| 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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HUBERT NEALY
Entered in 1994 ... 1954 Tappan Zee H.S. alumnus ... in the early 1950s, Tappan Zee was blessed with an abundance of versatile, multi-sport athletes, and Nealy was one of the linchpins of those Flying Dutchmen squads ... deaf since childhood, but didn’t let it deter him at all .. three-time first team All-County pitcher in baseball, helping lead TZ to Rockland PSAL titles in 1953 and 1954 ... in basketball, he made first-team All-County twice and second-team once ... he was instrumental in Tappan Zee’s county PSAL basketball championships in 1953 and 1954, and in the Dutchies’ four straight Section 9 Class C titles ... he also was a two-time first team All-County performer in football, and a key member of the Dutchmen’s undefeated PSAL championship squad his senior year ... Nealy’s high school pitching record was 23 wins and only 3 losses, with two no-hitters and two one-hitters ... Nealy played one season of minor league baseball for the New York Giants’ affiliate in the West Texas/New Mexico League ... in basketball, he was named Most Valuable Player of the 1954 Rockland County Invitational Basketball Tournament while playing for the Tappan Zee All-Stars ... he also was the Most Valuable Player in the 1957 St. Peter’s Basketball Tournament in Haverstraw.
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FRANK NELSON
Enshrined in 1989 ... came to Nyack H.S. in 1950 and in the ensuing 28 years he made his mark — an indelible mark — on Rockland County scholastic soccer ... by the time he coached his final game in 1979 (he took one year off on a sabbatical), he accumulated an overall record of 260 wins, 92 losses and 38 ties ... he stands second among Rockland soccer coaches in career victories, having recently been surpassed by Dennis Pozsar ... Nelson’s soccer teams won 12 league championships — 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 (co-championship with White Plains in the Westchester-Rockland League), 1962, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 ... Nelson was a major catalyst in the growth of Rockland scholastic soccer ... he earned national attention as a soccer coach that culminated in 1971, when he became the first high school coach ever elected president of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America ... in the 1970s, Nyack was a feared powerhouse that put together a 36-game unbeaten streak in Rockland PSAL competition, including 24 straight wins at the front end of the skein ... Nelson developed bushels of quality players, including his son, Randy, and the Innocent brothers, Frantz and Medrick ... Nelson also coached basketball and baseball at Nyack ... he coached basketball from 1950 to 1954, leading the Indians to a share of the county championship with Pearl River in 1950, and earning Coach of the Year laurels in 1951 ... he coached baseball from 1954 to 1969 and won a co-championship with Spring Valley in 1957 ... Nelson himself gained All-America recognition as a soccer player at the University of North Carolina ... after retiring from Nyack, he moved to Lancaster, Pa., and coached the women’s soccer team at Franklin and Marshall College for a few years.
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Class of 1970
Nyack
Randy Nelson was an outstanding four sport star at Nyack High School who went on to become an All American soccer player at West Point. As a sophomore on the baseball team, Randy was the second leading hitter in the Rockland County P.S.A.L. and garnered All County honors. In his junior year, Randy switched sports in the spring and joined the fledgling Nyack lacrosse team. The lacrosse team played in the Hudson Valley League, which covered Rockland, Westchester, and Putnam Counties. As a senior, he was selected for first team All League recognition as a defenseman. For two years, Randy was the starting point guard on the basketball team and led a very good Nyack team to second place finishes in the Rockland County P.S.A.L.. Standing 5’4” and weighing 125 lbs., Randy proved that he could compete with the “big boys”.
But it was the sport of soccer at which Randy
excelled. During his three years on the Nyack
High School’s soccer team, Randy accounted
for 97 points, which included a then county
record of 32 goals and 15 assists in 1970. That
year Randy was selected as a first team Region
2 All American by the National Soccer
Coaches’ Association. He led his team to three
county championships and two sectional titles,
along the way being selected first team All
County and All Section 9 three times.
After high school, Randy received an appointment
to the United States Military Academy at
West Point. As a plebe, he began his four year
stint as a starter on the soccer team and was an
All New York State collegiate selection. Cadet
Nelson was the first freshman to play varsity
sports at West Point since the Korean War. He
finished his college career ranking second in
goals (37) and assists (19). His total of 56 points
placed him fifth on the West Point all time scoring
list. In 1974, his senior year, Randy earned All
American Honors. Randy also became the first
West Point soccer player to be drafted by the
North American Soccer League, and had two
practices with the New York Cosmos. His five
year military commitment prevented him from
pursuing a professional career, and Randy was
off to Germany.
When his military commitment was over,
Randy went to work for the Duracell battery
company. He continued to play amateur soccer
and 1982 his team played in the finals of the
Colorado State amateur championships.
Randy and his wife, Judy have been married for
27 years and have two children, Alexandria 26,
and Randy 24. They live in Maryland now, and
Randy still works for a battery company that
sells their product to the military.
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JOAN NEUENDORF
Joan Neuendorf straddled two distinct eras in Rockland County athletics. She swam for Tappan Zee High School in the late 1970s, when Rockland schools competed amongst themselves in the Rockland County Public School Athletic League and represented Section 9 along with Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties. During her 18-year tenure as swimming coach at Suffern, she experienced the Rockland schools' realignment and fullfledged membership in Section 1, joining Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess counties.
There is little doubt, however, where her allegiances lie. "Rockland County is very tightknit ," says Neuendorf, a 1979 Tappan Zee alumna. "I'm honored and gratified I had the opportunity to play sports in the county and work with some great coaches here," she says.
"I learned a lot from them. They're a special group."
Neuendorf's days at Tappan Zee were filled with athletic involvement. She remembers taking part in AAU club swimming workouts in the morning Ð her father would drive her and her younger brother, Robert, to Westchester for the sessions Ð then practicing with the Tappan Zee basketball team in the afternoon. She also remembers the TZ girlsÕ swimmers training with the boys' team
"I'd be swimming with guys in my lane" and she especially relishes the memory of the close and exciting rivalry with Suffern.
"We had to sell tickets for the meet," says Neuendorf, whose older brother, Billy, and older sister, Diane, also swam for TZ. "They were sold out. The boys' and girls' meets would be held at the same time, and we would alternate boys' and girls' events. I remember we [Tappan Zee] won both meets by a very close score."
Neuendorf played a major role in the Dutchies' success. Over a sterling four-year varsity swim career, she won seven Rockland County and seven Section 9 titles, in individual or relay events; was undefeated for three straight years in the 100-yard backstroke, setting a school record that lasted 15 years; set school records in the 50 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, and as a member of the 400 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay; and twice swam on 200 medley relay units that finished second in the New York State championship meet. She made All-County and All-Section all four years.
Spearheaded by Neuendorf and a solid nucleus of versatile swimmers, Coach Sarah DeZago's Tappan Zee squad swept the Rockland County title all four years and won the Section 9 title in 1976, 1978 and 1979.
Swimming was Neuendorf's best sport but not her only one. In softball, she was the first-team All-County center fielder in her junior and senior years, and batted .513 as a junior. Tappan Zee shared the County title that year with three other teams, and lost the Section 9 championship game to Suffern by one run. Neuendorf also played three years of varsity basketball, earning honorable mention All-County her senior year and serving as team captain.
At the State University of New York at Cortland, Neuendorf spanned the transition from the AIAW to the NCAA as the governing body for collegiate womenÕs athletics. In her four years at Cortland, Neuendorf earned All-America honors each year, in a total of 11 events. She competed in the last AIAW national championships and the first NCAA Division III championships; held eight school records, two of which still stand, the 100 individual medley and 800 free relay; earned SUNY athletic conference gold medals in the 100, 200 and 400 individual medley and in various relays; captained the team her junior and senior years; and helped lead Cortland to three SUNYAC team championships.
After graduating from Cortland in 1983, Neuendorf embarked on an 18-year coaching career at Suffern. Her girls' swimming teams established themselves as a perennial power. Under Neuendorf's guidance, the Mounties won the Rockland County championship eight consecutive years, 1985 to 1992; captured three Section 1 crowns, and five Divisional and League titles each; compiled an overall dual-meet record of 122 wins and 34 losses; and ended the 1992 season with a No. 2 state ranking, the highest ever attained by a Rockland girls' swim team. Neuendorf was tabbed as Coach of the Year in Rockland County eight times and in Section 1 twice.
In boys' swimming, Neuendorf led the Mounties to an overall dual-meet record of 75 wins and 28 losses; five Divisional titles; and 11 consecutive runner-up finishes (behind Tappan Zee) in the Rockland County championships. She also coached Tate Blahnik, a national high school champion and record holder in the backstroke.
Neuendorf continued her own athletic pursuits beyond college, channeling her energies into a successful recreation softball career. She was a slugging center fielder on the Avon teams that won Ramapo Women's Softball league championships each year from 1984 to 1990, and also starred in the Bergen County and Hoboken womenÕs leagues. Her swimming background helped prepare her for the endurance challenge of finishing a marathon, which she did, in the 1995 New York City Marathon. SheÕs also completed a few triathlons, and still plays golf with many of her longtime friends from the Rockland County athletic community.
Neuendorf, who is 43, is currently director of physical education at Suffern High School. She was named to the WhoÕs Who of AmericaÕs Teachers in 2000 and was also named to the Wall of Tolerance national campaign for teachers in 2001. In addition, she is the incoming president of the Rockland County Coaches Association.
Neuendorf lives in Valley Cottage with her partner, Dawn Sugrue, and their three children:Aedan, age 2; and twins Hunter and Jack, 5 months.
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ROBERT NEUENDORF
For five years, Robert Neuendorf was an important part of one of the most successful high school sports programs in the history of Rockland County, the Tappan Zee High School swimming and diving team. He was
undefeated in dual-meet competition and the Rockland County championships for four years and at the Section 9 championships for three. In 1976, his eighth-grade year, he became the youngest Rockland County swimming champion and meet record holder at the age of 13. He was also a five-time runner-up at the New York State championships. During the course of his high school career, Robert held or broke 15 Rockland County records and six Section 9 records. When he graduated, he held five Section 9 records, seven Rockland County records, and all but one of TZ’s swimming records.
After 27 years, Robert continues to hold a Rockland County record and two school records. In 1980, his senior year, Robert was name Tappan Zee High School’s Male Athlete of the Year, was selected All-State and attained All-America honors. That same year, The Journal News published the top times in Rockland County for the eight individual swimming events and two relays. Robert was ranked first in every event except one. In addition, he became Rockland County's first five-time, first-team, All-County selection, in one sport.
When not competing with Tappan Zee, Robert trained with the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont, New York, a club that has produced several Olympic gold medalists and world record holders. Robert was a member of several nationally ranked Badger relay teams and was a competitor at both the Junior and Senior National Swimming Championships in 1979 and 1980.
Robert is a 1984 graduate of the University of Maryland. He attended Maryland on an athletic scholarship and was a four-year letterman. Maryland competed in the NCAA Division I Atlantic Coast Conference, where Robert was a four-year ACC championship qualifier and finalist. He also set Maryland school records in the 200-yard backstroke, 200-yard freestyle and as a member of the 400-yard medley relay. In 1982, he was selected as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference Honor Roll, an honor that recognized the academic and athletic achievements of its athletes.
In 2004, Robert returned to the world of competitive swimming as a coach for the United States Swimming team the New York Sharks Aquatics. He returned to Tappan Zee as a volunteer coach’s assistant in 2006. Robert is the son of William and Patricia Neuendorf. William has been a Rockland County swim official for more than 30 years. Robert’s brother William and sisters Diane and Joan also swam for Tappan Zee. Joan was a 2004 Rockland County Hall of Fame inductee.
Since 1987, Robert has been a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He has received several meritorious service awards including the Department of Justice Award for Public Service. He married Laura McCloskey in 1988. Laura is the sister of Tappan Zee and Badger teammate James McCloskey, a 1983 New York State swimming champion. Laura and Robert have two sons: 14-year-old Reed, and 12-year-old Lance. Both are members of the Tappan Zee High School swimming and diving team. Reed is a two-time All-County Honorable Mention selection, while Lance competes in diving.
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