| 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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JO JO MACKEY
Charter member, inducted with the first class of honorees in 1974 ... 1963 Haverstraw H.S. alumnus ... one of the true superstars in Rockland athletic history ... led Haverstraw to eight consecutive major sports championships from 1960 to 1962 ... outstanding baseball, football and basketball player who went on to play minor league baseball in the New York Yankees organization, reaching Triple A ... earned first-team All-Rockland honors eight times ... was first-team All-County three times as a quarterback (and honorable mention All-County as a freshman quarterback) ... in baseball, he was twice All-County as a pitcher and once as a shortstop ... and in basketball, he gained All-Rockland laurels as a junior and senior ... in his four-year football career, he scored 141 points and threw for 17 touchdowns ... in basketball, he scored 758 points in three years and led the Rockland PSAL in scoring as a sophomore ... in baseball, he batted .320 as a freshman while playing shortstop for the varsity, and earned second-team All-County notice ... as a pitcher and shortstop his sophomore year, he hit .502 and had a 7-1 pitching record ... as a junior he was 7-0 as a pitcher and batted .426 ... he batted .317 as a senior shortstop, and threw a no-hitter against Clarkstown ... during his minor league career with the Yankees, he batted .219 and won several Gold Glove awards for his fielding ... he played in Triple A with Syracuse in 1968 and Buffalo in 1969, his final season ... later starred in local recreation softball as an infielder with Orange Lantern ... in youth baseball, Mackey led Haverstraw to New York State titles in Babe Ruth Baseball in 1958 and in Connie Mack Baseball in 1962. |
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ROCCO MARANO
Gained admittance in 1998... 1945 Haverstraw HS graduate...starred as a forward in basketball and as a defensive end in football...in basketball, his senior year he was team captain, made All-County, and helped lead Haverstraw to the Section 9 championship...as a junior, he was integral part of Bricktowners' co-championship club...also contributed greatly to Haverstraw's county co-championship football squad his senior year...earned three varsity letters in basketball and two in football...played semipro basketball with Haverstraw Knights of Columbus, St. Peter's Holy Name and the Letchworth Village Big Five in Rockland and the metro area...later rose to become CEo of New Jersey Blue Cross/Blue Sheild...retired and lives with wife, mary, in Chatham Township, N.J. |
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BOB MATHIAS
Elected in 1986 ... graduated from Clarkstown H.S. in 1972 ... one of the greatest players ever to grace a basketball court in Rockland ... 6-foot-7, 230-lb. center ... from his first game as a seventh grader to his final game as a senior, his teams never lost to a Rockland opponent, a streak of 82 games, including 56 varsity games ... he led the talented Clarkstown teams to four straight Rockland PSAL titles, and the Section 9 Class A championship in 1972 ... at one time Mathias held no fewer than 13 Rockland basketball records, including points in a game (54), season (526) and career (1,427); rebounds in a game (33), season (298) and career (439); highest career scoring average per game (28.8) and rebounding average in a season (21.3); most times scoring more than 30 points in a season, 10; several records for field goals and free throws ... he was first-team All-County his junior and senior years, and was named to several All-America teams his senior year ... he earned a full basketball scholarship to the University of South Carolina, where he played as an undersized center with teammates like Alex English, Brian Winters and Kevin Joyce ... as a center, he battled with such notable players as Maurice Lucas, Kent Benson, John Shumate and Alvan Adams ... he played four years on the varsity at South Carolina under Coach Frank McGuire ... Mathias was named the “Best Ever” male athlete at Clarkstown/Clarkstown North by readers of the Rockland Journal-News in 1988.
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JOE McDOWELL
Inducted in 1995 ... came to Nyack in 1952 on a student teaching assignment ... by the time he retired in 1985, McDowell built a legacy as a successful and well-respected track and cross country coach, beloved art teacher, outstanding sportsman and humanitarian ... following a two-year commitment in the Army, he spent 31 years at Nyack ... he coached spring track for 29 years, 25 of them as head coach, 28 years as head cross country coach, and six years as head indoor track coach ... his teams won six Rockland County PSAL championships and eight Section 9 titles ... four of his athletes won New York State individual titles, one was an Eastern States champion, and two competed in the prestigious Golden West Invitational in California ... McDowell earned five Coach of the Year awards ... his spring track dual-meet record was 119 victories and 73 losses for a .613 winning percentage ... that record includes a 24-meet winning streak in league dual meets ... upon retirement, McDowell moved to Sidney, N.Y., and served for seven years as an assistant indoor and outdoor track coach at Hartwick College ... thus, his coaching tenure spanned 36 years and 77 seasons ... McDowell died in 1995.
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HOWIE MCNIFF
1973 Albertus Magnus alumnus...one of Rockland's finest ditance runners ever...he was the first runner in NY State history to win state indivdual titles in all three seasons of one school year, the Class B title in cross-country, the two mile championship in indoor track, and the mile crown in spring track...his best 2-mile time was 9:07.3, is fourth fastest in state indoor history...he also clocked in at 9:09.8 which missed the existing national flat-floor record by sixth tenths of a second...was Eastern States "C" race champion in cross country his senior year...ran personal best mile, 4:15.1 at the state outdoor championships...won numerous Rockland and Section 9 titles...at Fordham, he earned 12 varsity letters...posted best time of 4:07 for the mile, 4th best by a Rocklander and 8:50 for the two mile, 2nd best...later ran the second-fastest marathon ever by a Rocklander: 2:24:11...is a NY State Senior Court Officer and lives in Pearl River with his wife, Laura and two sons. |
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SYLVESTER “MOLLY” McGEE
Entered in 1986 ... 1970 graduate of North Rockland H.S. (was Haverstraw H.S. until that year) ... starred in football and baseball at Haverstraw and North Rockland, then went on to a football career that included five seasons of pro football, including one in the National Football League with the Atlanta Falcons ... in baseball, he was a three-time All-County center fielder and made the Daily News All-Star team his junior year ... in football, under coach Ralph Cordisco, he was a two-time All-Rockland running back, a Daily News All-Star and second-team All-New York State ... he earned a scholarship to the University of Rhode Island, where he was a three-time, first-team All-Yankee Conference running back ... also was first-team All-East tailback in 1972 ... after graduation he was an 11th-round draft choice by Atlanta in 1974 ... in 1980, he was voted to the University of Rhode Island team of the decade ... in his NFL rookie season, the 5-foot-11, 200-lb. McGee played two games at starting running back during a players’ strike ... after it was settled, he became a kickoff return specialist and backup running back ... in 1975, he played in all three pro leagues: the Falcons cut him during the exhibition season after he suffered a shoulder injury; he played with theCharlotte Hornets of the World Football League, which folded in midseason; and finished the season with the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League ... in 1976, he played 12 games with Ottawa, was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, and led the league in kickoff return yardage ... that year he played in the Grey Cup, Canada’s Super Bowl, with Ottawa defeating Saskatchewan, 23-20 ... McGee played three more full seasons, 1977 to 1979, as a running back and was the CFL’s leading receiver in 1978 with 68 catches... a serious knee injury during the 1980 season ended his pro career. |
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ED McGRATH
Inducted in 1982 ... the ultra-successful Clarkstown H.S. basketball coach for 20 seasons, 1957 to 1976 ... between 1963 and 1972, his teams won 136 games and lost only 14 ... that includes a record 56 consecutive victories in Rockland PSAL competition, and three straight unbeaten PSAL seasons ... McGrath’s teams won 10 Rockland County PSAL championships, eight of them outright ... his career coaching record was 190 wins, 92 defeats ... his great 1972 club, anchored by Hall of Fame center Bob Mathias, captured the Section 9 Class A championship ... that was the farthest his team could go, since there was no New York State tournament at that time ... Clarkstown won four straight Rockland PSAL titles twice under McGrath, 1963 to 1966, and 1969 to 1972 ... McGrath won Coach of the Year honors 10 times ... his teams were always well-coached and fundamentally sound ... as an athlete, McGrath won seven letters in baseball and basketball at St. Michael’s High School in Northampton, Mass., and nine varsity letters in basketball, baseball and soccer at the University of Massachusetts ... he captained many of his high school and college teams ... as a senior, he was selected as an All-America soccer goalie. |
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DENISE McGUIRE
Elected in 1990 ... Pearl River H.S., Class of 1979 ... regarded in some circles as the finest female basketball player in Rockland scholastic history ... was the first Rockland girl to score 1,000 career points, and finished with a record 1,476 points (since broken) ... a four-year varsity starter who averaged better than 20 points per game her last three years ... dynamic guard who could drive and shoot from outside, exceptional passer and defender ... her senior year, led undefeated Pirates to Division, Rockland PSAL, Section 9 and state Regional titles, the farthest a team could advance at that time ... unanimous first-team All-County three straight years ... in 1979, named to Adidas Scholastic Coach Magazine All-America girls’ basketball team, and the 1979 National Prep All-America girls’ sports team ... as a freshman, helped lead Pearl River to a 22-0 season, Rockland PSAL and Section 9 titles ... was class valedictorian with 98 average and class president all four years... also excelled at tennis and softball ... McGuire was voted Pearl River’s “Best Ever” female athlete by Rockland Journal-News readers in 1988 ... she earned a scholarship to Stanford University, where she was starting point guard on a team that won 42 and lost 12 in McGuire’s first two years, and went to the NCAA Tournament both years ... she was an NCAA Scholar-Athlete both years as well ... earned Phi Beta Kappa honors at Stanford ... after graduation, she worked with Mother Teresa and her Sisters of Charity in Calcutta, India, and later for Catholic Relief Services coordinating health care and agricultural programs for the poor throughout Southeast Asia. |
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JOHN MERCURIO
Gained induction in 1992 ... Tappan Zee H.S. graduate ... founded the Rockland County Sports Hall of Records in 1980 and wrote a 300-plus-page book that chronicles the achievements of the county’s top athletes and teams from 1900 to 1981 ... former chairman of the Rockland Hall of Fame’s screening committee ... professional softball player ... played one season for the Philadelphia Patriots in the Professional Major League Softball League ... batted .240 with 2 home runs, 3 triples, 10 doubles and 18 RBI ... in 39 straight years of playing amateur softball in Rockland, he never batted below .300 ... played 13 years of Major League Softball with the Hawthorne (N.J.) Chevies of the Eastern Seaboard League ... played on 10 New Jersey state championship teams, and went to the World Fast-Pitch Tournament twice ... won the batting title and was MVP in a New York-New Jersey-Connecticut regional tournament, getting 11 hits in 17 at-bats for a .647 batting average ... at Tappan Zee in the early 1950s, he made first team All-County in baseball, second team All-County in basketball, and honorable mention in football ... at Manhattan College, he compiled a .314 average in three years on varsity with only six strikeouts ... he played semipro base-ball for eight years with the County Welders, Spring Valley Bengals and Emerson-Westwood Merchants ... in amateur basketball, he averaged 15 points per game over eight years in the Rockland County Men’s League ... Mercurio has written more than 40 books, mostly chronologies of sports statistical categories, and at least four have been published. |
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NICK MOTTOLA
Installed in 1978 ... came to Rockland in 1948 as a coach at Tappan Zee H.S. ... during the next six years, his teams proceeded to win six Rockland PSAL titles, one co-championship, and four Section 9 titles, all in basketball (1951 through 1954) ... under Mottola, the Flying Dutchmen, led by a group of multi-talented athletes like Joe D’Auria, Howie Pierson and Hubie Nealy, won the county football title in 1950 and 1953, shared the championship with Pearl River in 1949, captured the PSAL basketball crown in 1953 and 1954 (as well as those four Section 9 Class C banners), and repeated as county baseball champs in 1953 and ‘54 ... in six years coaching football at TZ, he posted a 39-5 record with two undefeated seasons ... after a two-year stint as athletic director and football coach at East Meadow H.S. on Long Island, Mottola returned to Rockland in 1956 to become football coach at Suffern H.S. ... his 1959 gridiron squad shared the county championship with Nyack ... Mottola retired from coaching in 1966 and spent the next 10 years as Suffern’s athletic director ... during that time Suffern won Rockland or Section 9 championships in various sports, including football, cross country, wrestling, lacrosse and ice hockey ... he was a Rockland PSAL and Section 9 wrestling chairman for several years ... Mottola grew up in Tuxedo in Orange County and led the school’s basketball team to 22 straight wins and Orange County and Section 9 crowns ... after graduating from Temple University, he signed with the Boston Red Sox as a left-handed-hitting first baseman ... a knee injury ended his playing career after two years, 1939-40 ... coached nine championship teams in baseball, basketball and cross country at Riverhead (L.I.) H.S. from 1945 to ‘48. |
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TOM MOUNKHALL
Elected in 1997 ... graduated from Albertus Magnus H.S. in 1962 ... all-star basketball player for the Falcons who later became a highly successful tennis coach at Spring Valley H.S. ... had to play junior varsity basketball his first two years at Albertus because the school did not yet offer varsity basketball ... he made first-team All-County his junior and senior years, and led Rockland County in scoring both years, averaging 22.1 and 23.5 points per game, respectively ... scored 802 points in those two seasons ... led the county in rebounding both years, as well, with a career average of 15 rebounds per game ... led Albertus to a .750 winning percentage his senior year ... he was also a two-year starter in center field for the Falcons’ baseball team, and hit what is considered one of the longest home runs in county scholastic history, well beyond 400 feet over the left-field fence at Tappan Zee ... he also ran varsity cross country and some relay legs in invitationals for the track team ... he earned a full scholarship to NCAA Division I Holy Cross College, where he was a three-year varsity letterman, an occasional starter and valuable sixth man ... for 10 years he assisted Lou Kliewe (his high school coach at Albertus) for the very successful Spring Valley basketball team ... Mounkhall’s greatest coaching impact came in tennis, where he took a nondescript Spring Valley program and molded it into a consistent winner ... during his 23-year coaching tenure from 1973 to 1996, the Tigers won more than a dozen league titles, including seven straight from 1979 to ‘85 ... he developed more than 50 All-League singles players, including Steve Feinberg, rated by some as Rockland’s finest ever ... Mounkhall also groomed more than 100 All-League doubles players and more than 30 students who went on to play in college ... Mounkhall was Rockland PSAL and Section 9 tennis chairman for many years ... longtime social studies teacher at Spring Valley H.S. |
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JEFFREY MUNSON
Inducted in 1980 ... Tappan Zee H.S., Class of 1956 ... Munson accomplished more athletically by age 16 than most people do in a lifetime ... champion trapshooter ... in 1949, at age 10, he won the junior championship of the Rockland Shooting Club in Orangeburg ... at age 11, he captured the New York State Junior Championship and the state Junior Yardage Championship, both at Buffalo ... at age 12, he was runner-up in the Junior Championship of America at the New York Athletic Club in Travers Island, New York City ... the same year, 1951, he won the New York State Handicap Championship in Canandaigua ... Munson went on to win the New York State Junior Championship in 1952 and 1953, and won the Junior Championship of America in 1954 ... in 1953, at age 14, he was overall High Gun on Championship Day, breaking the final 125 targets without a miss to break a tie with four other competitors ... other top performances included winning the J. Fred Geist trophy at the Rockland Shooting Club in 1951; finishing second in the state Junior Championship in Syracuse in 1949; runner-up in the Wayne County (Pa.) Trapshooting Championship, also in 1949; and winning the Class C Championship of the North Jersey Gun Club in 1950, at age 12 ... he learned to shoot clay targets at age 9, in a quarry in Garnerville, using a .410 gauge shotgun, under the guidance of his father, Dr. Albert W. Munson ... all of Munson’s competition shooting was done using a Winchester Model 12 trap gun in 12 gauge ... he retired from active competition following the 1954 Championships of America ... after graduation from Tappan Zee, Munson attended Colgate and then dental school at the University of Pennsylvania, and became a dentist in private practice, first with his father in Sparkill, then in Brattleboro, Vt. |
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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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