The recent St. Peter’s University Athletic Hall of Fame celebration brought about a real rarity at Harvard on the Boulevard.
Not only did the school honor its most famous basketball alumnus in Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame inductee Bob Hurley with a long overdue induction, but the night also brought back the last four men to serve as head men’s basketball coach with the Peacocks together for first time ever.
Those four men are Ted Fiore, Rodger Blind, Bob Leckie and current head coach John Dunne. Fiore, as head coach, and Blind, as an assistant, were part of the coaching staff of the 1995 Peacock team that won the MAAC Tournament championship and went to the NCAA Tournament, only to fall to the University of Massachusetts, coached by John Calipari, in a game where the Peacocks went toe-to-toe with the Minutemen, only to fall short in the closing minutes.
Blind became the head coach after the school unceremoniously and frankly ridiculously fired Fiore after that great NCAA Tourney appearance. Leckie then replaced Blind as head coach and when Leckie retired, Dunne became the head man, where he has remained for the last seven seasons.
So it was almost like when the President of the United States opens his Presidential library and the living former Presidents come to pay tribute to the honoree.
Here we had all four Peacock head coaches, all in the same room for the first time ever, posing for pictures and enjoying everyone’s company.
“For me, the real honor was to be able to be there with my former players,” said Fiore, who retired last year as the head coach at Montclair State University. “The kids were all calling me to make sure I was going to be there. It’s great to see these kids become very successful men. It’s a wonderful bond we have. It was so good to see them and it was great going back.”
It marked the second of Fiore’s teams that have been inducted in their entirety into the SPU Hall of Fame, joining the first of Fiore’s NCAA Tournament teams, the 1991 squad.
However, the school for some reason has yet to honor Fiore, the program’s No. 2 leader all-time in coaching victories, on his own for his incredible achievements.
Dunne was just glad to be a part of the festivities.
“It was a really special night,” Dunne said. “Not only did we have Coach Hurley come back and it’s a credit to our school’s administration for recognizing him, but it was great to have the 1995 team back and see the camaraderie that they have.”
Incredibly, Dunne had a long-standing connection with Leckie, who played for the Peacocks under the immortal Don Kennedy and later coached them.
“Coach Leckie coached me in CYO basketball when I was in fifth grade in Rocky Beach [N.Y.],” Dunne said. “So I’ve always enjoyed a great relationship with him. He always answered my phone calls when I called. I kept a good friendship with him over the years. It was just great to see them all there.”
One of the members of that 1995 team was Jersey City native Kevin Hennessey, who is currently a Jersey City firefighter and owner of the new O’Leary’s Publik House on Garfield Avenue.
Another of the inductees was Secaucus native Ryan Knapp, who was a fine baseball player during his days at St. Peter’s. Knapp is now a highly respected college hockey referee…
Speaking of coach Hurley, his two sons are doing more than well these days. Dan Hurley just received a six-year contract extension at the University of Rhode Island and while Bobby received a three-year extension from the University of Buffalo, CBS Sports was reporting early Thursday morning that Bobby was the leading candidate to take the head coaching job at Arizona State.
Talk about coaching power from one family. The incredible saga of the Hurley basketball family just continues…
The local baseball and softball seasons got underway last week and there have already been some impressive performances.
On the baseball front, Ferris right-hander Elijah Pereira had a game to remember against rival Dickinson, firing a one-hitter and striking out 17 in a 7-0 victory. Pereira is certainly a player to watch for coach Mike Hogan’s team. Hogan is still recovering from recent surgery…
Not only will some of the area’s best baseball teams take part in the Autism Awareness Challenge in Weehawken this weekend, but they will also play in the Roselle Park Dad’s Club Invitational in Roselle Park.
Weehawken will face New Providence and Marist will face Washington Township of southern Jersey Friday night, while Union City will take on Ramapo and St. Peter’s Prep will tangle with Millburn on Saturday. It makes it a very busy weekend for some, as St. Peter’s Prep will face the state’s top-ranked team, St. Joseph of Montvale, Sunday night in the Weehawken Autism Awareness Challenge…
On the softball front, defending Hudson Reporter Pitcher of the Year Christina Mezey of St. Dominic Academy pitched two consecutive no-hitters in wins over Marist and Lincoln last week…
In the win over Marist, Gabriella Contey had a grand slam for the Blue Devils…
One of the most impressive starts of the season has come from Hudson Catholic, which has introduced Jillian Ward as its new pitcher. Ward fired a six-hitter in a big victory over Hoboken, a game where Elizabeth Moyeno had two hits and scored two runs…
Justin Willis of West New York, who plays for St. Joseph of Metuchen, threw a no-hitter in his first start of the season against Piscataway. Not even 16 years old, Willis’ star continues to skyrocket…
Union City’s track and field program had a reason to be very proud this week, as two graduating seniors signed scholarship papers to continue their careers on the college level. Isaac Alberto is headed to Avila University and Samuel Paredes is off to Bloomfield College. Any time you can secure a free ride to college, it’s big news, so coach Carlos Sosa has to be excited for his athletes…
Hudson Reporter High School Baseball Top Five: 1. St. Peter’s Prep (3-1). 2. Memorial (3-0). 3. Ferris (3-1). 4. Hudson Catholic (2-1). 5. Marist (2-2)…
Hudson Reporter High School Softball Top Five: 1. North Bergen (3-1). 2. Hudson Catholic (2-1). 3. St. Dominic Academy (2-0). 4. Secaucus (2-1). 5. Hoboken (1-2)…-Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.