Broome’s isn’t any ordinary name on a wall
Keith Broome has coached three Springfield High School teams to the championship round in the 10 years that the PIAA has held girls lacrosse state tournaments.
Broome, a teacher, coach, and athletics director at E.T. Richardson Middle School as well as a Springfield resident, also has spent countless hours making sure a number of Springfield Athletic Association programs have been run successfully.
Several months ago, Broome’s name was placed on Springfield’s Volunteer Wall near the softball complex on Saxer Avenue. It was done on behalf of Springfield A.A. in appreciation for his years as the association’s director. Among the other associations involved with the Volunteer Wall are the Springfield Women’s Clubs, Springfield Youth Club, American Legion, and Springfield’s Ambulance Corps and Fire House.
Broome managed Springfield A.A.’s boys lacrosse program and started the girls lacrosse program.
“For all of us, Keith Broome is more than a name on a wall,” Springfield A.A. president Brian Williams said. “It is what he has done over the years and what he continues to do that defines (him) … The name Keith Broome stands for volunteer service for the good of the community … the good of all of us.
“… He is being recognized for what he has done for women’s sports and just about everything in the Athletic Association for years. … What he did was put young girls on the field to simply learn a great game (lacrosse) and have fun doing it. And he led an effort to put community service into all of this by bringing his high school players back to the fields to run clinics and teach younger kids how to play the game.
“It was people like Keith, Mike Werley and Patty Loeliger who taught our kids about the meaning and value of volunteering. Keith Broome, his wife, Lydia, and daughters Beverly and Taylor graced our fields and gymnasiums for many years, and because of them we are all better people. Having Keith’s name on (the Volunteer Wall) makes this corner even better.”
The DELPA Legends of Coaching Foundation will honor Garnet Valley football coach Mike Ricci, former Concord football coach George Kosanovich and Sam Minutola, a Ridley Township High graduate who has coached Little League and American Legion teams in Delaware.
The trio will be saluted at a dinner Sat., Feb. 17, at the Concordville Inn. The event will begin at 6 p.m.
Ricci has been Garnet Valley’s head football coach since 1986 and has more than 200 career victories. In 10 years in the Central League, his teams have won four league championships.
In 2007, Garnet Valley played in the PIAA Class AAA championship game, and in 2016 and 2017 the Jaguars were Class 6A district finalists. In 2008, the National Football Foundation presented him with its “Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football” award.
Kosanovich coached Concord football from 1983-2013, winning 255 games as well as Delaware Division II championships in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Six of his former players spent time in the NFL.
Minutola was an All-Suburban One League pitcher at Ridley Township and helped Norwood Legion win county and district titles. He played for the 3rd Marine Division Inter-Service baseball team and also played in the Delaware County Baseball League.
He has coached a team that participated in the Junior Little League World Series and a team that won the Delaware American Legion championship. He is a member of the Delco Athletes Hall of Fame.
Cost for the dinner is $50, with proceeds going to a scholarship fund in the name of the three coaches.
Additional information can be obtained from Frank Minutola at 302-367-6168 or fminutola@ gmail.com, Kevin O’Donoghue at 610-636-7367 or kevinod1@ gmail.com, John Myura at 302545-7491 or johnmyura@comcast.net, or Daniel Foltz at 61095-2922 or speakerfoltz@gmail. com.
Among those being inducted into Archmere Academy’s Athletics Hall of Fame at the school’s 2018 awards dinner Feb. 9 will be Pat McNamara of the Class of 1981.
McNamara was a standout CYO athlete at Our Lady of Charity School in Brookhaven before enrolling at Archmere.
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum in Radnor is holding a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Mickey Vernon, the Marcus Hook native who won two American League batting titles during his majorleague baseball career (1939-60).
Among the items on display is a picture of the Villanova University baseball team from the one year that Vernon attended the school before signing his first professional baseball contract.
The Museum also is continuing its drive to raise funds to have a statue erected of Radnor’s Emlen Tunnell, a World War II hero and the first African-American elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The statue fund-raising committee will have the dedication ceremony June 2. The committee continues to accept donations and is selling ads for the program book that will be available at the ceremony. Ads come in full-page, half-page, quarterpage, and business-card sizes.
Checks payable to Sports Legends Museum can be mailed to 301 Iven Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087.
Additional information about the statue project can be found by visiting www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com or www.emlentunnell.com or by contacting Jim Vankoski at vankoski21@comcast.net or 610909-4919.