Ten years ago, former Hoboken schools administrator Dennis Sevano thought that there should be a way to honor the athletic stars that had graced first Demarest High School, then later Hoboken High School. The idea of a Sports Hall of Fame was well received.
“He came to us and said that other schools had Halls of Fame,” said Buddy Matthews, the school’s long-time baseball coach and a fellow organizer. “Dennis was the one who had the idea to start a Hall of Fame in Hoboken. He knew there was one at Dickinson [in Jersey City] and other schools. At first, it was just talk, but Dennis was the one who got the ball rolling.”
Matthews added, “He initiated the idea, got support from [then-Superintendent of Schools] Ed Duroy, and it eventually happened.”
For the last decade, the Hoboken/Demarest Sports Hall of Fame has honored so many great athletes and coaches that contributed to the storied tradition of the school’s programs. Countless touchdown makers and home run hitters have returned to the mile-square city to take their place with the legends of yesteryear.
When the 10th annual induction dinner took place recently at the Hoboken Elks, it was only fitting that the organization should honor the man who made it all possible.
Sevano was inducted into the Hall of Fame, along with great athletes like football legend Dwayne Peterson, three-sport star Michael Purvis, football and basketball standout Dennis DeLorenzo, great left-handed pitcher Danny Ortiz, basketball legend Walter Baumann and basketball great Milton Goggans.
On base
Although Sevano was a baseball player during his days at Hoboken High, reminding everyone he played first base on the 1967 varsity team before he went on to Jersey City State College, where he also played for two seasons, he was honored more for the lasting legacy he created with instituting the Hall of Fame.
The induction came as a complete surprise to Sevano, who currently serves as an assistant superintendent in the Paterson school district. Duroy is the superintendent of that district now.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” Sevano said. “My wife knew about it the whole time and never let on. I was just happy to be there at the dinner. I never expected anything. It was a nice night for my family and myself. I really started to feel nostalgic, more than I usually do at these dinners. You hear all the stories of how glorious life was in Hoboken back then, but it was really tough to live in Hoboken in the ’50s and ’60s, with so many people. And we had so many people who succeeded through sports. I feel fortunate to have played with so many of those guys – just never up to their standards.”
But he’s a Hall of Famer none the less.
“That’s just the way Dennis is,” Matthews said. “He wants others to be recognized, but no one would have ever received the recognition without him. It’s a worthy honor and I know he was really touched that we chose to honor him this year.”
Although Sevano no longer works or lives in Hoboken, the mile-square city is always his home and the proud place of his roots. So much so that Sevano is in the process of trying to get city officials to rename some of the city’s parks and recreational areas in honor of great Hoboken athletes of the past.
Sevano already has a name in mind for one of the parks, but he doesn’t want to spoil any possible surprise down the road – like the surprise he enjoyed on his night of induction into the Hall of Fame he helped to create.