Baldwin High School - Nexus Yearbook (Baldwin, NY)

Page 59 text:

Clear For Action' SOCCER Guided by Coach Leland Sweezey and under the leadership of the fabulous fraternal soccer combina- tion, co-captains Ken and Ritter Smith, the 1952 Baldwin soccermen fought and battled their way through tough SSAL competition to a solid third place finish. This year's varsity squad was composed of 13 skillful players, each of them constantly spurred on by competition for a position on the starting eleven. These thirteen soccermen were Dick Ackerman, Jack Barnett, Frank Conlon, Rod Longman, Rolf Mah- ler, Ray Montano, Cliff Olivera, Jerry Potaschnik, Dick Skillman, Ken Smith, Ritter Smith, Don Vogel Boot it! and Dick Waters. Outstanding among these thirteen were Ken Smith, center, Ritter Smith, left wing, and Ray Montano, goalie, each being chosen for all-scholas- tic. These three provided the nucleus for our 1952 squad. Baldwin's biggest problem this season lay in its inability to come up with the big ones. Two pound- ings by powerful Sewanhaka and two crucial losses to runner-up Valley Stream, account for Baldwin's third place finish. Both matches with Valley Stream were decided by one point and were thrillers that could have gone either way. J I ' J l' x ' ' ' K Ib f v ? Qgxaifi Q A if ',... V 3 U

Page 61 text:

e uyloiih' ,t5mitlY BA KETBALL Its not every year that a high school basketball team finds itself blessed with a classy center like co-captain Bob Malone, tremendous rebounders like Bill Hambrecht and Frank Kra- nich, an aggressive driver like Dick Scerbo, a shifty play- maker like co-captain Kenny Smith, and a sixth man who could make anyone elseis varsity like Phil Seefried. Malone, a key man in the plans of Coach Marty Kilcom- mons and the backbone of the Varsity, averaged over twenty points a game, scored 35 in one contest, and constantly amazed the fans, players, coaches, and just about every- body else with his ability. He didnit have to be a one man team, either, because there wasn't a weak spot on the start- ing five. As the season began, it looked like Baldwin, which had once been the door-mat of the league, was finally going to have its big year. After romping through their first four games, the team seemed to be heading for first place honors. And this is when they met Mepham. Nobody knows why, but Baldwin just canit beat the '4Pirates.H Always present is the Mepham jinx, nervous tension, a bad night, the Hbreaksu or whatever you want to call it, but the outcome is always the same. After this first loss to Mepham, Baldwin ran all over the next five teams it faced. Included in this winning streak was a sound victory over Hempstead, which was destined to win the championship, and which defeated Mepham twice dur- ing the season. And then it happened again. In a tightly fought contest, Mepham once again came out on top over their 'fcousinsn from Baldwin. This loss shattered the team's morale and was the beginning of a late season slump. After defeating Valley Stream, the team still had a chance to come out on top of the heap, but a two point upset by Freeport and a loss to Sewanhaka following a victory over Lawrence, just about finished the Golden Wave for the season. Other members of the team were Mike Wind, Elmore Keener, Dick Hirshkind, Bob Brunner, Bob Yohe, Sid Johnsen, Charlie Methe, and Ritter Smith. They provided a strong bench, and some were being groomed for the following years starting five Backboard Magicians who performed Backboard Magic. ' ' Yi' I v4' Q 0 x . . ' Qi ncux:oL