FOURTEEN OUTSTANDING ATHLETES ADDED TO CAMDEN COUNTY HALL OF FAME
For Immediate Release: October 1, 2008
Contacts: KEN SHUTTLERWORTH

A member of an NBA championship team, an Olympian and a 1,000-point scorer in girl’s basketball are among 14 outstanding athletes who made their mark in Camden County and will be inducted into the four-year-old Camden County Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 18.

“Their focus on teamwork and leadership qualifies these latest inductees as permanent fixtures in the history of Camden County,” said Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. who will join Hall of Fame founder James Beach, the County Clerk, at the dinner and ceremony at Savoy Catering on Route 73 in Pennsauken.

Cappelli said the Hall of Fame grew from a conversation in 2004 between Bill Collins, the Highland High School track coach and Beach, his former coaching colleague. In turn, Cappelli said a nominations committee was formed under the leadership of Bob Kenney, retired sports editor of the Courier-Post. The committee includes several other former and active sports reporters, two previous Hall of Fame inductees and various representatives of county government. Former Eagles President Harry Gamble also serves.

“Jim Beach organized a tremendous team of expertise and objectivity that has worked well to honor many of our most accomplished neighbors,” Cappelli said. The 14 men and women who will be inducted on Oct. 18 brings to 58 the total number of honorees.

Among the previous inductees are John Taylor, an all-star with the Pennsauken High School football team who went onto a brilliant NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers; Camden High’s Billy Thompson, who played in NBA championships in the mid-80s with the Los Angeles Lakers; the legendary Ron “Itchy” Smith, who led Camden High School to state championships in the late 1950s, and Taylor’s high school coach, Vince McAneney.

Nominations committee members in the Hall are Deirdre Kane and Jeanne Kline. Ms. Kline began playing field hockey in 1944 at Merchantville High School, starting a brilliant career not only as a player but later as an official, coach and administrator. Ms. Kane was a standout basketball player at Paul VI High School who later coached at Camden Catholic High School before moving on to rebuild the varsity women’s basketball program at West Chester University.

Cappelli announced the list of 2008 inductees:

Dr. Melissa “Mikki” Baile: Mikki was selected to All-American teams in hockey, basketball and lacrosse while at West Chester College. She later coached at Michigan State University and at Old Dominion and served as the ODU athletic director for more than a decade. As a high school player at Gloucester High School, Mikki had a story book career for Coach Betty Miller. She helped Gloucester win New Jersey titles in 1964, ‘65 and ‘67 and played on teams that lost just once over the three seasons.

Marie Oliver Gimmi: She began her association with field hockey as a player on the fine Haddonfield teams in the mid ‘40s. She went on to Temple and earned a spot in the University’s Hall of Fame. She later earned a position on the National Squad before turning to umpiring as a way to stay in the game. Marie moved all the way to the top as a National Official and became a fixture in the college championship games around the country.

Theresa McGlade: Helped Gloucester Catholic win four state championships, while becoming the only player in New Jersey to start on four straight title teams. An outstanding rebounder, she was a 1,000 point scorer. She later stared at San Diego State where she served as team captain for two seasons.

Diane Nolan: Her coaching career has spanned 33 years, with her first five seasons at St. Francis (NY). She is one of only 32 NCAA Division I coaches to have compiled more than 500 career wins, and currently ranks 27th all-time with 517 victories. Her 33-year career record is 517-416 (.554).

Sam Coursen: He was a member of the 1952 Olympic wrestling team in Helsinki. Undefeated and district champ all four years in high school in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Sam was a four-time champion in his conference and New England as a star at Springfield College. He was the head wrestling coach at Collingswood from 1958-71 compiling a 135-34-4 record with unbeaten teams in 1960, ’62, ’63 and ’67 He was very active in the South Jersey Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association and was co-founder of the South Jersey Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Joe Fields: A star at Gloucester Catholic and Widener College, he excelled at center for the NY Jets in the National Football League for 13 seasons. Joe served as captain nine years. He was an all-pro four seasons and served as the Jets’ captain for nine years. He was voted onto the Jets’ all-time team in 1990.

Jeff Holman: Has won 1,700 tennis matches at Haddonfield in the boys' and girls programs. His 1700-274 record has produced 59 Colonial Conference Championships, 47 NJSIAA sectional titles and 21 state championships. He has been honored as the coach of the year 18 times and was National Coach of the year in 2001. Also is responsible for beginning Camden County tennis Tournament and the South Jersey singles championships.

Bill Manlove: He coached outstanding teams at Gloucester and Oakcrest then moved into the college ranks where he served as a head coach 32 seasons. His 212-110-1 record ranks with the best in the nation. He won 185 games and produced several outstanding players while leading the team to National Championships in 1977 and 1981 and 10 Middle Atlantic Conference titles and seven NCAA playoff berths and four undefeated regular seasons.

Bill Melchionni, Jr: His great career began at Bishop Eustace Prep in Pennsauken and carried him to an NBA Championship with the 76ers; an ABA title with the New York Nets and three professional all-star appearances. He led Bishop Eustace to a 24-1 record and the state championship in 1962 then enjoyed a brilliant career at Villanova where he was the MVP in the National Invitational Tournament.

Ralph Ross, Sr.: A three sport star at Lower Camden County Regional (Overbrook) and Trenton State (The College of New Jersey), Ross started his wrestling coaching career at Triton Red with a 3-6 campaign. Over the next 27 years, Ross never had another losing season as he compiled a 601-75-8 record – still tops in New Jersey and at the time, third all-time nationally. His Highland teams won 23 Olympic Conference Championships, 20 District titles and 10 State Group titles. Seven times Highland was the No. 1 team in South Jersey.

John Vogeding: A long time sports writer and editor, he served as a track starter for several decades and is the co-founder of the wrestling hall of fame. He is president of the Gloucester County Touchdown Club and his handling of the high school state wrestling records earned him national recognition.

Deceased:
Dr. Pearl Kowalski: (Dec’d) He is inducted into both the field hockey and basketball SJ halls-of-fame. A nationally recognized leader in the development of women’s athletics, Dr. Kowalski compiled a brilliant coaching record as head hockey coach at Gloucester and Audubon High Schools before moving up to coach the Glassboro State College program. She produced a perfect 11-0 team at Gloucester in 1957 and returned to Audubon to coach eight consecutive winning teams and finish with a 94-31-12 career record and several S.J. championships.

Ben “Sonny” Morrell: (Dec’d) He was considered the best football player ever at Camden Catholic but was killed in a pileup against Bridgeton High in 1951, his fourth season as a star on the championship teams. He was leading South Jersey in scoring with nine touchdowns in less than four games and had a scholarship to Notre Dame at the time of his death.

Dr. Henry “Pete” Wisniewski: (Dec’d) He was a star in basketball and football at Camden High School who became a member of the nationally famous Seven Blocks of Granite at Fordham University as described by legendary writer Grantland Rice. He was a charter member of the Fordham Hall-of-Fame in both football and basketball. Later became a top dental surgeon and was active the Brooks-Irvine Club.

Back to Main Press Releases Page

>> Top of Page <<