Dear Editor:
To begin, John Wendelken was a Holy Cross College graduate and among others as Chris Matthews of MSNBC “Hardball,” Poet Laureate Billy Collins, Pulitzer Prize winner NYT Sports Columnist Dave Anderson, NBA Hall of Famers Bob Cousy, and Tom Heinhson and a Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the list travels on.
John Wendelken was Magna Cum Laude graduate at The Cross in 1965, and received a full athletic scholarship in basketball and baseball. He was All New England in both sports and was inducted into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame and more recently was awarded notable honor of being selected to the New England Basketball Association Hall as well as a charter member of Hoboken’s first Sports Hall of Fame. His performance in basketball was cut short as a result of a bone injury suffered in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
It had its beginnings from Brandt to Demarest Hoboken Schools, where the Red Wing was a three time All Hudson County basketball and baseball player. This included first team all- state in both sports.
This is indeed a sporting accomplishment. What was more impressive was that John was also 1961’s Valedictorian at Demarest in a class that exceeded over 200 graduates.
Perhaps his many years of taking Latin helped, but John was an extraordinary product of Hoboken, with a ball in one hand and a book by Beckett in the other. Everyone who knew John admired him and I am proud to call him one of our own.
Dennis Sevano