For years, the Red Bank Regional School district, through its educational, and then BUC Backers Foundation, has inducted alumni into its Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. This year, however, a separate and distinct Hall of Fame was established exclusive to its athletes.
The inaugural class or foundation class was huge, as the school district, with a 100-plus year history, had a lot of catching up to do. The Class inductions began with four-sport athlete Joe Irwin in 1923 and continued through girls lacrosse superstar Brie Moran in 2006, for a total of 20 individual athletes. They read as a roster of exceptional Who’s Who in high school, college and professional sports history.
Additionally, most distinguished themselves as exceptional collegiate athletes. Irwin lettered in two sports at Rutgers University. Peter Foster, Class of 1950, played basketball for Rutgers and the U.S. Navy. Eugene Booth, Class of 1953, helped Dartmouth win in the 1956-57 Ivy League basketball championship. He went on to become an assistant basketball coach at Brandies University. Douglas Patton, Class of 1957, earned three varsity letters in both basketball and baseball at Rutgers while continuing on to a teaching and coaching career at the collegiate level. Vincent Ciaglia, Class of 1959, also played baseball and basketball for Rutgers and earned three varsity letters for basketball. William Horlacher, Class of 1965, became a member of Villanova’s Big Five basketball championships from 1966-1967. Tomora Young was inducted in the Rutgers Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. RBR’s famed twin track super stars Amanda and Katy Trotter both blazed their way to a national championship and All-America and nationally ranked honors while at Stanford University.
Two RBR swimmers – Ken Winfield, Class of 1969, and Dana Morton-Emery, Class of 1979 – achieved Olympic status. Winfield, who attended the 1968 and 1972 Olympic Trials, was world-ranked in the top ten swimmers in 1971 and 1972 and won a bronze medal in the 200 butterfly in the World Games in Turin, Italy. Emery, a member of the Stanford University national swim championship in 1980, qualified the same year for the Olympic Trials.
Two baseball stars – John Overton Jr. and Jack Lewis – played professional baseball playing for several years in the farm team system.
Many of our players remained active in the Red Bank community supporting our programs, like James “Pete” Reeves, Class of 1951, who coached at Red Bank Middle School for many years, and Edward “Hussy” Winrow, Class of 1963, an ardent RBR sports fan to this day.
Four of the 20 went on to professional football careers. John Lee, Class of 1972, played with the San Diego Chargers for five years and later joined the New England Patriots. Danny Stubbs, Class of 1983, began a stellar career with the San Francisco 49ers where he was named to the NFL All-Rookie team and took part in the 1988 and 1989 Super Bowl winning teams. He also played for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins. Greg Montgomery, Class of 1983, played professional football for nine seasons with the Houston Oilers, Detroit Lions, and Baltimore Ravens. He led the NFL three times in average yards per punt and was named All Pro three times. Eric McCoo, Class of 1998, once described as the “fastest football player in New Jersey,” played for the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles.
Additionally, the inaugural Hall of Fame class included coaches Herb Reed and Frank Pingitore (the later became an RBR Athletic Director). They were honored along with long-time athletic trainer Dan “Doc” Porzio, who began RBR’s long-standing student athletic trainer program.
Three legendary teams were included in the inaugural class, including the much celebrated 1971 BUCS football “dream team” who were football state champions. Lonnie Allgood, a member of this team, went on to a six-year career in professional football playing for the Cincinnati Bengals. The 1982-83 boys basketball team, which remains the last Shore boys basketball team to finish with a perfect record, was also inducted. Finally, the undefeated 1995 state champion field hockey team led by head coach Wendy Turnock and considered one of the greatest defensive teams in school history, was also inducted.
A celebratory dinner was held in honor of the first RBR Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees on Oct. 25 at the Doubletree Hotel in Tinton Falls. Asbury Park Press sports reporter Stephen Edelson, who was covering the event, called it “one of the greatest collections of athletic talent from one school ever assembled at the Jersey Shore.”
The committee responsible for creating the RBR Hall of Fame– RBR Athletic Director Del Dal Pra; RBR Athletic Trainer Christina Emrich; Bill Galatro, Red Bank; Charles Taylor, Red Bank; Lou DeGeorge, Red Bank; Nick Pizzulli, Oceanport – all made presentations at the dinner.
Dal Pra addressed the inductees stating, “Thank you for giving RBR athletic programs a source of pride, a sense of great accomplishment and a vision for future generations of BUCS to believe that anything is possible.”
The Class was additionally honored at half time of the RBR/RBC game on the RBR football field on Oct. 27.
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