NJSIAA announces Gallagher/Bollinger Hall of Fame class for 2021

A group of 18 individuals has been selected as the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Gallagher/Bollinger Hall of Fame’s class for 2021.

All inductees were selected by a statewide committee of journalists and both active and retired school administrators.

“What always amazes me about our annual Hall of Fame process is that there never seems to be a shortage of remarkable individuals who either played or contributed to scholastic athletics in New Jersey,” Jack DuBois, NJSIAA assistant director, who chairs the selection committee, said in a prepared statement. “This year’s group is no exception, and it speaks to the long, proud history of high school sports in our state.”

 

In alphabetical order, the inductees are:

 

Athletes 

 

Joetta Clark, Track & Field, Columbia High School, Maplewood, 1980

  • Star-Ledger’s Female Track Athlete of the 20th century
  • Captured four NJSSIA Meet of Champions 800-meter titles
  • Never lost a scholastic, 800-meter race
  • Won nine collegiate titles while at University of Tennessee
  • Four-time Olympian
  • Member, USA Track & Field Hall of Fame

 

Christopher Ford, Basketball, Holy Spirit High School, Absecon, 1968

  • Holy Spirit’s all-time leading scorer
  • Villanova University’s all-time assists leader
  • 10-year NBA career (Pistons, Celtics)
  • Head coach of four NBA teams (Celtics, Bucks, Clippers, 76ers)
  • Won three NBA titles – one as a player (1981), two as an assistant coach (1984, 1986)

 

Virginia Duenkel Fuldner, Swimming, West Orange High School, 1965

  • Won gold (400-meter freestyle) and bronze (100-meter backstroke) medals at 1964 Tokyo Olympics
  • Established 100-meter backstroke world record, 1964
  • National collegiate titles (backstroke), 1965-67

 

Kenny Jackson, Football, South River High School, 1979

  • First-Team, All-State honors at South River High in football, basketball and track
  • All-American and 1982 national champion at Penn State University
  • Fourth overall selection in 1984 NFL draft, by Philadelphia Eagles
  • Member, New Jersey Sportswriters Hall of Fame, 1996
  • Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach, 2001-03

 

Eulace Peacock, Track & Field, Union High School, 1933 (posthumous)

  • Set state scholastic long jump mark of 24-4 ¼, which stood for 44 years
  • In 1934, competing for Temple University, tied world 100-meter dash mark
  • Faced the legendary Jesse Owens 10 times in sprints and long jump, defeating him seven times
  • Six-time AAU pentathlon champion
  • At Union High, all-state athlete in track & field, football and basketball

 

Harding William Peterson, Baseball, Woodbridge High School, 1946 (posthumous)

  • At Woodbridge, earned four varsity letters in baseball, plus three each in football and basketball
  • First-Team, All-State recognition in baseball
  • As team captain at Rutgers, led team to a third place finish in College World Series
  • Four-year Major League career, with Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Had a 30-year career in Pirates organizations; was named executive vice president in 1979

 

Tricia Popowski, Multiple sports, Hoffman High School, South Amboy, 1987

  • At Hoffman, lettered four times each in softball, basketball and soccer
  • Soccer – Star Ledger’s All-Century Team
  • Soccer – University of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame
  • Soccer – New Jersey USA/ASA Hall of Fame
  • Softball – recorded career .603 batting average
  • Softball – in 1987, batted .711
  • Softball – in 1986, set state record with 80 RBIs
  • Basketball – finish career with 1,111 points
  • Basketball – won three Group I state championships

 

Anthony Siragusa, Football, David Brearley Regional High School, Kenilworth, 1985

  • 12-year NFL career
  • Super Bowl XXXV champion, with Baltimore Ravens
  • FOX Sports NFL game analyst, 2002-15
  • Played college football at University of Pittsburgh
  • NJSIAA state champion in wrestling
  • First-Team, All-State, All-Groups, football

 

John Somogyi, Basketball, St. Peter’s New Brunswick High School, 1968

  • Parade All-American, 1968
  • New Jersey All-State, First Team, 1967 and 1968
  • Team won state parochial championship, 1968
  • Established state’s all-time scoring record, with 3310 points
  • 1969 National College Freshman Player of the Year, University of New Mexico
  • Eventually transferred to Rutgers University, scored more than 1,000 career points
  • 15 seasons as head basketball coach at multiple schools – compiled overall record of 275-111

 

Andre Tippett, Football, Barringer High School, Newark, 1978

  • Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, 2008
  • NFL All-Decade Team, 1980s
  • Played 11 seasons in NFL (New England Patriots), named to five consecutive Pro Bowls
  • All-American selection, 1981, at University of Iowa

 

Dajuan Wagner, Basketball, Camden High School, 2001

  • Set new state, career scoring record with 3,462 points
  • Led Camden to 2001 Tournament of Champions championship
  • Scored 100 points in a single game
  • Scored 737 points as a freshman, a new state record
  • Played one season at University of Memphis
  • Sixth overall pick in 2002 NBA draft

 

Coaches / Contributors

 

Bob Auriemma, Ice Hockey coach, Brick Township High School

  • Head coach of Brick ice hockey for 51 years
  • Won 729 career games, the most ever in New Jersey ice hockey history
  • Won six state championships
  • Member, New Jersey Ice Hockey Hall of Fame

 

William Mickey Corcoran, Basketball coach and athletic director, Horace Mann (the Bronx, New York)/River Dell (Oradell)/Northern Highlands (Allendale) high schools (posthumous)

  • Northern Highlands gym named in his honor
  • BCCA-BCWCA Lifetime Achievement Award named in his honor
  • YMCA of Greater Bergen County Service to Youth Award named in his honor
  • River Dell Hall of Fame member
  • Northern Highlands Hall of Fame member
  • NJSCA Hall of Fame member
  • Coached Bill Parcells in high school
  • Confidant of Bobby Knight, Mike Krzyzewski
  • Served in U.S. Navy with John Wooden
  • Won state basketball championship as student-athlete, under Vince Lombardi

 

Tom Heath, Cross-Country coach, Christian Brothers Academy, Lincroft section of Middletown

  • Head coach of Christian Brothers Academy cross-country for 45 seasons
  • “The Streak” – won 343 straight dual meets
  • Won national cross-country title in 2011
  • Teams won 21 NJSIAA Meet of Champions titles

 

Tom Lopes, Basketball official

  • 2019 recipient of prestigious, national Golden Whistle Award
  • Recognition as Naismith College Basketball Official of the Year
  • Official at high school level – including first-ever Tournament of Champions
  • Official at college level – including 20 consecutive NCAA post-season tournaments

 

Steve Timko, NJSIAA executive director

  • Served as NJSIAA executive director, 2006-18
  • Recognition as New Jersey State Athletic Director of the Year
  • Coached at South Plainfield and Hopewell Valley Central high schools
  • 33-year teaching career

 

Don Weider, Boys Gymnastics coach, East Brunswick High School (posthumous)

  • Coached 20 students who became NCAA Division I, scholarship athletes
  • Coached 66 individual state champions
  • Coached 16 state championship teams
  • Teams earned No. 1 ranking in state 16 times
  • Final record of 252-33-2

 

Nancy Williams, coached multiple sports, Shore Regional High School, West Long Branch

  • Field hockey head coach for 44 season – compiled overall record of 839-67-56
  • Won 13 group state championships, 19 conference championships in field hockey
  • Softball head coach for 27 seasons – compiled overall record of 518-160
  • Won a group state championship, four sectional state championships in softball
  • As girls basketball head coach, won two conference championships and 205 total games
  • As track and field head coach won a group state championship