Hall of Fame Member Bios 2008

View: Alphabetical List - Members by Induction Class - Biographies

SIX ALL-SOUTH JERSEY GRIDDERS
FROM THE 1920S INDUCTED BY HALL
The Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame is tonight inducting posthumously six football
standouts from the 1920s who achieved All South Jersey honors.
The Colls rose to gridiron greatness under Coach Skeets Irvine during this era. While time
has dimmed the memories, the Hall of Fame would like to recognize their achievements
and pay tribute to these men who set the tone for what followed in the 1930s and beyond.
HARRY NICHOLS ’24 was the quarterback for four years (1920-23), captain of the
team in his junior and senior years and also a four-year letterman in baseball. The Colls
achieved a record of 32-7-3 with him at quarterback. Highlights were running for two
touchdowns, passing for another and kicking five PATs in a 42-0 rout of Haddonfield and
dropkicking a 48-yard field goal with two minutes to go to beat Darby, 10-7.
JIM KNECHT ’24 played only two years of football and one year of basketball due
to an operation. But the rugged tackle made the most of his opportunities. He lived a
lineman’s dream when he picked up a fumble and rambled for a TD in a signature 12-0
win over Camden in 1923.
JOHN ‘REDS’ McCAFFREY ’28 achieved renown as a pass-catching end in an era
when most teams stuck to the ground. In 1927, he caught two TD passes as Bridgeton was
vanquished and pulled in a last-minute aerial from Al Minot to beat Haddon Heights.
AL MINOT ’29 was a light but fast fullback for the teams of 1925-28, when the team
was 32-3-1. He started for all four years and captained the 1928 squad. He scored many
touchdowns in those years, but none more important than the 72-yard scamper for a score
in the Camden game of his freshman year, which set up Cliff Rubicam’s dramatic field
goal for a Colls victory.
JOSEPH ‘CHUBBY’ SEEMAN ’29 led South Jersey in scoring his senior year (Minot
was second). Some say the backfield of Seeman, Minot, Bruce Steele and Carlton Peacock
was the best-balanced backfield that Irvine ever turned out. Seeman also played four years
and ran back punts, one for a TD against Moorestown.
ELDRIDGE DOWNES ’31 played the important position of center for four years
(1927-30). He served as captain of the 1930 team that went 6-1-2 and started the 28-game
winning streak of the Colls’ “golden era” under Irvine.

JOHN BACH
During the mid-1980s, John Bach presided over the meteoric rise of Collingswood girls basketball. His teams were 72-9
from 1984-86, which included two sectional championships and the 1986 state title. It was the first – and still the only –
state championship in Collingswood basketball history. Without question, the capstone event in Bach’s career was
the 28-1 1986 team. Powered by tonight’s individual honorees, Jeanne Mooney Falzone and Donna Seybold, the team roared through the Group II playoffs and won the state championship with an amazing fourth quarter rally and double-overtime victory over Harrison. Bach was named “Coach of the Week” five times and was the consensus choice as
“Coach of the Year” by the Basketball Club of South Jersey, Courier-Post and Philadelphia Inquirer. He also won five gold medals in the Garden State Games. Bach was a founder ofthis Hall of Fame with Sam Coursen, Jack Don and Ed Kurkian.
He went on to serve as principal of Collingswood High School and is today superintendent of the Moorestown school district. His wife, Mimi, has taught at Collingswood for the past 32 years and has served as a coach for 14 years in four sports.

BOB BREWIN
Bob Brewin ’50 was an All-South Jersey football center at Collingswood High. He was the third player from Colls High named All-South Jersey at that key position in the line, following in the footsteps of previous Hall of Famers Al Usilton and Hank Rossell. He was chosen “Most Valuable Lineman” of the ’49 team. He went on to the U.S. Naval Academy, where
he graduated in 1954. During the course of a Naval career, he subsequently graduated from the U.S. Post Graduate School
in 1964 and the Naval War College a decade later. Bob retired as a captain following four Mediterranean cruises and one Arctic cruise. He resides in Spring City, TN, with his wife, Dorothy. They have a son and two daughters.

AL HARRIS
Al Harris is being inducted for his many contributions to the Collingswood Hall of Fame Board and Executive Committee.
He has been the vice-president and chairman of the Induction Committee, but no listing of titles can do justice to the job Al
does to promote the Hall of Fame. Small in stature and hampered by leg injuries from a childhood bus accident, he could play only tennis at Colls High. He was a member of the Group 4 championship teams of 1953 and ’54, was South Jersey 18-and-under champion in 1956 and placed second in the 15-and-under tournament in 1953. But his many accomplishments after high school are legion. He was one of the best fast-pitch softball pitchers in South Jersey and is a member of the South Jersey Fastpitch Hall of Fame, which organization he served as vice-president. Al has also managed three championship slow-pitch softball teams, was a standout basketball player in independent leagues and is an accomplished golfer. On top of that, he has been chairman and emcee of the Colls Class of 1955 Alumni Committee and is a member of the Colls Old Grads organization. He co-hosts the Champions radio show on 1360 AM and also manages to support many Collingswood High teams.

GENE CAPINAS
A three-letter athlete, Capinas starred in football, track and baseball. In a season shortened by injury, he was still selected as an All-South Jersey halfback in 1952. He was also the team’s kicker. Capinas was a co-captain of the football team in his senior year and, despite the injury, received multiple scholarship offers. He represented Collingswood in the Penn Relays in 1952 and his enthusiasm and dedication to Collingswood sports programs was so intense that he often practiced track in his
baseball uniform, He was voted “Most Athletic” by his classmates in 1951 and ’52. Capinas’ most memorable moment came in a football game at Vineland in 1950. The Colls trailed, 19-18, with 35 seconds remaining, and the Vineland
spectators lined up behind the school band, poised for a victory parade. But Capinas fielded a kick at his own 15-yard line and raced down the field through the entire Vineland team for a touchdown to give the Colls a 24-19 victory. He is now deceased.

DAVE STEILER
Dave Steiler was a standout wrestler for Coach Sam Coursen from 1959 to 1961. He was a key member of Coursen’s first undefeated team in 1961. That year he was a district and regional champion and placed second in the state at 167 pounds.
Steiler, who also played football for two years, received a bachelor’s degree from Temple University and a master’s degree from Springfield College. During his undergraduate days, he lost only one dual meet and three years earned second place honors in the MACC Tournament. He coached the Suffield Academy team in Connecticut to a state championship and then was head coach at Delaware Valley College, York College (where he coached Colls Hall of Famer Gary Papa) and his alma mater Temple. For the past 27 years, he has been athletic director at Cinnaminson High School and Spacken Hill High School in New York until retiring last June.

DARLENE HAHN TICKNER
Darlene Hahn Tickner ’65 was the star center-forward who scored 35 goals for an undefeated Colls hockey team of 1963. She also held the distinction of being chosen the captain of the first Colls lacrosse team and was MVP of the lacrosse team in 1965. When Darlene came to Collingswood High as a sophomore, all the girls in Oaklyn had played softball and she expected to play that sport at Colls High as well. But legendary coach Bea Markwick said, “No way. We are going to start a lacrosse team.” Darlene knew nothing about lacrosse, but mastered the sport in short order. When she became a phys. ed. teacher and coach at Oaklyn Junior High, she started a lacrosse team to help the girls from Oaklyn be better prepared at Collingswood. She now lives in Florida, where she received a master’s in physical education from the University of South Florida. Darlene and her husband, Marc, have a grown son and daughter.

STEVE BRUNO
Steve’s baseball career began while playing for his dad John ( Jack) Bruno for Midlantic Bank for the Collingswood Little League. Steve took many notes and learned many lessons from his dad as well as his older brother Jack, a 1975 Collingswood High graduate pitcher and shortstop. As a pitcher, Steve compiled a 10 and 1 record as a senior that included back to back “no hitters” He was awarded All South Jersey 1st team honors as a pitcher and 2nd team All South Jersey honors as a shortstop. He pursued his passion beyond high school and was awarded 1st Team All Region shortstop at Rutgers’s University in 1982. After college, Steve played in the Men’s Tri-County League which was highlighted when he and his younger brother, Jim, a 1987 Collingswood High School graduate became teammates as the middle infielders for the better part of 20 years. Today, Steve proudly reflects on his career while sitting out in center field at the Collingswood Little League Field in Knight’s Park on the bench named in his Dad’s honor.

BETSY MOSCICKI
Betsy Moscicki ’77 starred in field hockey, basketball and lacrosse for Collingswood High. She received eight letters in those sports and was named to the All-South Jersey first team in both hockey and lacrosse for her junior and senior seasons.
Moscicki was also selected as “Defensive Player of the Year” in field hockey. She holds a B.S. degree f rom Davis & Elkins College and an M.A. from Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey).

JEANNE MOONEY FALZONE
Jeanne Mooney Falzone will be forever remembered for that night in 1986 when she scored 37 points and led the Panther girls to a comeback victory and the only state basketball championship in school history. She and Donna Seybold paced the Colls to a best-ever 26-1 record. Mooney was selected to the All-South Jersey basketball team, named South Jersey Player of the Year and also was the state tournament MVP. She earned a total of 11 letters, four each in basketball and softball and three in tennis. She also was an All-South Jersey performer in softball. She went on to have a scintillating hoops career at Lehigh University, where she was a 1,300-point scorer.

DONNA SEYBOLD
Donna Seybold ’86 earned a total of ten letters in three sports (four in tennis and three each in basketball and softball) during her career in Collingswood. The Oaklyn miss was a top tennis and softball player, but she will be best remembered for joining with Jeanne Mooney to lead the Colls to the state basketball championship in 1986. Seybold averaged 20 points per game in her senior year and scored over 1,000 points in her career, but would rather be known for the bullseye pass she threw to Mooney to send the championship game into a second overtime. Donna earned a basketball scholarship to Manhattan College, where she had a fine career and led the team twice to the NCAA Tournament field. She was a college coach for ten years at Loyola of Maryland and Indiana State before joining the Eli Lilly Co. as a pharmaceutical rep.

BILL STAUTS
Bill Stauts ’60 is co-recipient with Dan Miller of the Community Service Award. He has served the Oaklyn Board of Education for the past 35 years, including 24 as its president. He has also been a member of the Camden County Educational Services Commission for 14 years, including two years as vice-president and two years as president. Stauts has also lent his expertise to the New Jersey School Boards Association Insurance Group, serving five years as its chairman. A graduate of Drexel University, Stauts has also been very active in Oaklyn youth sports. Since 1973, he has been a coach, manager, member of the board of directors and umpire for the Oaklyn-Bettlewood Little League. Stauts was also active in the founding of the Collingswood-Oaklyn Soccer Club and served as coach and referee for 14 years. He also participated for several years as a coach and referee for Oaklyn intramural basketball.
He and his wife, Leona, are the parents of three sons and six grandchildren.

DAN MILLER
Dan Miller is a 1962 graduate of Collingswood High. After graduation, he joined the Coast Guard, where he had the distinction of serving on the honor guard for President Kennedy’s funeral. He then returned to his job at Kenmac Flowers, married his sweetheart, Betty, and moved to Oaklyn. He has been very active in the Oaklyn community and shares this
year’s Community Service Award with Bill Stauts, with whom he served for 30 years on the Oaklyn Board of Education. Most of those years he was vice-president to Stauts’ president. Miller has worked to provide Oaklyn youth with many athletic and educational opportunities. He was active in starting the school “Learn to Swim” program and was instrumental
promoting the school athletic fields re-design, which allowed for additional activities. He was a coach for years with the Collingswood-Oaklyn Soccer Club and has been an umpire for 30 years in the Oaklyn-Bettlewood Little League. Dan advocated for and followed up on a previously-failed project that would see the Oaklyn Lions Park receive tennis courts and other facilities that included a basketball court and deck hockey rink. With four children, he is now retired from his job as owner of Kenmac Flowers, where he spent 52 years and employed hundreds of Oaklyn and Collingswood residents.

HALL OF FAME HONORS
THE LATE JERRY KINIRY
The Collingswood Athletic Hall of Fame pauses tonight to honor the memory of a man called “Collingswood’s Number One Fan.” He is Jerry Kiniry, pictured above, when Collingswood High students raised some $5,000 to provide him with a battery-powered wheelchair to get to the games. Jerry died last year, leaving a void on the sidelines of all Collingswood sports venues. But the Collingswood sports family would like his family to know how much he meant to our teams.

1949 BASEBALL TEAM
Collingswood’s best baseball team ever was the 1949 squad, which achieved a 17-2 record. The Panthers were led by three of the greatest allaround athletes ever to wear the Blue and Gold – shortstop Ted Narleski, who led the team with a .426 average and later advanced to the AAA level with the Cleveland Indians; Gordon Leslie, his Woodlynne cohort who
was a long-ball hitter and rock at third base; and Ben Addiego, who used his great speed to chase down balls in center field.
But this was a solid all-around team. Howard Wintling pitched an opening-day no-hitter and Lew Newcomb threw one against Vineland. Stan Nodder was also a capable hurler and Ralph Walter was solid behind the plate. Sherwood Joy, Don DeMartin, Jon Oorlog, Steve Capinas, Al Thilo, Ed Schankin, Joe Tavani and John Fox provided great depth for this
Panther team. The late Bill Diemer, in his 25th year of coaching, was the veteran hand on the tiller.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
SUZANNE ZIMMERMAN WILLIAMS
Suzanne Zimmerman Williams of the Class of 1958 is this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. She was a class officer and captain of the cheerleaders while at Collingswood and holds a B.A. degree from Upsala College. In a career which includes public service as a legislative professional on Capitol Hill and as an Assistant Secretary of Transportation in the Carter administration, Williams’ achievements are numerous. Among them are air, railroad and trucking deregulation, establishment of our nation’s waterway user-fee system, and the Conrail, Amtrak and Northeast Corridor reauthorizations. She also played a founding role in Project Head Start and was honored for helping Southern governors develop new approaches to common economic and education problems.
Williams is recognized for her expertise in transportation, economic development and financial affairs. During her career, she has represented federal, state and local interests and leading U.S. corporations and associations, seeking a multi-dimensional approach to issue resolution. Washington magazine listed her as one of the most influential women in the Washington metropolitan area. She has received the Centennial Award for Leadership in Public Affairs and the 1997 Woman of the Year Award. She serves on the boards of directors for numerous public sector organizations and is past chair of the Greater Washington Board of Trade. Williams is the president and CEO of Williams Aron & Associates, a public affairs consulting firm that represents, among other clients, the American Airlines Pilots’ Association. She lives in McLean, VA, with her husband. They have one son.

Previous Lifetime Achievement Award Honorees
2002 – Bob Scarborough ’42
2003 – Doris E. Hand ’35
2004 – William K. Dickey ’39
2005 – Capt. Robert J. Bloxsom ’38
2006 – Dr. Ralph A. Skowron ‘47
2007 – Dr. Neil O. Thompson ‘62