MONTCLAIR- Smiles were everywhere in the room, and whether it was legendary field hockey coach Louise Bellace in town from South Carolina, former all-state lacrosse goalie Billy Pilat coming up from Virginia where he was a Hall of Fame coach at Roanoke College, or former all-state basketball point guard Dwayne Jones making the trip in from Arizona, the positive vibes about a long overdue Montclair High School Sports Hall of Fame now becoming a reality were felt throughout the Atrium inside George Inness School where the first Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on Friday evening, Oct. 17.
There were 50 former athletes, coaches or their family representatives who were able to attend the initial Hall of Fame get-together from an initial Hall of Fame class of 115 with many coming in the sport of football, including legendary coaches Clary Anderson and Butch Fortunato, who were inducted into the Hall as both coaches and players.
The spirit of those memorable Mounties who have already left for the big blue sky above was certainly felt, including regarding a special someone who may not have been a Hall of Fame athlete himself, but was vital to the Hall even happening; that being Jimmy Eason, a member of the MHS Class of 1961, who passed away two years ago, but had been a prime force in helping to inspire the Founders Commitee to make the MHS Sports Hall of Fame come to fruition after his death.
“Back in 2010 when Jimmy and I were both working with the Montclair High Football Gridiron Club, we talked about how sad it was that we still did not have a sports hall of fame, and how we had to try and finally do something about that,” said Pam Reilly (MHS Class of ’77), and a key member of the MHS Sports Hall of Fame Founders Committee, who is also the head volleyball coach at MHS. “Jimmy did some great research and he knew so many people involved which helped enormously in energize the process to make this happen.
“He became ill, then passed away (On Oct. 25, 2023) and we were kind of shellshocked, but with his inspiration for getting this Hall of Fame off and running, a group of us put the project into overdrive and now it’s come to fruition which feels so good for all of us who love Montclair High School sports and the great people who have been a part of the rich history.
“We wanted to give deference to the legacy people who started this all,, and it’s a shame that our current athletes don’t know about a lot of these great athletes who have built such a strong legacy in all the different sports, so we are determined to continue to spread the word and we will keep this going because there are so many more deserving former athletes to induct in the future.”
Football members dominate in terms of the volume of inductees in the first class introduced on Oct. 17. Former National League Baseball President Lenny Coleman (Class of ’67), a former star running back, made the trip up from his home near the Jersey shore, and had a chance to catch up with other former Mountie greats such as Ron Burton (Class of ’65), who quarterbacked the memorable 1964 team, considered one of the Mounties' very best gridiron squads, along with fellow Hall of Fame inductees who played their senior season in ‘64 in Dave and Jay Johnson, Ken Newsome and John Tyson.
Coleman also had a chance to meet up with his old Rand School buddy Roger Terry, a retired Montclair police deputy chief and former Montclair deputy mayor, who served as master of ceremonies for the Oct. 17th Hall of Fame induction evening.
“Seeing all these great former Mounties, including a former elementary school classmate in Lenny is so incredible,” said Terry. “I am so thankful to be here with so many familiar faces, some of whom I haven’t seen in many years.”
