Comets coaches’ kids honor work of fathers and others
Jim “Reds” Harris and Ed Parker Sr. coached Colwyn Comets youth football teams for years. Both died earlier this year.
Their sons, Donald Harris and Ed Parker Jr., as well as Parker’s daughter, Karen Parker Dougherty, and Doug Hill were among the members of a committee which put together a dinner and program that was held Saturday night to pay tribute to all those who served as Colwyn Comets coaches from the founding of the organization in 1958.
“The Colwyn Comets have always been about a community coming together,” Donald Harris said. “This was a product of some of us talking after our fathers’ passings. And it was overwhelming to see the response we got.
“It was all about the coaches. People brought in pictures of championship teams, jerseys, banquet program books, footballs and other memorabilia. And we even had pictures of the first two homecoming queens.”
The program book listed the names of more than 75 men who coached Comets teams over the years. The committee also saluted cheerleading coaches and mentioned several coaches whose names inadvertently had been left out of the program.
A number of individuals whose fathers have passed away spoke of the years of dedication those men gave to the Comets program and the youth of the community. Hill mentioned the many times the playing field was flooded after heavy rains and how the coaches would show up early in the morning so that games could be played as scheduled.
“I think everyone had a great time,” said Hill, a longtime scholastic football official. “They’re already talking about doing something like this again next year.”
Phil Wahl was an All-Delco guard for Sharon Hill High’s 1965 football team.
He joined the Marines after he finished high school, and died Nov. 9, 1967 at the age of 20 while serving in Vietnam.
Friends, family, classmates, teammates and former neighbors of Wahl will join members of the military services this Saturday in a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of his passing.
The event will take place at Wahl’s gravesite at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill and will begin at 9:30 a.m.
Rev. John Cartwright, an All-Delco quarterback at Sharon Hill, when he was one of Wahl’s teammates, and a record-breaking signal caller at the United States Naval Acadamy, will lead the gathering in prayer.
Questions about the ceremony can be directed to Edward Frescoln at 302-3324441.
The Sports Legends of Delaware County Museum, which is located at 301 Iven Avenue 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 lacrosse players Kyle Sweeney, Tom Slate and Jeff Bigas.
Sweeney, an All-Delco and All-State selection at Springfield, was a three-time AllAmerican and two-time ECAC defensive player of the year at Georgetown University and was an all-star player for the Bridgeport Barrage of the National Lacrosse League before playing for the Philadelphia Wings.
Slate was captain of Springfield’s 1992 team, which had a 24-0 record and won the state championship. After playing at West Chester University, he was a defensive standout for the Wings.
Bigas, a Penncrest AllDelco, helped Salisbury University to three consecutive NCAA Division III championships and was named National Defensive Player of the Year in 2005. After seven years as a professional player, he became a high school coach in New Jersey.
The Sports Legends Museum 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.
The statue fund-raising committee plans to have the dedication ceremony in June 2018.
Steve Burman, one of the board members of the statue fund-raising committee, recently came across a 1948 column by Chester Times sports editor Bill Burk in which Burk reported that Lefty Vann had signed outfielder Emlen Tunnell to play for the Lloyd A.C. franchise of the Delaware County Baseball League that summer.
Tunnell, who played football at the University of Iowa and served with distinction in the United States Coast Guard during World War II, began his NFL career in the fall of 1948 with the New York Giants. He had played with area Negro League semi-pro baseball teams during his high school days because Radnor High did not field a baseball team then.
For additional information about the statue project or Tunnell’s military service and football career, visit www.sportslegendsofdelawarecounty.com or www.emlentunnell.com.
Burman and several other local players recently competed in the Men’s Senior Baseball League World Series in Phoenix. They were members of a team that included players from Texas, San Diego, and the state of Washington.
The team played eight games in five days, compiling a 6-2 record. In addition to Burman, the other local players were Jack Bradley, John Stefanik, Henry Fregeau, Dave Duncan, and Vince Gallagher.
The Sports Legends Museum will be hosting a book signing and memorabilia sale from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Dec. 9.
Rich Westcott, former Daily Times sports writer who is the author of 25 books, will be among the authors in attendance. His most recent book is “The Champions of Philadelphia: The Greatest Eagles, Phillies, Sixers and Flyers Teams.”
Also taking part will be Rich Pagano, whose latest book, “The Baron of Leiperville,” tells the story of boxing legend Baron Dougherty, and Bob McLaughlin, whose book is entitled “Danny Murtaugh and Mickey Vernon: Ordinary Heroes.”
Also appearing at the museum that day will be Bobby Shantz, former pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees who won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award while pitching for the A’s. At 92, he is the oldest living player to have won an MVP award.
For additional information, contact museum curator Jim Vankoski at 610-909-4919 or vankoski21@comcast.net.