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Date: 6/23/2021
EAST LONGMEADOW – Bronze plaques bearing the names of athletes, coaches and others who have left a mark on East Longmeadow High School’s (ELHS) athletic history sit proudly on display near the large gymnasium in the school. Soccer, lacrosse, football, softball, wrestling – athletes from all of the major sports played at ELHS have been recognized in the East Longmeadow High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Despite several worthy candidates, Hall of Fame Executive Committee President Bob Mazzariello told Reminder Publishing that an induction ceremony was not planned for 2021, for “a number of reasons,” among them, remaining concerns around COVID-19. The ceremony was also forgone last year, during the height of the pandemic. While the ceremony is on hiatus, the Hall of Fame is still accepting nominations for the induction class of 2022.
The non-profit ELHS Athletic Hall of Fame was created in 2010 by Charles Redington and Pat Bean, with the help of residents Lloyd Duperre, Ned Obernesser, Steve Buzzelle, John Courtney, Mike Raschilla, Richard Freccero, Cathy Hood, Mike Harrigan, Bob Mazzariello, Bruce Mackechnie, Mike Prendergast, Gerry Sawyer and Paul Ruscio.
The Hall of Fame accepts nominations from residents through forms placed in the ELHS main office, library, Recreation Department offices and at several businesses around town.
The nomination committee designed a point-based system to rate candidates.
“We have a standard that has to be met,” said Mazzariello. Athletes who have been out of school for 10 years, coaches and “contributors” are eligible for consideration. The induction classes are usually between eight and 10 individuals, but the organization has honored as many as 23 people in a single year.
Ned Obernesser, Hall of Fame secretary, explained that the committee researches “the athletic accomplishments of the candidate and verify that they are true. They look for awards and accomplishments above and beyond normal participation.” The accomplishments the committee looks for include All-Western Mass, Western Mass Champion, All-League, League Champion, All-State, State Champion, All-New England, New England Champion, All American and Western Mass and state records. “The candidate must be above the average awards winner. Character and moral well-being are also considered," Obernesser said. The committee recognizes athletes who participated in sports outside of East Longmeadow High School, such as gymnastics and bowling, and awards them “Special Recognition.”
According to the organization’s website, in the first year, “Steve Buzzelle and, later, Ned Obernesser spent hundreds of hours at the Springfield Library looking at and printing Springfield Republican newspaper articles about East Longmeadow Athletes.” They now also use social media to track down those people whom they would like to honor, but who have moved from the area.
East Longmeadow Community Access Television (ELCAT) has a catalog of previous years’ induction ceremonies. More information on the Hall of Fame and its inductees can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/elhsathletichalloffame/home and https://www.facebook.com/elhsathletichalloffame.