Coach Kathy Carbone Denise Fehr Richard “Dickie” Johnson Matt Maradeo Coach Jack Master Perry Nardella Mike Nelson Erik Ruff By Heidi Bright Butler Coach Jeff Thatcher James E. Trach Sr. Bill Bearse PHOTOS BY KEN EK
Ceremony Includes a Surprise From now on, whenever athletes or guests gather in the <strong>Northampton</strong> <strong>Community</strong> <strong>College</strong> Spartan Center, they will feel the presence of giants — individuals whose accomplishments in and beyond the athletic arena are writ large in college history and on the new Hall of Fame wall. Hundreds of athletes, fans, coaches and cheerleaders with orange polka-dotted hair ribbons, joined the college mascot in the Spartan Center at the end of last semester to see the first class of giants inducted into the Hall of Fame established as part of NCC’s 40th anniversary celebration. The honorees: Coach Kathy Carbone, whose volleyball teams won six conference championships and whose softball teams finished first in their league eight times and brought home four state championships. Denise Fehr, the only female three-sport athlete in Spartan history. She competed in basketball, softball and volleyball, playing on state championship teams in both softball and basketball. Richard “Dickie” Johnson, a basketball phenom whose record for career scoring (951 points) and most fi eld goals (421) have stood since 1987. He was named to the all-conference and all-tournament teams in 1986 and 1987, and is the only male ever to receive the Alumni Association’s “Athlete of the Year” award in two consecutive years. Matt Maradeo, a pitcher who set fi ve individual records during his years at NCC: most games started, most games pitched, best win/loss record in a career (19-1), most wins in a career, and best earned run average in a career, a record he still holds with a 1.07 ERA. Coach Jack Master, who has been honored as “Coach of the Year” in the Eastern Pennsylvania Collegiate Conference nine times during the 30 years he has coached tennis at NCC. During that time, he has coached 26 individual state champions, and six of his teams have gone undefeated. Perry Nardella, one of only two male athletes ever to compete in three sports at NCC. He played baseball, basketball and golf, excelling in all three. He ran the infi eld on the baseball team that fi nished fi rst in the league and won the conference tournament in 1979. The following year, he helped lead the basketball team to a state championship. Mike Nelson, who although he only played basketball for NCC for one year (1980), still holds the all-time scoring record for a season (725). The Spartans compiled a record of 29-2 that year, and Nelson was named to both the all-conference and all-tournament teams. Erik Ruff, credited with “singlehandedly rewriting the baseball record book” at NCC between 2000 and 2002, setting records for most runs scored in a career, most hits in a season, most doubles in a career, most triples in a season, most triples in a career, most home runs in a season, most runs batted in in a season, and best batting average for a season . He is the only NCC baseball player to be named to the all-state team three times. Coach Jeff Thatcher who coached both the men’s and women’s basketball teams from 1985-1988, a year in which both teams won state championships on the same afternoon. Thatcher went on to become the head coach of the women’s basketball team at American University where his team was nationally ranked. James E. Trach Sr. who has been an enthusiastic supporter of NCC athletics for 31 years, serving wherever needed – as assistant baseball coach, as an equipment attendant, and as the scorekeeper for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. He is fondly known as “Mr. T.” to students, past and present. One inductee into the Hall of Fame was not listed on the program. After congratulating the others on their selection, NCC’s president, Dr. Arthur Scott, called Bill Bearse to the podium. The athletic director who had planned the program and served as emcee appeared surprised as the president also bestowed Hall of Fame honors on him to a standing ovation from the crowd. “There has been one constant over the years,” said President Scott. “It has been Bill Bearse.” (For more about Bill, see page 12.) The Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who, through leadership and character, have made a significant contribution to NCC athletics and who continue to demonstrate in their daily lives the values imparted through intercollegiate athletics. Nomination Categories: Each year five candidates will be named to the NCC Hall of Fame. Nominations 1) intercollegiate, extramural or club athletics may be submitted to the Selection Committee at any time c/o Wendy Westwood, 2) team the secretary in Athletics, at wwestwood@northampton.edu. In all categories 3) extraordinary service to NCC athletics except the last, at least three years must have passed since the individual 4) significant contribution to the athletic program was associated with the <strong>College</strong>. u
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