Jack Fahey has spent the last 40 years of his life working for the United States Department of Defense, in the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. He’s heavily involved in international agreement and the mapping of foreign countries. A lot of his work lately has been centered on Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq.
“We’ve been heavily involved in both missions,” Fahey said.
It’s a far cry from his days as an athlete in Weehawken, more than four decades ago. Fahey played football and baseball for the Indians and was a member of the Weehawken Class of 1962.
He vividly remembers one game that stands out.
“We were heavy underdogs to Harrison,” Fahey recalled. “We were considered three touchdown underdogs going into the game. It was a night game at Harrison, and back then, we didn’t have lights in Weehawken, so we rarely played at night. But we won the game 25-14, and it was such a big upset that we needed a police escort to get out of Harrison. That’s how upset the people were there. It was an incredible win for us.”
Fahey scored three touchdowns in that huge Weehawken victory. He also was a standout baseball player and participated in a three-team (Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants) tryout that could have landed him in the world of professional baseball.
Fahey instead went to the University of Rhode Island, where he played football, and then went on to his career in public service.
Last week, Fahey returned to Weehawken High School for the first time in over 30 years, when he was inducted, along with two other legendary standouts, into the Weehawken High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
The induction was part of the school’s annual Athletic Awards banquet at Schuetzen Park in North Bergen. The banquet is designated for the current students, who are awarded for their accomplishments in the past year, but it is also a way to remember the greats of the past.
Hall of Fame
Fahey was inducted into the Hall of Fame along with Bruce Weil (Class of 1960), who played football and baseball for the Indians, and William Degnaro, who played soccer and basketball, but had the distinction of being the school’s first ever HCIAA champion singles champion in tennis.
For Fahey, it was an emotional weekend, returning back to his Weehawken roots with his three children, daughter Ayrn, who lives in Hoboken, son Michael, who resides in Virginia, and daughter Jennifer, who resides in Atlanta.
“I was thrilled to have my three children there with me,” said Fahey, who resides in Fairfax, Va. “It was a thrill for me, because that’s part of my life that my children didn’t know. We had a tour of the school, a tour of the town and the stadium. It brought back a lot of wonderful memories. I had a great time growing up in Weehawken. I had a lot of flashbacks, and it meant a lot to share them with my children.”
Fahey said that he didn’t even know there was a Weehawken Athletic Hall of Fame, which was instituted in 1994.
“This was truly an honor,” Fahey said. “There were a significant number of people at the dinner who remembered me from when I was in school. It’s the first time I’ve been back to Weehawken High School in a very long time, and I will remember it for a long time. It was a wonderful weekend.”
Degnaro, a retired design engineer for AT&T where he spent 38 years, was also surprised at receiving the honor.
“I mean, it’s more than 60 years since I’m out of high school,” said Degnaro, who raised his family in Weehawken before moving to Brick 20 years ago. “We’ve been away from the town for a while. To get remembered after all this time is truly an honor. I was happy that my son, Warren, was there, with me and my wife.”
Both of Degnaro’s two sons, Warren and Craig, were fine athletes during their days at Weehawken High School as well.
Degnaro became the first Hall of Fame inductee from the sport of tennis.
“I’m glad to give the sport a little recognition,” Degnaro laughed. “It really brought back a lot of great memories.”
Degnaro said that he keeps in contact with some of his former teammates who live in the Brick area. “I play golf with Fred Falk and I used to play tennis with Gene Marcosi,” Degnaro said. “We always talk about the great times we had in Weehawken.”
The Weehawken High School Athletic Department also presented Kevin Kallert with the Lester Purvere Memorial Award, symbolic of the school’s top senior male athlete, and gave Michelle Phillips the Ernest J. Demontreux Award, presented to the school’s top female athlete.
But the day belonged to the old-time greats who had a chance to bask in the glory once again.
“It did bring me back to those days mentally,” Fahey said. “However, physically, I knew I couldn’t do it. I wish I could still play like I did back then.”
It was also an emotional weekend for Fahey, not just because he returned home with his children. While in the area, Fahey went to visit Ground Zero for the first time since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
“I didn’t know if I wanted to go, but my children brought me there,” Fahey said. “It really was emotional seeing that. It was very difficult for me to go, but it really was a great weekend, one that I won’t forget.”