The Owego Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was inducted amongst school officials, old teammates, family and friends on Friday, Oct. 18 at Owego Free Academy.
The Class of 2019, which is the second class inducted, includes athletes Michael Steele, class of 1964; Thomas Bryant, class of 1968; Wendy Collins, class of 1986; Joseph Palladino, class of 1988; and contributors Thomas Morrissey and Richard Brown.
“It’s amazing to meet these people, which is really my favorite part of all this. I love to hear their amazing stories, I even look up all their old stats in the record books,” said Andy Buchsbaum, director of athletics for Owego Free Academy.
Buchsbaum said that the idea of the hall of fame was a collaborative effort.
“The idea stemmed from our coaches council, it was a collaborative effort that also included school officials,” Buchsbaum said.
Roger Brown, who attended along with his siblings and mother, spoke on behalf of his late father Richard.
“My father was a coach and an athletic director. He did a lot promoting girls sports, before him there really wasn’t that many girls teams,” Brown said.
A graduate of Owego himself, Brown said it was nice to see the school honor his father.
“It’s very special, he was a special person who cared about kids and the community and the school. He devoted 33 years of his life to this school,” Brown added.
Wendy Collins, who was a four-year letterman in both basketball and softball, said that she hasn’t been back to the Owego Free Academy in 30 years.
“It’s been a while, I guess I didn’t have a reason to come back until now.”
Accompanied by her mother, teammate and coach, Collins said it was “cool” being honored.
“It’s weird being back, bring back a lot of memories,” Collins said.
Michael Steele said he never expected to be named to the hall of fame.
“I played basketball pre-three-point-shot, and it was a great surprise. Even my old baseball coach is here and I graduated in 1964,” Steele said.
Thomas Bryant, who along with being honored as an athlete was honored as a former coach and athletic director, said he was dumbfounded to find out he was being inducted.
“Being here brings back a lot of memories of the things I did here,” Bryant said.
Current basketball coach Chris Evans spoke on behalf of Morrissey, who is retired down south.
“When he asked me to speak on his behalf it brought back a lot of memories, he was a mentor and a father figure at times, a good solid man. He has a coaching tree in the area, his legacy will continue for a long time,” Evans said.
The ceremony started off with food and beverages and then moved on to the presentation ceremony. Buchsbaum handled the presentation and introduction of the inductees while Superintendent Corey Green gave a short speech complimenting the athletes and the concept of the hall of fame itself. While all inductees were given the chance to give a speech in front of the audience there to watch the ceremony, not all of them took that opportunity.
Congratulations Brown Family. Your father must have been someone really special.
I have chaired an athletic hall of fame for Sidney HS Alumni since 2003. We hold an Induction Weekend and a fund-raising dinner each fall (most recently Ict 4/5). I’d love to see more schools in Section IV do this. See our history on the alumni website – http://www.sidneyalumni.org and click on sports hall of fame.