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Union County certainly had its moments in Snapple Bowl XVII, but once again it was Middlesex rising to the occasion to post a fifth straight victory in the ever-popular mid-July football all-star classic! ***In a rare instance where the team that didn't win will still be playing, while the team that won won't, occurred as Union Post 35, and not Scotch Plains, will be moving on to American Legion state tournament District 2 play on Saturday vs. Livingston Post 201. Check out "Feature Articles" ***What better way for West Essex to cap its post-season of very much-deserved honors as the state's No. 1 high school baseball team than to be presented with The Star-Ledger Trophy in a first-rate professional setting as was the case when the Knights received the coveted hardware in a special pre-game moment in Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium. Check out much more in "The Buzz" |
Although he will play baseball only at the college level, Cedar Grove's very athletic Patsy Caggiano (7) enjoyed a great football career for the Panthers capped by leading his team to a North 2, Group 1 playoff championship win over Secaucus in 2009. (Photo by Sean Buldiger) |
Cedar Grove’s Caggiano Busy Preparing
For Montclair State University Baseball Career
By Steve Tober
For sidelinechatter.com
Back in the day, there were always great names in the Montclair sandlots, such as future New York Yankee third baseman Billy “Brud” Johnson, his sidekick, Morris “Mushy” Walensky, “Bubby” Fikslin, “Bebe” Lennon, “Toto” Pirello, “Pepper” Martin, “Fuzzy” Furlong, and, “Patsy” Caggiano.
That Patsy Caggiano chose football at the next level, which he excelled in at Syracuse University, over the diamond sport, which he shined in on an amateur level.
Fast forward to 2010, another Patsy Caggiano, the grandson of the aforementioned former Montclair icon, is doing great justice to the time-honored, terrific sports-related moniker, and he’s sticking to his own modern-day, boyhood dream of playing college baseball, forgoing the sport of football, which he also has excelled in during a storied high school career at Cedar Grove.
For the Patsy Caggiano still carving his own impressive niche today, the decision to pursue baseball as his chosen game at the next level should bode well for Montclair State University, which will gain the services of the now graduated Panther All-Essex two-sport star for the diamond game played inside Yogi Berra Stadium.
But, you can rest assured the coaches who control the goings-on on nearby Sprague Field, where the fall pigskin sport rules, would love to have the services of the very capable baseball-football athlete who most recently donned the Black and Gold of Panther country.
“Going way back before I even got to high school I thought that I wanted to play college baseball some day,” said Caggiano, the 5-foot-8, 180-pound talented all-around athlete. “I loved playing high school football, and after the season we had this past fall I thought about maybe trying both sports at Montclair State, but then realized there was a slim chance of being able to do that.”
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