailblazer in the development of sports activities for persons with disabilities ... promoter extraordinaire ... boxing referee... instructor, organizer, selfless humanitarian ... came to Rockland County from Long Island in 1925, started out as an attendant at Letchworth Village Developmental Center and rose to become recreation director ... launched sports programs for Letchworth residents that were the precursor of Special Olympics competitions ... Burns organized, developed and promoted the Letchworth Big 5, a crackerjack team of Rockland basketball players with a wide following ... Burns promoted offbeat but popular events like the swim across the Hudson and a race to High Tor mountain and back ... also helped develop minstrel shows for the children at Letchworth, and formed the Calypso Band, which performed annually at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City ... he was a regular boxing referee at televised fights originating from arenas in Queens ... after leaving Letchworth in 1957, he worked at an orphanage on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he helped train Alan Hannon, who fought for the light heavyweight title ... Burns died in 1968 at age 73.
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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
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