NJSIAA Gallagher/Bollinger Hall of Fame 2021 inductees named

Group of 18 includes 11 athletes, 7 coaches, contributors

ROBBINSVILLE, NJ (May 13, 2021) – A stellar group of 18 individuals has been selected as the NJSIAA Gallagher/Bollinger Hall of Fame’s class of 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,” says Jack DuBois, NJSIAA assistant director, who chairs the selection committee. “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 2021 hall of fame inductees are:

Athletes 

Joetta Clark, Track & Field, Columbia H.S., 1980

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

Christopher Ford, Basketball, Holy Spirit H.S., 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 H.S., 1965

• Won gold (400-meter freestyle) and bronze (100-meter backstroke) medals at ‘64 Tokyo Olympics
• Established 100-meter backstroke world record, 1964
• National collegiate titles (backstroke), 1965-‘67

Kenny Jackson, Football, South River H.S., 1979

• First-Team, All-State honors at South River H.S. in football, basketball, and track
• All-American and 1982 national champion at Penn State U.
• Fourth overall selection in 1984 NFL draft, by Philadelphia Eagles
• Member, New Jersey Sportswriters Hall of Fame, 1996
• Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach, 2001-2003

Eulace Peacock, Track & Field, Union H.S., 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 H.S., all-state athlete in track & field, football, and basketball

Harding William Peterson, Baseball, Woodbridge H.S., 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 ‘79

Tricia Popowski, Multiple sports, Hoffman H.S., 1987

• Softball – Star Ledger’s All-Century Team
• Softball – U. of South Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame
• Softball — 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 3 Group I state championships

Anthony Siragusa, Football, David Brearley Regional H.S., 1985

• 12-year NFL career
• Super Bowl XXXV champion, with Baltimore Ravens
• FOX Sports NFL game analyst, 2002-2015
• Played college football at U. of Pittsburgh
• NJSIAA state champion in wrestling
• First-Team, All-State, All-Groups, football

John Somogyi, Basketball, St. Peter’s New Brunswick H.S., 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, U. of New Mexico
• Eventually transferred to Rutgers U., 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 H.S., 1978

• Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, 2008
• NFL All-Decade Team, 1980s
• Played 11 seasons in NFL (New England Patriots), named to 5 consecutive Pro Bowls
• All-American selection, 1981, at U. of Iowa

Dajuan Wagner, Basketball, Camden H.S., 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 H.S.

• 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 / River Dell / Northern Highlands 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

• 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, 2006-2018
• 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 H.S. (posthumous)

• Coached 20 students who became NCAA Division I, scholarship athletes
• Coached 66 individual state champions
• Coached 16 state championship teams
• Teams earned #1 ranking in state 16 times
• Final record of 252-33-2

Nancy Williams, coached multiple sports, Shore Regional H.S.

• 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, 4 sectional state championships in softball
• As girls basketball head coach, won 2 conference championships and 205 total games
• As track and field head coach won a group state championship

About NJSIAA

Established in 1918, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is a voluntary, non-profit organization comprised of 436 accredited public and non-public high schools. A member of the National Federation of State High School Associations, the NJSIAA conducts tournaments and crowns champions in 33 sports. Championship competition for girls is sponsored in basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, outdoor track, winter track, volleyball, and wrestling. Boys’ championships are determined in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, outdoor track, winter track, volleyball, and wrestling.