Slurricanes softball is a championship production
The Quan Ta Productions Slurricanes, a member of the Millennium Sunday Softball League, won the 2017 USA of PA Class D2 men’s slow pitch state championship in Drifton recently. The team was among the four District 6 (Delaware and Chester counties) representatives to reach the final eight in the tournament and had to defeat winners bracket champion Unhinged (District 4) twice to claim the title.
The Slurricanes, who posted a 7-1 tourney record, earned a 16-15 decision over Unhinged in 10 innings to force a deciding contest, which they won, 19-9. Joe Simmonds’ home run in the bottom of the sixth inning ended the final matchup.
The Slurricanes gave the Millennium League state championships in consecutive years. In 2016, Applegate Softball took the Class E men’s slow pitch title.
Among the other members of the Slurricanes team were Mike Ascenzi, Jon Harris, Jimmy Jenkins, Tommy Higgins, Angelo Koskinas, Steve Smith, Frank Smith, Steve Michels, Anthony Maggitti, Frank Lanni, Ryan Doga, Jim Broadbelt, and Larry McFadden.
Ridley Park resident Jim Cooper and his family present scholarships each year to local students in memory of Cooper’s late wife, Kathy. Among the 2017 winners were West Chester University studentathlete Samantha Barnett, Ridley graduates Joe Murphy, who will attend Temple University, and Izzy Hamlin, who is headed to Widener University, Estelle Fields, who will major in nursing at GwyneddMercy University, and James Ashton of Cardinal O’Hara.
Barnett, a graduate of Interboro High who is majoring in nursing and plays lacrosse at West Chester, recently wrote a note of thanks to Cooper.
“I was thrilled beyond belief as this award makes it possible to further my education in the field of nursing,” she said. “I am fortunate to be traveling to Australia to play lacrosse this summer, and this scholarship will enable me to partake in this wonderful opportunity and, with generous financial relief, to continue with my education at West Chester.
“It has also made me realize that I want to give back and be able to help others, as you have helped me.”
The annual golf tournament to raise funds for the Kathy Cooper Scholarship will be held Sunday, Oct. 1, at Valleybrook Country Club in Blackwood, New Jersey. Tee-off time is 8 a.m.
The cost is $400 per foursome, $105 for individual golfers, or $40 for anyone who wants to attend only the post-golf dinner.
There will be longest drive and closest to the pin prizes, a putting contest, and three team awards. A 50-50 raffle and silent auction will be held at the dinner.
For additional information, contact Jim Cooper, 21 W. Belair Rd., Ridley Park, PA 19078, call 610-534-9715 or 610659-6059, or send an email to jkcooper@comcast.net.
Three Cardinal O’Hara High tennis players earned All-Catholic first team honors for the 2017 season after helping the Lions to their best Catholic League record in 14 years.
Senior Andrew Shuda was selected at first singles, and cousins Patrick McCarry, a senior, and Martin Meenan, a sophomore, were honored as a doubles team. Senior Ryan Shields made the All-Catholic second team.
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum in Radnor is featuring one of the cards from its newest collection of top county sports figures each week on the museum’s website at www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com.
The featured card this week is that of Vince Papale, the Interboro graduate and former football and track coach at his alma mater who made the Philadelphia Eagles as a 30-year-old rookie in 1976.
Papale attended Saint Joseph’s University on a track scholarship and was named the school’s outstanding athlete in 1968. He played in the Delco Rough Touch Football League before joining the Aston Knights of the Seaboard Pro Football League.
In 1974, he left teaching and coaching to play for the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. After the league folded during the 1975 season, he attended a tryout session held by the Eagles, was invited to the team’s training camp by coach Dick Vermeil, and made the squad as a backup receiver and special teams player.
In 2006, his story was made into the movie “Invincible.”
The Sports Legends Museum, which is located at 301 Iven Avenue in Radnor, is continuing its drive to raise funds to have a statue erected of Radnor High graduate Emlen Tunnell, a World War II hero and the first African-American elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Museum curator Jim Vankoski is seeking sponsors for individual cards in an Emlen Tunnell card set. Sponsorships cost $200 and will be tax-deductible.
For additional information, contact Vankoski at 610-909-4919 or visit www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com or www.emlentunnell.com.
Recently Vankoski received a letter from former Chicago Bears receiver Dr. Bill McColl, 87, a retired orthopedic surgeon who lives in La Jolla, California.
“I played for the Chicago Bears from 1952 to 1959,” McColl wrote. “I was quite familiar with (Emlen) Tunnell. I am glad to see the effort to give him some permanent recognition is progressing.
Bill “Babs” Haines, a Springfield resident, matched a Catholic League baseball record in May when he was the home plate umpire for the sixth time in the league playoff final. He shares the honor with Ed Kerrigan of Philadelphia.
Haines, who had double knee replacement surgery five days before Christmas 2016, umpired college and high school games during the spring and is a veteran of Delco League and Main Line American Legion League baseball.
A graduate of West Catholic High, he earned All-City first team football honors as a center in 1973 and is former head football coach at Williamson College of the Trades.