**Contact Us**
**Special Photos**
**In Memoriam**
**Calendar Items**
**Media Events**
**Miscellaneous**
**Other Links**
**Special Stories**
**Archive**

Welcome to TedSilary.com
For many historical files, please visit www.tedsilary.com/archive/

Rest in peace . . .
Joe Malizia
Joe's game films
are still available
via his son, Joe Jr.
Click here
and/or check the
Youtube channel

"Where High School Sports Are Always Homepage News"
Like this site? Please tell your teammates/friends/family. Thanks!

**Click here for alerts from 4/1/22 to 5/31/22**
**Click here for alerts from 1/1/22 to 3/31/22**
**Click here for alerts from 1/1/21 to 12/31/21**
**Click here for alerts from 9/1/19 to 12/31/20**
**Click here for alerts from 9/1/18 to 8/31/19**
**Click here for alerts from 9/1/17 to 8/31/18**
**Click here for alerts from 9/1/16 to 8/31/17**
**Click here for alerts from 9/1/15 to 8/31/16**
**Click here for alerts from 8/18/11 to 8/31/15**
**Click here for alerts from 3/25/09 to 8/17/10** 

  Click here for access to photo albums.
  Joe Malizia's game films/tapes are still available via his son, Joe Jr. Click here and/or check the Youtube channel. Joe Jr.s new email address is joseph.malizia.jr@gmail.com
  Links to CL basketball individual scoring pages: B-P - Carr - C-E - Devon - Dough - Dough extra - Judge - Ken/K-K - Ken/K-K extra --  Lans - La S - McD - McD extra - North - North extra - O'Hara - Roman - Ryan - SC/Neum/N-G - St. J - St. J extra - SJP - STM - STM extra - West --Wood.
  Click here for special accomplishments by basketball players/teams from the six Catholic League schools that have closed aince 1975 -- STM, SJ, CD, BK/K-K, NC and BM.
  Links to I-A basketball individual scoring pages: EA - GA - HS - MP - PC - CHA/SCH (Career totals for all I-A scorers, 1969-2022, listed at bottom of pages for each school; overall list is here.)
  Click here for individual scoring in league/playoff games for all Pub basketball champs, 1940-2015.
  Rosters of CL football champs, 1980-2006 -- click here. 
  DONOFRIO CLASSIC '22 (and previous years) *Click here 

  Cindy (Antoni) Conaway's great career/life, Click here.
  Don "Fris" Conaway recaps his time as Ted's sidekick. Cliek here. 
  Rosters of Pub football champs, 1979-2007 -- click here.
  Penn Charter's football rosters, 1981-2010 -- click here.
  Ted's baseball finals scoresheets -- Catholic here, Public here.
  Summer Project 2018. Click here for 194 pics.
  Summer Project 2019. Click here for 92 pics.
  The Twitter page for Eastern Regional athletics is here.
  The online version of Eastern Regional's school newspaper, The Voyager, is here.
  Click here for links to all Eastern Regional photo sets/descriptions (and other sets involving South Jersey schools) in 2018 & 2019.
  Click here for a list of champs/title recaps for Catholic League girls basketball.
  Click here for Ed "Huck" Palmer's double-decade Catholic League All-Star Football Teams, by school, 2000-19.
  All files for Pandemic Project 2020 can now be found in the upper right corner on this page.

SJ Football History Pages
*Camden Catholic
*Eustace Prep
*Haddonfield
*Moorestown
*Ocean City
*Pennsauken
*St. Augustine
*Sterling
*Washington Township

SJ Basketball History Pages
*Jim Crawford Tribute Page
*Paul VI
*Catholic Sectional Champions
*Sterling
--
FB/BASK FILES
2019-20 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
FB/BASK FILES
2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
FB/BASK/BASE FILES
2017-18 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
FB/BASK/BASE FILES
2016-17 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
FB/BASK/BASE FILES
2015-16 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
FB/BASK/BASE FILES
2014-15 SCHOOL YEAR
*Click here
--
40-YEAR FOOTBALL
TEAMS 1976-2015
*Click here

          **ALERTS!!**
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  This page from 2016 includes stories about 87 "Our Guys" who advanced to the NFL, NBA or MLB. Fifteen stories were added in 2020, bringing the total to 102.
  Story Time album is here.
  A page that celebrates the 53-year career of media giant Ray Didinger is here
  Ongoing . . .
  Click here for Ed "Huck" Palmer's statistical coverage of Catholic League football on easternpafootball.com -- TEAM PAGES, leader boards, etc. TEAM PAGES for Penn Charter and Malvern now included.
  Click here for Ed "Huck" Palmer's complete, game-by-game stats for 2021-22 Catholic League basketball teams. Click here for Huck's CL all-star teams and special awards.
  **Click here for Huck's All-Catholic football teams -- Overall, Red, Blue.**
  Huck's CL team/individual stats leaders for 2020-21 basketball are here. As are team-by-team stats, leader boards in many categories.
  Click here for basketball rosters for Catholic/Inter-Ac teams. (All rosters now posted. Thanks!)
  The schedule/results/complete boxscores for Catholic League basketball are here.
  Individual scoring in Inter-Ac League basketball games is posted here.
  PIAA boys basketball brackets/schedules . . . Class 6A - Class 5A - Class 4A - Class 3A.
  Tribute Pages: Devon Prep --- Roman --- Neumann-Goretti
  Updates on the Donofrio Classic can be accessed here.
  Click here for the 2021-22 All-City Basketball Team; courtesy of Randy Miller / The Miller Report. And the All-State Basketball Teams, selected by Pennsylvania Sports Writers.

May 31 
  Click here for a story on Haverford School's surprising PAISAA baseball crown.
  From Chuck: The answer is Roy Campanella (Gratz). There were three correct answers from Tom Taylor, Tom Puzycki, and Chris "Gator" McCoy. Tom Taylor was the first one with the correct answer.
Pub Tedbit
  Through the years, no doubt you have come to realize I'm obsessed with clever nicknames. Check out the list, letter by letter, and don't bother making S your first stop. Wilt Chamberlain hated being called "The Stilt." Again, HATED it. The reporters tried to respect his wishes, but most (all?) eventually caved in. He LOVED "Dippy" and buddies always called him that after be bumped his head against a pipe in a basement because he didn't dip down low anough. So, there ya go . . . Wilt "Dippy" Chamberlain. Bartram's Lanier "Church" Perrin lived on top of one on 58h St. near Willows Ave.. I wrote a full story about him in '93 and got to the bottom of his unique nickname. Here's how it started: Lanier "Church" Perrin did not acquire his nickname because his head is long and pointy, like a steeple. Nor because he always walks around in a suit and tie and carries a Bible. Perrin , a leaping, 6-3 senior center for John Bartram's basketball team, is called "Church" by his buddies because he formerly lived on top of one. Perrin's grandmother, Odell McFadden, who has since moved to North Carolina, formerly was the pastor of a baptist church on 58th Street, near Willows Avenue, in Southwest Philadelphia. "It was like a house in the middle of the block," Perrin said. "The church was on the first floor, with an apartment on top. The congregation used it often, not just on Sundays. When the service was going on, you could tell from upstairs. It wasn't like it was real loud, though. When we first moved in there, I helped her with the painting and put up the drop ceiling. Before the service, I did a lot of the cleaning, vacuumed the carpet. My aunts would come over to help a lot, too. I didn't like being called 'Church' at first, but I'm all right with it now. It grew on me." A few letters below are nickname-less, so if you have any suggestions, send them along. Thanks.

May 30
  Trivia question from Chuck Langerman . . . Who is the only former Major League Baseball player in the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown who attended a Philadelphia City League school (Public, Catholic, or Inter-Ac)??? Name the player and the high school. Send answers to chucklang@hotmail.com by 2 p.m. Thanks!
  Changes/schedule for the Pendel Baseball League. Click here.
  Wood's Gary Martin did it again. Click here.
Pub Tedbit
  When I began covering Public League basketball for the long-gone Philadelphia Bulletin in the 1975-76 season, there were 19 schools. Yes, 19. If the numbers I've found were correct, this past season the number of teams was 63. Yes, 63!! No wonder some (many?) games resemble a bad gym class. How can there possibly be enough quality players to stock 63 teams? . . . Anyway, the list below shows school records (through 2015) for the 19 schools that were part of the Pub in 1975-76. Some go back a long way. Nine were achieved from 1946 to 1977. The most recent one was posted in 2005 and I doubt any records have been broken at those 19 schools over the last seven seasons. 

May 29
  Click here for Delco Times story on B-P's championship win.

May 28
  RIP, Dr, Bob Sinnott. Bob, a football star at Cardinal Dougherty High and Lycoming, passed away recently. Click here and/or here.
  Bonner-Prendie is the Catholic League baseball champ. The Frairs beat Wood, 4-2. Pic here. Bonner/B-P owns four crowns.
  Penn Charter's girls won the PAISAA  lacrosse championship. Click here.
 No Pub Tedbit today/tomorrow. See ya Monday. Thanks.

May 27
  **Click here for a page that celebrates Eastern Regional's ninth and final victory in the NJ field hockey Tournament of Champions.**
Pub Tedbit
  Darin "Munchy" Mason . . . James "Slurp" Gambrell . . . Anthony "Hubba Bubba" King . . . Darryl "City Lights" Warwick . . . Faron "Meatball" Hand . . . Phil "Weasel" Melton . . . Horace "Pappy" Owens . . . Paul "Snoop" Graham . . . Kevin "Buzzy" Forney . . . Erik "Ugs" Adams.
  If you're a fan of catchy nicknames, there was a time way back when the Daily News wanted to throw you under the bus. Can't remember the year, but a copy editor told me to stop using "those stupid nicknames" becaue they detracted from the stories. I wound up snapping out and a multi-pronged argument ensued. My point: These are good kids trying to use sports to improve their lives. Their friends barely know their real names and even some teachers use their nicknames. At one point, I darn near shouted, "Are you still going to use nicknames in the stories about shady characters selling drugs and even killing each other? Sure, that make sense. Ugh." And how about all those times when No. 45 for the Phillies earned a save. Why wasn't he Frank McGraw, not Tug McGraw? Thankfully, some higher-ups understood my feelings and I was able to keep using the nicknames.    

May 26
  Three days away for Ray . . . Click here for Matt Breen's story on Ray Didinger's upcoming retirement.
Pub Tedbit
  This is hard to believe, part two. Back on April 28, I did a Tedbit showing just two Catholic League teams have won quarterfinals, semifinals and finals by increasing margins going back to 1968. Two is also the number for Public League squads from 1974 through 2015. In '99, Franklin's Denelle Holly likely was the best sixth man in Pub playoff history. Strawberry Mansion's ballclub featured a kid with perhaps the best nickname ever, Wayne "Whispers" Harrington. In 85 minutes off the bench, Holly shot 22-for-29 (76 percent) en route to 47 points while also claiming 45 rebounds! I interviewed Harrington after Mansion’s title triumph and discovered his voice was extremely raspy and low volume. “They call me ‘Whispers’ at school,’ he said, pleasantly. They say I sound like ‘The Godfather.’ I don’t know why my voice is like this. Nothing ‘happened’ to make it this way. Just is.”

May 25
  Wood and Roman will open their football seasons at Ocean City High. Details -- Wood vs. Red Bank Catholic, Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m.; Roman vs. Millville, Aug. 28, 11 a.m.
PubTedbit
 The list below shows Public League playoffs -- 1970 through 2015, quarterfinals on up -- that required overtime. Somewhat surprising that just twice was more than one OT necessary, but VERY cool that both of those contests went on and on into a fourth OT. Frankford was involved in both and the win yielded its first Pub crown. That game was an all-timer, as you can imagine, and I'm positive some of Frankford's players still talk about it often. Here are the recaps for the four-OT wars:
1988 FINAL
At Temple's McGonigle Hall
Frankford 71, West 64 (4 ot)
  Frankford, a PL member since the 1916-17 season, won its first championship in a classic war of attrition. Both teams lost four starters to personal fouls. Frankford's ninth man, guard Jeffrey Mack, made a huge steal in the third OT, then made another in the fourth. The Pioneers took the lead for good, at 64-62, on Jason Warley's rebound basket with 2:34 left. Warley had 22 points and 23 rebounds. His brother, Carlin, a sophomore, had 16 points and 15 rebounds. For West, Mik Kilgore had 27 points and 10 rebounds.
2010 QUARTERFINAL
(Also Class 4A Final)
At Franklin
Bartram 89, Frankford 87 (4 ot)
  Mike Burton-Young, a 5-5 junior who did not see action until franchise guard Tyrone Garland fouled out with 2:38 left in the first OT, finished with nine points, two assists and one steal. Darrell Robinson, the seventh man, added four points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Regulation ended at 61-61. Bartram rallied from a five-point deficit in the first OT and Frankford came back from four in the second. Only four total points were tallied in the third. Burton-Young went 4-for-4 at the line in the fourth extra session. After missing two free throws at 5.4, Robinson grabbed his own rebound and headed back to the line at 2.8. This time he made one and Devin Moore intercepted Frankford's final inbound pass. Garland scored 18 points. Zaahir Allen totaled 20 points, 11 rebounds. Dehaven Brown (20), Terrell Clark (18, 15 rebounds) and Carl Wallace (17) led Frankford, which shot 29-for-88 and 21-for-38 to Bartram's 29-for-73, 24-for-36.

May 24
  RIP, Bob Schaeffer. Bob, a first team defensive lineman for Northeast's 1968 Public League football champions, passed away recently. He also was a long-time teacher. Obit is here.
  From Chuck . . . Three readers got the correct answer of former Villanova University,  Essex Catholic High School, and Olympics runner Marty Liquori.  The winners are Tom Meakim, Ken Woodring, and Frank Barone. Tom Meakim was the first one to provide the correct answer.
  Updated track files for the Catholic/Inter-Ac Leagues and City Title are here
  Updated file for CL lacrosse is here.
Pub Tedbit
  The three-point rule made its Public League debut in the 1987-88 season and just one player, Southern's Kareem "Rab" Townes (41.2 in '91), has averaged at least 40 points. In the before-treys era, Overbrook's Wilt Chamberlain also was alone in the 40-Point Average Club, yet his norm was six points higher at 47.2. Wilt also holds the second and seventh spots. The players on the top list scored 4,811 points in 139 games for a 34.6 average. Bottom list: 4,206 in 122 for 34.5. As close to a dead heat as you can get.

May 23
  Trivia question from Chuck Langerman . . . Gary Martin of Archbishop Wood High School ran the first sub four-minute mile in Pennsylvania state history at the Catholic League championships at Cardinal O'Hara. Who is the only New Jersey high school runner ever to run a sub four-minute mile???  (Hint: He ran college track at a Philadelphia-area school.) Send answers to chucklang@hotmail.com by 2 p.m. Thanks!
Pub Tedbit
  Coaches' All-Public Teams are selected right after the regular season concludes and through 2015 just eight squads had produced three first teamers. Two were teams that rank among the best squads in city history and powered ahead to win championships -- West Philly (30-0) in 1977 and Gratz (31-0) in '93. Two others also captured crowns, Imhotep in '07 and '09. In '73, a strike by teachers limited Pub play to two games and the Sonny Hill Winter League took over from there.

May 22
  Congrats to Masterman's boys' tennis team, which today edged Lancaster Country Day, 3-2, to win the state AA title!

May 21
  Collin Gillespie is trying to impress the NBA folks before the draft. Click here.
  No Pub Tedbit today/tomorrow. See ya Monday. Thanks.

May 20
  From Chuck Langerman . . . St. Joseph's University graduate student Ian McCole made history, throwing just the fourth solo no-hitter in program history with an 18-0 win over St. Bonaventure. It's the first solo no-hitter in school history in 52 years since 1967 St. Joseph's Prep graduate Dave Landers did it in 1970. Landers a right-handed hitting outfielder/pitcher holds the St. Joe's University career record with a .393 batting average. 
  Eastern Regional field hockey star Ryleigh Heck is featured in a national story. Click here.
  Ryan's Luke Boyd will play college hoops at West Chester.
Pub Tedbit
  A lot of very good Public League players earned first team honors just once, so the field for this list was not as large as it was for the Catholic and Inter-Ac leagues. However, the top three dips were rather large. FLC's Faron "Meatball" Hand was a first team All-Coty player in 1991 and '92 and the Bobcats won the Pub crown in '92, so we doubt he minded.

May 19
  Alumnus Taylor Wright ('11), son of Jay and a former minor league baseball player, has been named the interim basketball coach at Episcopal. He'll be in charge for the 2022-23 season.
  Click here for a story on St. Augustine's win over Lenape in the championship game of the 48th annual Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic.
Pub Tedbit
  There's one thing I love about the list below: Twenty-six Public League products have made the All-Big First Team at least twice going back to the organization's first season in 1955-56. There’s one thing I don't Like: Only seven have played in this century. Cmon, guys. Dionte Chrsistnas, "Mardy" Collins, Lynn Greer and Steve Smith all advanced to the NBA. The three others – Rodney Green, Ramone Moore, Marvin O’Connor – played pro ball in other countries, so I'm guessing all seven guys would agree that staying home for college was a smart move.

May 18
  Episcopal won the Inter-Ac track championship for the first time since 1979. The moment was special for Tom Greenwood, formerly the coach and now an assistant. He'll  retire next month after 37 years of teaching and coaching. All the best, Tom!
  Time for a Chuck Langerman Chuckbit. Happy birthday to Mr. October! Click here.
  Eastern Regional soph Zoe Goldberg is already quite the javelin star. Click here,
Pub Tedbit
  Mark "Max" Levin enjoyed quite the two-season run while serving as Overbrook's coach in the '79 and '80 seasons. He claimed the city record for overall record at 34-0, then posted the highest winning percentage in a one-loss season with a 34-1 record. From 1950 through 2015, 21 Public League teams finished with overall records including no setbacks or one. 'Brook led the way with seven. West Philly was next with four.

May 17
  Best wishes going forward to umpire extraordinaire (and person) Gene Otto, who worked Catholic League games for 46 years and assigned the crews for 31! He soon will be inducted into the CL Hall of Fame. Major congrats, Gene!
  Click here for Matt Breen's story on Wood super-runner Gary Martin.
Pub Tedbit
  A look at semis/finals results for two of the top coaches in city history, Gratz' Bill Ellerbee (20 years) and West Philly's Joe Goldenberg (21 years). . .

May 16
  *Click here for a page that celebrates the 53-year career of sports media giant Ray Didinger, who soon will retire. Ray did it all while remaining the nicest man you could ever hope to meet!_
  Big day last Friday for Penn Charter vs. rival Germantown Academy. Aidan Mehta hammered a walkoff grand slam to lead the baseball team to victory and Colin Michener, in OT, thanks to a steal and open-net goal, lifted the lacrosse team to victory. Colin is about to become a third generation PC grad.
  Time for a Chuck Langerman Chuckbit. A Cheltenham grad has caused Embiid's devastation. Click here.
Pub Tedbit
  You should have known this one: My first Public League Tedbit would be focused on Wilt Chamberlain. Some of you might have learned through the years that his three biggest outbursts were 90, 74 and 71 points and that all three took place versus Roxborough. As you'll see below, thanks to numbers nailed down long ago by Tom Taylor, Wilt also posted 59 vs. Dobbins and hit every number from 49 on down to 24 except for 27. Pretty amazing. Overall, in three varsity seasons (ninth grade was part of junior high back then), he scored 46.9 percent of the Hilltoppers' points. 

ay 15
  Virginia Tech RB Raheem Blackshear (Wood) has signed a free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills.

May 14
  In today's CL track championships, Wood sr. Gary Martin became the first Pennsylvania kid to clock under 4 minutes in the mile (3:57.98). Major congrats! Click here.
  As the video coordinator, former SJ Prep player Mark Hueber has joined the staff of La Salle University's new basketball coach, Fran Dunphy. Click here. Even in grade school, Mark wrote hoops reports for this website. Click here for his efforts in 2007. Best of luck, Mark!
  No Tedbit today/tomorrow. See ya Monday for the first Pub Tedbit. Thanks.

May 13
  Click here for a pic of special honoree Mark Heimerdinger from last night's Northeast Times Awards Banquet.
Tedbt
  Below is the Inter-Ac's version of yesterday's list. The leader at 7.3 is Germantown Academy's Craig White from '87 to '88. Two teammates also make an appearance -- Malvern's Deuce Turner and Rahdir Hicks in 2019 and '20.

May 12
  **Note from Ted: At some point next week, I will shift the focus of Tedbits to Public Leagye basketball. Please tell your friends. (The first one will feature some tall guy from Overbrook -- smile).**
  B-P's baseball team beat La Salle to clinch first place. Click here.
  Congrats to Lansdale Catholic softball coach Paul Suder, who now owns 300 vistories!
Tedbit
  If you checked the boxscores each day in the 1967-68 basketball season, you had to figure O'Hara's Joe Hazinsky was miserable. He'd averaged 21.9 points in the previous campaign while earning first team All-Catholic honors, but now his numbers were falling and darn near plummeting. What was the deal? Fighting an injury and/or sickness? Saddled with some knuckleheaded teammates? Nope, the team was better, much better, and Hazinsky did not have to pump away. His final average was 13.6 and he again made first team All-Catholic. Oh, and there was this: O'Hara won the CL championship in just its fourth season of participation! Future NBA player Tom Ingelsby, a junior. was one of the starters. The list below shows average dips of at least three points for CL first-teamers from junior to senior season. Hazinsky played college ball at St. Francis (PA) and owns a spot in the school’s Athletics HOF. Congrats! 

May 11
Tedbit
  Oh, what happened to the good, ol' days, especially with regard to the McDonald's All-Ameriacn Game? No game was played in 1977, but an all-star team was selected and West Philly's Gene Banks was on it. The game made its debut in '78 and was played at Philly's old Spectrum and two "Our Guys" were participants -- West Philly's Clarence "Eggy" Tillman and Roman's Reggie Jackson. The good vibes continued through Five of the next eight tussles and then . . . ugh. "Our Guys" have appeared in just five more games and just one has done so since 2009. Here are performance breakdowns.
    1978 -- Reggie Jackson, Roman Catholic, and Clarence "Eggy" Tillman, West Philadelphia. Jackson shot 4-for-14 for nine points and had five assists. Tillman shot 3-for-9 for seven points and had three rebounds.
    1979 -- Horace "Pappy" Owens, Murrell Dobbins Tech. Owens shot 9-for-17 for 18 points and had three assists.
    1980 -- Lonnie McFarlan, Roman Catholic. McFarlan shot 6-for-13 for 13 points.
    1983 -- Dallas Comegys, Roman Catholic. Comegys had six points, 16 rebounds and six blocks.
    1985 -- Jerome "Pooh" Richardson, Ben Franklin, and Mark Stevenson, Roman Catholic. Richardson shot 4-for-9 for 10 points and had six assists. Stevenson shot 7-for-16 for 16 points.
    1986 -- Barry Bekkedam, Archbishop Carroll. Bekkedam was held scoreless in 8-plus minutes, shooting 0-for-3 from the floor and 0-for-4 at the line. (He contracted mono after scoring 37, 38 and 41 points in the final three regular season games. He missed the playoffs and lost 15 pounds.) 
    1993 -- Rasheed Wallace, Simon Gratz. Wallace shot 4-for-7 for nine points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
    2000 -- Eddie Griffin, Roman Catholic. Griffin shot 7-for-16 for 19 points (two treys) while adding four rebounds and two blocks.
    2006 -- Gerald Henderson and Wayne Ellington, both of Episcopal. Henderson shot 6-for-10 (one trey) and 3-for-4 for 16 points. Ellington shot 3-for-10 total and 2-for-8 on treys for eight points.
    2009 -- Maalik Wayns, Roman Catholic. Shot 2-for-6 and 1-for-1 for five points. Also notched seven assists to just one turnover. (He underwent right-knee meniscus surgery and missed nine late-season games before returning for the finale, a first-round, state-playoff loss. This game was played 3 1/2 weeks later.)
   2017 -- Quade Green, Neumann-Goretti. Played 16 minutes off the bench, shooting 4-for-12 (one trey) en route to nine points. Also dished seven assists, but was guilty of the same number of turnovers.
  (Due to COVID, games were not played in 2020 and 2021.)

May 10
  Linda Tait, mother of former Judge basketball star/coach Sean Tait, wrote a story this week for The Inquirer. Not sports, but we forgive her (smile). Well worth the read. Could change your life. Click here.
  Did you know? 2010 Caroll grad Vince Mostardi, who played there for Paul Romanczuk, is getting excited for his second year as the basketball coach at West Chester-Rustin. Year one produced a trip to the District 1 playoffs.
Best of luck, Vince!
Tedbit
  Back in the day, as oldheads like to say, Carroll's Barry Bekkedam finished his season with quite the bang. In the 1985-86 season, he broke the school record for points in three consecutive games with 37, 38 and 41 -- all in the CL Southern Division -- and finalized his league average at 23.6 (14-330). The Patriots finished 10-4 for second place and lost to O'Hara, 54-49, in the first round of the playoffs. How'd Barry do? Can't score if you can't play. The Canadian import was unavailable due to the flu, a strep throat and a touch of mono. Alas, touch became full-blown and by the time Barry suited up for the McDonald's All-American Gane, he was a shell of his former self, having lost 15 pounds. In eight-plus minutes, he failed to score while shooting 0-for-3 from the floor and 0-for-4 at the line. So rough. And things were difficult at Villanova also. In three injury-riddled seasons he totaled 142 points and 116 rebounds, then declined to play as a senior by "mutual agreement." In CL history, just five players have scored at least 35 points in as many as three league games. West's Michael Brooks (RIP) averaged 39.3 PPG over those three performances in 1976. Averages for the others: Bekkedam (38.7), West's Monroe Blakes (38.3 over four in ‘88). Roman's Eddie Griffin (38.0 in ‘99) and St. Thomas More's Billy Hoy (36.6 in ‘59). Barry was the only one to notch his outbursts in succession to finish league play. Eddie (RIP) did all of his damage as a junior. He and Michael played in the NBA.

May 9
  Click here and here for stories on Ray Didinger's upcoming retirement. (more below under May 8).
  **Click here for special accomplishments by basketball players/teams from the six Catholic League schools that have closed aince 1975 -- STM, SJ, CD, BK/K-K, NC and BM.**
  Just as he did at Germantown Academy, Georgia's Kyle Garland still kicks track & field butt. Click here.
Tedbit
  In a league with only six teams, the size of the Inter-Ac since 1969, it's not THAT hard for a school to produce first team honorees year after year after . . . Malvern did so for 21 through 1969 and Germantown Academy slapped together a 14-year streak from 2004 through '17. But check out Penn Charter's 16-year accomplishment. It goes waaaay back from '41 through '56 and the Quakers won 11 championships (two shared). Pretty cool.

May 8
  While attending St. James High (in Chester), Ray Didinger co-authored stories about his school for the Delco Times. Click here and look near the bottom of the page (headline reads Classes to Elect Officers Monday).
  From Chuck Langerman . . . On the radio this morning, forever sports writer/radio-TV commentator Ray Didinger (St. James '64) announced he'll be retiring at the end of May. Audio is here . . . All the best, Ray! You've done EVERYthing so well for so long! And have been admired by ALL.
  "Our Guys" on Pennsylvania Sports Writers' All-State Basketball Teams (seniors unless noted) . . .
  Class 6A: First team, Daniel Skillings (POY) and Xzayvier Brown, ir., Roman; Justin Moore, Wood. Second team, Khalil Farmer, Roman, and Jalil Bethea, Wood, soph. Third team: Sam Brown, La Salle. Co-Coach of the Year: Chris McNesby, Roman.
  Class 5A: First team, Justin Edwards, jr., (POY) and Rahmir Barno, jr., Imhotep; Thomas Sorber, Ryan, soph. Second team, Ahmad Nowell, Imhotep, soph. Third team, Luke Boyd and Darren Williams, soph, Ryan. Coach of the Year: Andre Noble, Imhotep.
  Class 4A: First team, Robert Wright (POY), soph, and Sultan Adewale, jr., N-G, Moses Hipps, Carroll, soph. Second team, Izaiah Pasha, OHara, jr., Deyishon Miller, West Phila., Masud Stewart, N-G. Third Tean, None.
  Class 3A: First team, Argel "IV" Pettit, Devon Prep. Second team, Zion Stanford, West Catholic, jr., Lucas Orchard, Devon Prep, jr., Khalif Crawley, MC&S. Third team: Adam "Budd" Clark, West Catholic, jr., Jacen Holloway, Devon Prep, jr., Shemar Wilbanks-Acqui, West Catholic, jr. Coach of the Year: Jason Fisher, Devon Prep.
  Class 2A: First team, Jacob Beccles, Constitution. Second team: Lamar Glover, Constitution. Third team, none.
  Class 1A. None.
  Non-PIAA: Third tean, Kevin McCarthy, Episcopal, soph.; Mark Butler, Penn Charter, jr.; Ryan Williams, Malvern, soph.

May 7
  Best wishes going forward to Mike Watkins, who coached McDevitt's football team for its final five seasons. This fall he'll be the offensive coordinator at Pennington School (NJ). Have fun, Mike!
  Click here for an extra page on St. Thomas More's basketball history.
  No Tedbit today/tomorrow. See ya Monday. Thanks.

May 6
  Congrats to Jerry Greenberg, of the legendary basketball family. A while back, on the 10th hole at Sandy Run Country Club, in Oreland, he achieved a hole in one! You go, Greenie!
  Episcopal grad Conner Delaney had a terrific hoops career at Johns Hopkins. Click here.
Tedbit
  Wonder how many schools across the country can make one specific claim? Well, we know one can do so and it's right here in Philly. For 50 consecutive -- yes, FIFTY! -- seasons, at least one Roman player has earned first team Coaches' All-Catholic honors. Jim "Chico" Singleton and Donald Kelly started the dominance in 1973 by grabbing two of the five spots on the Southern Division first team. Chico and Frank Sykes had been second teamers in ’72, Nos. 6 and 7 respectively. Divisions -- North/South, then Red/Blue -- existed through 2010 and the schools have competed in one overall group ever since. Speaking of 2011, the streak almost ended then. Roman came close to whiffing on the 10-player first team. Coming in ninth was frontcourter Fortunat "Junior" Kangudi, an import from Montreal. His 11.0 scoring average has been the second lowest of any first team Cahillite during the streak; Tony Carr averaged 10.9 in 2015. As you'll see on the list below, Neumann-Goretti also owns a long streak at 27 seasons. A couple more nuggets: Roman’s feat has involved 50 players – yes, FIFTY again! – and they’ve combined for 76 honors. In 1.027 games, they’ve racked up 18,058 points for a 17.6 average.    

May 5
  Tomorrow's Tedbit will reveal a significant accomplishment . . .
  West Virginia RB Leddie Brown (N-G) has signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers.
  Dawn Staley, Phil Martelli and Jay Wright are preparing for commencement speeches. Click here.
Tedbit
  The Inter-Ac League got started one year late with the three-point shot, as opposed to the Catholic League anyway, and it took a while for the effect to be felt. The lists below show the I-A's Top 10 season scorers through 1987 and from '88 on up. Only four guys from the '90s are on Part Two and two are from the final two seasons. The ten Before Guys scored 2,373 points in 96 games for a 24.7 average. The After Guys racked up 2,435 points in 99 games for 24.6. Almost a dead heat.

May 4
  Conwell-Egan has a new basketball coach. Click here.
  Click here for an extra page on North Catholic's basketball history.
  Judge's Matt McHugh is headed to West Virginia to serve as a football manager. Click here for Joe Mason's story.
Tedbit
  The 2021-22season was No. 36 for the three-point shot in Catholic League basketball. So, how big of an impact has it had? The lists below show the Top 10 averages in CL play before and after The Big Change. The top spots on each side belong to West Catholic guys. Future NBAer Michael Brooks (RIP) owns the before mark at 27.3 in 1976. Monroe Blakes beat him by two-10ths of a point in 1988 (27.5). The Top 10 Before Guys scored 3,470 points in 139 games for a 25.0 average. The After Guys' numbers -- 134-3,407-25.4 . Not a monumental difference.

May 3
  Episcopal Academy this summer will host JV and varsity basketball leagues from mid-June to the end of July. If interested, please contact director Mike Herron at herron@episcopalacademy.org. Thanks.  
  Former Penn Charter star Kenny Devenney (first team All-City OF in 2000 and '01) is now the baseball coach at Central. Best of luck! Click here for a pic and here for another.
Tedbit
  Another day, another screwup. My apologies to the people at Penn. The  Quakers have produced four NBA coaches and the details are below. Thanks to Ted Rauch for mentioning Dick Harter. A correct version of how to search led to the others.
  Before the research for this nugget commenced, I kinda knew which college would emerge victorious. The level of dominance? Surprising. The Big 5 was formed for the 1955-56 season, but the schools go back much further. Maybe at some point you've wondered, How many products of Big 5 schools have coached in the NBA? The answer is 10 and seven have called Saint Joseph's home. Penn is last at zero while La Salle, Temple and Villanova are tied for second at one. The breakdown for records is below, and a big thanks goes to basketball-reference.com.  Temple's Eddie Gottlieb guided the Philadelphia Warriors to the NBA's first championship in 1947 (though, at the time, the league was known as the Basketball Association of America). the Warriors seized their second crown in 1956 and that team's coach was ex-Hawk George Senesky. More titles? Wait, two more, thanks to Hawk Hill guys! Jack Ramsay took the Portland Trail Blazers to the 1977 summit and Paul Westhead did likewise with the 1980 Los Angeles Lakers. Alas, both teams beat the Sixers in the finals. That 1980 season began wih Jack McKinney -- like Ramsay, he also coached high school ball at the ol' St. James, in Chester -- running the Lakers. However, he suffered serious injuries in a bicycle accident and Westhead replaced him 13 games in. Last night, I texted long-time friend and former Daily News sports editor Pat McLoone to see if he could guess St. Joe's number of NBA coaches. Bang, he got it. "I was going to go with six, but I went with one over." Niiiiiiiice.

May 2
  On May 14, forever basketball coach Phil Martelli will be the guest speaker at Delaware Valley University's graduation ceremony.
  RIP, John Rodenbaugh. John, a k a "Roddy," a former basketball player ('73) at the ol' Bishop Kenrick, in Norristown, passed away recently. Obit is here.
  Click here for an extra page on St. James' basketball history.
  Time for a Chuck Langerman Chuckbit . . . It has been tooooo long. Click here.
Tedbit
  Going back to 1974 grads Donald Kelly and John Griffin, 27 Roman Catholic players have been starters for multiple Catholic League championship teams. Kelly was the first Cahillite among the 27 guys to twice earn first team All-Catholic honors. The others: Lonnie McFarlan, Marvin Harrison (yes, the NFL Hall of Famer), Eddie Griffin (RIP), Tony Carr, Seth Lundy and Lynn Greer

May 1
  In yesterday's Howard Ratinoff/Lamar Poole Memorial Alumni Basketball Game, Edison fell to Southern, 75-70. MVP Jay Myers led Southern with 20 points while Sami Wylie added 14. Edison was led by George Baker (15), Steve Martin (12) and Melvin Eason (10, eight rebounds). Group pic is here.
  Texas A&M OL Jahmir Johnson (Imhotep) has signed as a free agent with Green Bay.

April 30
  No Tedbit today/tomorrow. See ya Monday. Thanks.

April 29
  **The Howard Ratinoff/Lamar Poole Memorial Alumni Basketball Game, featuring star alumni players from Edison and Southern, will be played tomorrow, noon start, at Edison, Front and Luzerne streets.**
  Fran Dunphy has added fellow alum Joe Mihalich to his staff at La Salle University. Click here.
  Via Kenrick grad Patrick Beacham: Maggie Grant, star at Carroll and daughter of Kenrick grad Greg Grant, will play college hoops at Villanova. Pennsbury's Ava Sciolla, daughter of coach Frank Sciolla and 6A Player of the Year, is bound for Maryland. Frank (SJ Prep) and Greg were roommates at Cabrini.
  Click here for an extra page on Kenrick's/K-K's basketball history..
  Germantown Academy grad Cameron Ayers is now on the staff of Lafayette's new basketball coach, Mike Jordan.
  Eastern Regional's boys lacrosse team is rolling along at 8-0. Click here.
Tedbit
  Below are the top scorers for teams that have won state championships (regular type) or have finished as the rnnner-up (italic type). In 2021 the tournament was limited to three rounds and in 2020 it was canceled after two rounds. Scorers for 2021 are included. For 2020 they’re not.