Ed Jones was certain that people in his native Hudson County had forgotten all about him. After all, it was 1970 when he was blazing the track as an athlete at Lincoln High School. It’s been 40 long years. He’s lived in California for the last 35 years, ever since his tour of duty with the United States Army came to an end.
So when he received a phone call from Hudson County Track Coaches Association president Stan Fryczynski that he was being inducted into the HCTCA Hall of Fame this year, Jones was floored.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” Jones said. “I’m blessed that they could remember me. I’m very proud to receive such an honor.”
Jones was a track and field superstar, having won the state championship in the 200-meter dash in 1970, then went on to have a fine career in amateur track in California, running for organization like the Golden West and the Bay Area Striders.
“Getting an award like this brings back a lot of memories,” said Jones, who could not attend the HCTCA awards banquet last Tuesday, so he had his son, Torren, receive the award. “Track and field was very good to me. I got to make new friends and got to travel. It was a good thing.”
Jones said that he was able to compete in events like the World Armed Services Games in 1976 in Rio de Janeiro.
“When does a kid from Jersey City get a chance like that?” Jones said. “When I got the call I was going into the Hall of Fame, it made me reflect on all the people who helped me get where I am.”
Jones said that he was able to excel in track without one main component.
“If I had a chance to do it all over again, I would have practiced,” said Jones, who works as an accountant for a construction company in Hercules, Calif. “I never practiced. Maybe I practiced once in a blue moon. But track turned out to be very good for me.”
It also turned out to be good for Jones’ fellow Hall of Fame inductee, former Snyder standout Anthony Campbell, who is currently one of the driving forces behind the development of current Snyder state champ Zamir Thomas.
While Campbell is making his mark as a coach, he was also a standout sprinter not too long ago and might have claimed a 1995 Meet of Champions title if he had not contracted chicken pox that year.
At age 29, it’s hard to think of Campbell as a Hall of Famer.
“I am honored to be there, but I really thought it would happen like 20 years from now,” said Campbell, who is in Greensboro, N.C. with Thomas for the New Balance Nationals this weekend. “Just to be considered as one of the best in Hudson County history is an amazing thing. I’m so happy and proud. I’m glad it happened, but in my mind, it happened very early. But it’s a good feeling to be recognized for a great career.”
The Hall of Fame was only part of the HCTCA’s awards presentation. Nine different athletes received scholarships donated in the memory of the late Al Bundies and the late Mike Rowan, as well as Thornton Smith and Ed Grant.
“I didn’t expect anything like that at all,” said Andisi Nyaboga from McNair Academic, who was a shot putter for the Cougars and will attend St. Peter’s College in the fall. “It feels great to be recognized for being a good student/athlete and it was a reward for my hard work.”
“I filled out the application, but I never thought I would get it,” said Ayesha Denmark, also of McNair, who is headed to Montclair State in the fall. “It really means a lot to me. I worked hard for four years and to get recognized is really special.”
Both young ladies will compete in track in college. Nyaboga wants to pursue nursing at SPC, while Denmark will seek a degree in athletic training.
Nicole Wheeler of St. Dominic Academy was another scholarship recipient. She will become a teammate of Nyaboga at SPC.
“It’s a great honor and it’s going to be a great help for me in college,” Wheeler said. “I always worked hard in school. When you get noticed for doing something in the classroom and on the track, it’s really something special.”…
North Bergen boxer Carlos Tamara, who lost his IBF junior flyweight championship to Luis Lazarte last month, learned that he will get a rematch with Lazarte for the title in September in Argentina…
Jersey City’s Willie Banks won his first game for the Newark Bears last Saturday night, pitching five scoreless innings in a Bear win. The 41-year-old Banks has also been serving as the team’s pitching coach as well…
Correction time: Last week, when the feature ran about Zamir Thomas and Najee Glass winning together at the Meet of Champions, it was stated that it was the first time that two athletes from Hudson County ever won at the M of C together. That was wrong.
In 1970, the aforementioned Jones won the 220-yard dash, while teammate Keith Davis won the 440-yard dash and Sherman Couser of St. Aloysius won the long jump for the second straight year. So that year, Hudson County and Jersey City had three M of C champs. Credit to McNair Academic coach and resident historian Matt Hogan for pointing out that error…
In closing, Hudson County lost two special people last week when Paul Lempa, Sr. and Jane Greene both passed away.
Lempa was a great football player at St. Peter’s Prep during his days, but his greatest contribution was as a teacher in Bayonne, as an assistant football coach under the legendary Don Ahern, and later the assistant superintendent of schools, where he oversaw athletics. He was a true giant, both literally and figuratively, and his contributions to athletics in Bayonne had no peers.
Jane Greene was not only a supervisor for the Hudson County Parks Department, but she was the heart and soul of the Hudson County Sports Hall of Fame for 15 years, running ever single facet of that organization. She eventually was inducted into the Hall of Fame and deservedly so for her tireless efforts. She was also very involved in Hudson County Special Olympics and was a driving force there. Dedicated, loving people like Jane Greene are hard to find these days. She was one of a kind… — Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.