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2011 Inaugural Inductees
Elizabeth “Liz” Berning
Sally Brubaker
Frank A. “Babe” Burch
Patricia L. Bums
Claude Byer
Robert “Bob” Chester, Sr.
Tish Chester
Randy Jenelle Givens Ellis
Ralph Forman III
Jason Fraser
Louis T. “Uncle Lou” Howard
Shelton Jones
Henry “Lonnie” Kittle
Patricia Galloway Knappe
William “Billy” Kretz
Peter J. “Pete” Pappas
John “Jack” Schmitt
Fred Williams
Elizabeth "Liz" Berning
Amityville Memorial High School Math Teacher and Athletic Contributor
After graduating from C.W. Post with a Bachelors Degree in Education, Elizabeth accepted a job teaching mathematics in Amityville. She later received a Masters Degree from Hofstra University For the next 41 years Liz not only enjoyed teaching in Amityville but learning about the varied cultures, foods, music and life styles of her students.
At AMHS, Liz coached cheerleaders, advised the yearbook staf f, was a class adviser for many classes and worked with clubs and special events. She chaired the Middle States Accreditation Committee, was math department chair and served on evaluation and teacher reorganization committees.
Liz was frequently spotted at AMHS sports events supporting the teams. A typical day for Liz was after finishing her regular teaching day go to the basketball study hall ofering extra help, and then end the day by attending an evening wrestling event. She was quoted as telling athletes, “Education is as important as athletic ability, for one would go nowhere without education.
Liz created several scholarship funds but is particularly noted for the “Fred Williams Scholarship Fund” started in memory of the late Fred ms, who is also being inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. She is still actively involved in fundraising for this scholarship.
In her own life, she raised a young man from the community from the age of two. His two children are an important part of her life and live with herThe oldest is a senior at the University oAlbany, and wants to pursue a law degree. The other is in seventh grade and very involved in basketball
When honored in 2008, by UNA YO as “Educator of the Year,” Liz was described as “making a difference.” She has maintained friendships with many former students and their families. Her philosophy of life for students is to encourage them by saying, “It is yours, go out and reach for it.”
Sally Brubaker
Amityville Memorial High School Physical Education and Coach (1962-1994)
Sally wrote this note from her home in Florida:
“It is such an honor to be selected to Amityville's Athletic Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend. I have spent quite a bit of time trying to recollect dates, etc. for coaching and other activities and it is not easy. My dates may be ‘way oil’ for there was no record ever kept for the girls’ program. What I remember is that we were ‘it’ for the girls’ program. On the first day of each sports season, we got out the equipment for that season. We put it away on the last day of the season and the next day we got out the equipment for the next sport season.When Patricia Bums coached the varsity I did the JV. When I coached the varsity, Patti did the JV. That's the way it went all year long.
Until Title IX, we did all of the sports programs for, I believe, a total of $200 each for the entire year. After Title Nine we got paid for each season. Obviously we did not coach for pay! It was the most fun I could ever have had. To work with kids who wanted to be there and who loved sports the same way
I did meant everything to me. I have so many wonderful memories of the great times we had and the girls who played on our teams. They were all very special and I think of those kids often.
Sports Nite was also a wonderful program. The great thing about it was that it involved any girl who wanted to participate and most did. If you weren’ I a top athlete it didn’ t matter because you could work on decorations, or costumes or songs. It took a lot of time and gym space and when the sports seasons got longer, Sports Nite got pushed aside. It was a good program and I sometimes wish it had not ended.
I served as President of the Suffolk County Women's Athletic Association, Volleyball and Basketball Chairman for the S.C. Board ofWomen Officials. I was a nationally ranked oficial for both basketball and volleyball, and was a member of the state committee for Girl's Athletic Activities.
When I retired in 1994, I stayed in Amityville until 2001, when I moved to central Florida. I love playing golf and since I could not play in the snow, I decided it was time to move south. I still play 2 or 3 times a week, not as well as I used to, but I still try I also love gardening and spending time with my family, all of whom live in Florida.
I thank you for the honor and wish you the very best.”
Sally coached JV Field Hockey, Varsity Volleyball, JV Basketball, Varsity Softball and Varsity Tennis and was the Cheerleading Advisor.
Patricia L. Burns
Amityville Memorial High School Physical Education and Coach (1962-1991)
Patricia wrote this note from her home in Florida:
“I am honored to be selected to the inaugural class of the Amityville High School Sports Hall of Fame. Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the events on October 14 and 15. I am including a brief summary of my recollections of the girls' sports program from 1962 through 1991, when I retired.
I came toAmityville in the fall of 1962 after having graduated from Slippery Rocktâte College in 1958. I taught physical education in Pennsylvania for four years before coming to Amityville.
At that time the sports program for the girls of AMHS consisted of an extensive intramural program, interclass competition, and a brief extramural schedule (4 or so games), culminating in a single day sports tournament where the winner was awarded a banner.
The enactment of federal law Title IX in 1972 brought great changes in girl sports. Interscholastic sports grew by leaps and bounds. In a few years, schedules increased from 4 or 6 to 12 or 18 games. Practices were held on a daily basis and the intramural programs were pushed aside. A playoff system was established on the local and state level. It was an exciting time for girl sports.
Unfortunately as all of this was going on, we lacked the foresight to keep detailed records. I know we were particularly successful in basketball, but while I remember the players, I cannot remember the specific championships we won.
As the length of the seasons increased, I gradually had to relinquish coaching so many sports. For a good twenty years or more, Sally Brubaker and I coached all of the girls' sports that existed. I consider those years as the most enjoyable I had at AMHS.”
Patricia coached Varsity Field Hockey (winning a banner in 1963), Varsity Basketball (championships in 71 and 72), JV Softball, and JV Volleyball. She was president of Section XI of NYS Public High School Athletic Association 1989-90 and President of SC Board of Women Officials as well as President of SC Girls' Athletic Association.
Frank A. "Babe" Burch
Class of 1929
Frank was born in Amityville. At Amityville High School he excelled in basketball and football. He was awarded the gold football, as well as the gold basketball. He was elected Captain of the Amityville High School Basketball Team in ’28 and ’29, and was the leading scorer The team won the Western Suffolk Championship in 1927. He was awarded his varsity letter in 1928. Frank played at the P Interscholastic Basketball Tournament at the University of Pennsylvania on March 29, 1929. He was also a player with the East-West All Star Basketball team.
Frank was a star player on the first Amityville High School varsity football team in 1927.
He married Gladys (Scaefer) in 1932 and was the father of four daughters and one son. He worked most of his life as a mailman in theAmityville Post Office and was later employed by theTown of Babylon. He was a member ofAmityville Fire Department, Hose Company #4 where he served as Assistant Lieutenant. He later moved to Copiague and joined the Copiague Fire Department serving on the Board of Fire Commissioners. He was an active member of the both departments running team.
After high school Frank played on thRmityville Village Lone Stars Basketball Team where he led the team in individual scoring. He also played for the “Bear Cats” theAmityville village football team.
Frank was proudly nominated to the Amityville High School Sports Hall of Fame by his daughter Martha Peterson.
Claude Byer
Amityville Secondary School Math Teacher and Girls' Basketball Coach
Claude Byer was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1944. He was the second youngest of five children born to Charles and Estelle Byer. He attended elementary and junior high school in Brooklyn and high school in Farmingdale, NY. He graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1962.
Claude entered Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) and graduated five years later with a B.S. Degree in Chemistry Education and a Commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United $ates Air Force. He completed four years in the Air Force and achieved the rank of Captain. While serving his major tour of duty in Germany, he met and marriedAmelia K. Smith Byer. They have two daughters, Ernestine and La Vonne. They are married to David Byer-Tyre and Aaron Brown respectively, and together the family has four grandchildren.
After leaving the military, Claude went to work for theAmityville School District as a junior high math teacher and coach. Claude began coaching the Varsity Girls' Basketball Team in 1979 and continued coaching until 2001. Blessed with good health, Claude never missed a game and/or scrimmage during his coaching tenure - better than 525 contests. During his years, the team won: 4 league championships, 11 classification championships, 4 regional championships, and played in the final four for the state title twice. Altogether he guided Amityville to 360 wins with over a 70% win record.
In 2004, Claude was inducted into the NYS Coaches Hall of Fame. A champion of girls' sports long before Title IX, Claude initiated summer leagues, award programs, clinics, and camps for girls. He has been named Coach of theYear many times by both the basketball league and media. He has also received numerous awards from local and civic or ganizations. Claude takes special pride in knowing that the majority of his players have attended college and most of them have obtained their degrees. Over the years, he has gained the love and respect from players, coaches, officials, and administrators of Section XI.
Robert "Bob" Chester Sr.
Athletic Contributor
In the early 1990’ s the school was on austerity . David Heller started the Amityville High School Booster Club to raise funds to keep the AMHS athletic program going. Dave asked Bob Chester to assume the leadership after Dave's son graduated from Amityville.
When the school budget was voted down, the Amityville Booster Club had a meeting to see how the club could help AMHS continue sports while on austerity . Amityville sports were and are such an important part of every student's education, it was decided that the club needed to do whatever was necessary to insure all sports at Amityville would continue while on austerity.
Bob's late wifeTish and he decided the best way was to have several fund raisers.The first fund raiser was held at Dave Heller's house. The turnout was overwhelming. As a result of the hard work of the committee, over $10,000 was raised and donated to the Amityville sports program so all of the fall sports programs would continue. Another fund raiser was held at the Chester home and another $10,000 was raised. The Amityville Booster Club sold candy, popcorn and soda at all athletic events to raise money for the sports programs. Over the year , we raised over $25,000 to keep the sports program going while the school was on austerity.
After their children graduated from AMHS, Bob was no longer involved in the booster club. Approximately 6 or 7 years ago he received a call from Dave Heller telling him there was still about $5,000 in the booster club account from the fund raisers. It was decided by the two of them to donate the remaining money to theAmityville High School Sports program. The necessary bank papers were signed, the account was closed and the remainder of the money was donated to the school.
Bob is a lifelong resident ofAmityville and is Director of Engineering at the Long Island Home (South Oaks Hospital) for 40 years. He received a BS degree in Marine and Mechanical Engineering from the Maine Maritime Academy and served in the U.S. Navy , being honorably dischar ged in 1974 as a Lieutenant J.G. His two sons, Robert and Brett, were outstanding athletes at AMHS. Rob was a member of the football team and was a Suf folk County Wrestling Champion. Brett was a Suf folk County Wrestling Champion as well.
Bob wrote to the committee. “There were so many people involved in the Booster Club, I only wish I could remember all of their names, but without their support, we would have not been able to do what we did. I thank every one of them for their support and feel that they also should be recognized as the real “Athletic Contributors” because without them we would never have been able to raise the amount of money we did in such a short period of time.”
Ralph Forman III
Amityville Memorial High School History Teacher and Coach for 38 Years
In the early 1990’ s the school was on austerity . David Heller started the Amityville High School Booster Club to raise funds to keep the AMHS athletic program going. Dave asked Bob Chester to assume the leadership after Dave's son graduated from Amityville.
When the school budget was voted down, the Amityville Booster Club had a meeting to see how the club could help AMHS continue sports while on austerity . Amityville sports were and are such an important part of every student's education, it was decided that the club needed to do whatever was necessary to insure all sports at Amityville would continue while on austerity.
Bob's late wifeTish and he decided the best way was to have several fund raisers.The first fund raiser was held at Dave Heller's house. The turnout was overwhelming. As a result of the hard work of the committee, over $10,000 was raised and donated to the Amityville sports program so all of the fall sports programs would continue. Another fund raiser was held at the Chester home and another $10,000 was raised. The Amityville Booster Club sold candy, popcorn and soda at all athletic events to raise money for the sports programs. Over the year , we raised over $25,000 to keep the sports program going while the school was on austerity.
After their children graduated from AMHS, Bob was no longer involved in the booster club. Approximately 6 or 7 years ago he received a call from Dave Heller telling him there was still about $5,000 in the booster club account from the fund raisers. It was decided by the two of them to donate the remaining money to theAmityville High School Sports program. The necessary bank papers were signed, the account was closed and the remainder of the money was donated to the school.
Bob is a lifelong resident ofAmityville and is Director of Engineering at the Long Island Home (South Oaks Hospital) for 40 years. He received a BS degree in Marine and Mechanical Engineering from the Maine Maritime Academy and served in the U.S. Navy , being honorably dischar ged in 1974 as a Lieutenant J.G. His two sons, Robert and Brett, were outstanding athletes at AMHS. Rob was a member of the football team and was a Suf folk County Wrestling Champion. Brett was a Suf folk County Wrestling Champion as well.
Bob wrote to the committee. “There were so many people involved in the Booster Club, I only wish I could remember all of their names, but without their support, we would have not been able to do what we did. I thank every one of them for their support and feel that they also should be recognized as the real “Athletic Contributors” because without them we would never have been able to raise the amount of money we did in such a short period of time.”
Ralph Forman III
Amityville Memorial High School History Teacher and Coach for 38 Years
Ralph taught history at Amityville Memorial High School for 38 years and was chairman of the department for 9 years. He had an outstanding coaching record as the boysoccer coach at AMHS. His win/loss record was a very respectable 135 wins to 65 losses. He won five league titles and was voted Coach of the Year by his peers five times. On the county level, his soccer teams were semifinalist twice, a quarterfinalist 7 times, and a county qualifier 12 times. Because of his successful soccer career at Amityville, the Amityville soccer field was named in his honor on September 19, 1992.
Besides his soccer coaching, Ralph was an assistant wrestling coach i&mityvi11e and an assistant coach in the American Football League.
Ralph resided in Amityville with his wife Caroline and they raised their two sons, Ralph and Ron, here. He took an active role in Amityville community activities, including being Vice Commander of the John J. Kreyer Post of the Veteran of Foreign Wars. He co-founded, with his wife Caroline, the Amityville Woman's Softball League. He organized and coached the first Amityville Club Soccer Team and he served as President of the Amityville Little League.
Ralph fought in World War II, receiving the Purple Heart for bravery . Ralph Forman set high expectations for his students and he was respected by his students for both his teaching abilities and his outstanding character.
Randy Jenelle Givens Ellis
Class of 1980
Randy Givens started her illustrious track and field career in the fifth grade when she won the “Annual Day of Celebration Race.” From March of 1978 through June of 1980 during her years at Amityville Memorial High School she pursued her interest in track and field. While attending Amityville she earned the titles ofAll County andAll NYS 100 meter and 200 meter champion. In her junior year at Amityville she was NY State Champion in the 100 meters and placed 2nd in the 200 meters. The following year as a senior she was NY State Champion in both the 100 meters and the 200 meters. That same year she was invited to the 1980 Olympic trials.
Upon graduation from Amityville High School, Randy entered Florida State University on an athletic scholarship. During her tenure at FSU, the Track and Field Women's Team won the 1984 NCAA National Outdoor Championship. Randy is the 1984 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the 100 and 200 meters. She was ranked 3 ’d in the United States by“Track and Field News” for the 200 meters in 1984, and 4° in 1981and 1983. She won the 200 meters and placed second in the 100 meters in the 1983 Grid University Games. She was the 1983 Pan-American 200 meters champion and ranked 9° in the world for the 200 meters by “Track and Field News.”
Randy's outstanding career continued during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, where she placed 6° in the 200 meters.
Louis T. "Uncle Lou" Howard
Amityville Memorial High School Teacher and Football Coach
Lou's son Tom nominated him for his election to the Amityville Sports Hall of Fame and he has written a marvelous narrative of his father ’s achievements so we have decided to print Tom's letter:
“It is my honor and privilege to nominate LouisT. Howard, often referred to as “Uncle Lou” to his former players, as a candidate for the Amityville High School Sports Hall of Fame. I could write a number of pages regarding Lou Howard, however as his son and former player I done believe I have to. Anyone associated with theAmityville School District, theAmityville athletic program or Suffolk County football for that matter , knows about the legendary coach. He has won more consecutive league championships than any other coach in Suf folk County (9), has retired the famed Rutgers Trophy, symbolic of the outstanding football team in Suf folk County each year
(1954,’55,’56) and then won it again in 1957, 1960 and 1961. His 1961 squad is still considered as one of the greatest high school football teams ever He was selected “Coach of th‹Year” 6 separate times and helped numerous athletes get into the colleges and universities of their choice. Two of his highly recognized players, Bernie Wyatt (who broke Jim Brown's Long Island scoring record) and John Niland, both went on to play for the University of Iowa and then in the NFL (Bernie with the Pittsburg Steelers and John with the Dallas Cowboys, where he won a Super Bowl ring).
Lou, a driver's education teacher, was also the Mayor ofAmityville. He leftAMHS after the 1967 school year, coaching his last Crimson Tide squad in the fall of 1966. He still holds the honor of saying that his teams have the best winning percentage in NYS for anyone coaching over 12 years (.847%). Lou has been inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and the Long Island Sports Hall of Fame. However , it is not for his coaching prowess that he should be selected for the Amityville Sports Hall of Fame, it's the life lessons that he instilled in all of his players that has made him special and fondly remembered by all who played for himWords like values, discipline, honesty, teamwork, trustworthiness, cooperation, spirit, and desire still are in the fabric of his former players. They know that they will “do the right thing” throughout their lives so as to not let “Uncle Lou” down.”
Lou is not present tonight for this ceremony because he is in Springfield Ma., being inducted into the Springfield College Hall of Fame, his college Alma Mater.
Jason Fraser
Class of 2002
Jason Fraser was born in Harlem, NY. His mom Edmarie Fraser, seeking to provide the best life for Jason, moved to North Amityville, NY. As a youngster, he attended Amityville schools and after school played with his older cousins Shawn Campbell and Rasheen Fraser . According to Jason, “Learning to play the four major sports as a skillful player was a rite of passage in North Amityville. I spent many years being beaten up on the court by my cousins and friends because I was shorter and skinnier than they were.” However, fate would take over and Jason would claim his spot with the Fraser family.
Jason's first organized sports experience was joining “Operation Make-It” at Bolden Mack Park where his mom begged them to take him at the age of five. Several years lated he met Amityville High School Coach JackAgostino. Jack kept a watchful eye on him and introduced him to Richard Cronin, whose St Martin's CYO team provided the perfect ecosystem and “family” for Fraser to develop his skills.
Under the coaching of Jack Agostino, Jason excelled, leading Amityville to three straight New York Class B Championships and one Federation title. He was a McDonald’ s All-American in 2001 and 2002, New York Mr. Basketball in 2002 as well as a two-time MSG Network Tri-State first team All-Star. While at Amityville, Jason established a boy's basketball school record with 1,639 career points, 1,412 career rebounds and 760 career blocked shots.
Jason credits his Uncle Paul Fraser with training him during his entire career and helping him to develop the mental and physical growth that led to his success on the court.
Jason married the love of his life, Tashay Knight, and enjoys serving God as a deacon at “In the Word Ministries.” He also enjoys bowling and spending time with his family.
Shelton Jones
Class of 1984
Shelton Jones was born in Copiague, NY and discovered his love for the game of basketball at the age of seven. He has not looked back since!
During his junior year at Amityville Memorial High School, Shelton signed a letter of intent to attend St. John's University on a full athletic scholarship. During his senior season atAmityville, Shelton scored over 960 career points, averaging 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 assists. Shelton was selected to the McDonalds All American High School Basketball Team.
After graduating from AMHS in 1984, Shelton attended fl John's University and was a member of the 1984 Final FourTeam which boasted players such as: Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, Mark Jackson, and three time NBA champion Bill Wennington.
After college, Shelton was drafted into the NBA by the SanAntonio Spurs in the 1988 NBAdraft. As a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, Shelton participated in the 1989 NBA slam dunk competition at the All Star Weekend.
Shelton played for the Spurs, Sixers, Golden State Warriors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves respectively. After leaving the NBA, he spent six more years playing for various teams all over Europe and South America. Shelton then opted for retirement and is now President of “The Shelton Jones Foundation” (SJF), which he founded in 2009.
SJF provides training and mentors student athletes to be successful in life through sports, community outreach, and personal development. SJF is committed to inspiring and enabling our youth, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances in order to help them realize their potential as productive, caring, and responsible citizens.
Henry "Lonnie" Kittle
Superintendent of Schools, Amityville and First Amityville Wrestling Coach
Lonnie came to Amityville to teach in 1932 after graduating from Penn S tate. He started the first Amityville wrestling team and coached for 15 years. Hall of Fame inductee Peter Pappas was a member of his first team. Under his coaching, the team was an immediate success. Over his coaching tenure, Lonnie's teams achieved 7 team titles, and 2 L.I. titles. He developed 34 county champions, 57 finalists, 87 place winners and 27 individual L.I. champions.
Lonnie is the founder of the LI\Wrestling Officials Association and has officiated at high school, college, national meets and tournaments for three decades. In 1948, he was an of ficial at the final Olympic trials. In 1955 he was “Chief Referee” at the AAV Wrestling Championships.
Lonnie was later appointed Superintendent of Schools of\mityvi11e and remained in that position for many years. In 2001 Henry “Lonnie” Kittle was awarded the “Lifetime Service fiYrestling Award” by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum.
Park South auditorium, which was the original high school gym, was dedicated in Lonnie’ memory on May 14, 2008. A plaque is a fixed to the wall in the hall outside the auditorium honoring him.
Patricia Galloway Knappe
1957
Patricia Galloway Knappe's family roots were established in Amityville in the 1890’s. She has fond memories and takes great pride in being a&mityvi11e High School graduate and participating in the girls’ sports program at the high school. Up until the 1970’ s, girls “Varsity” teams were referred to as “Honor” teams. Patricia played four years (53-57) on the honor basketball team, honor softball team, honor bowling team and two years (56-57) on the honor field hockey team.
During the 1956-57 basketball seasons she was the leading scorer for Amityville. In softball she was an undefeated pitcher with a 7-0 record. She excelled in bowling as #1 bowler for all four years.
Patricia was a member of the Leaders Club for the 4 years she was inAmityville. She was a Gold Key Recipient, earning 775 points - 175 more points than needed for the award. At the time Patricia attended Amityville, the Gold Key Award was the highest honor that could be attained by women athletes in Suf folk County. It was dif ficult to attain and was awarded by the Suf folk County Women's Athletic Association through a point system.
Patricia remained active in sports after high school, becoming a New York State Public High School Athletic Association certified official in four sports: basketball, volleyball, field hockey and track field. She has been consistently ranked as a playof f official for her entire tenure as a basketball and field hockey official at the varsity level. She started of ficiating track and field in 1975 and is still active in the sport. She has held numerous leadership positions at the state and local levels. She has been involved in over 65 NYSPHSAA track championships and was presented with the N.Y.S. Official of the Year award. Patricia still interacts with Amityville High School as
a sports official and goes out of her way to speak with Amityville students at sporting events. Patricia was nominated by her son Kenneth Knappe.
William "Billy" Kretz
Class of 1942
William “Billy” Kretz attended 8. Martin of Tours grammar school and looked forward to attending Amityville High School at Park South as did his sisters and brothers, Claire, Thomas, Marion, Walter, and Mary “Mazie”. They were all involved in sports at the high school so it was natural for him to follow the family tradition.
Billy played football and basketball and ran track at AHS. The football team was coached by Homer Ball. Billy’ s first season on varsity in 1940, the team was undefeated and won the championship. The 1941 season the team, which included Billy and team captain Lou Howard
,took their lumps and emerged a stronger team in 1942. In 1942, team captain Billy Kretz playing left halfback in a short-punt ofense helped lead his team to an undefeated season. He was the lead scorer with a total of 66 points and was the leading football scorer at AHS from the 1920’s to the early 1950’s.
Billy started his freshman year as a wrestler but moved over to basketball the following yead3illy was captain his senior year and the team high scorer . He is remembered and revered for the records he set in track and field. Amityville was then known as the “trackless wonders” because Park Avenue had no track so all the meets were away In 1942, Billy set the Sufolk County record for the half mile. That record of 1:58 seconds stood for 10 years. At Amityville, the record stood until the 1960’s when Billy Brown broke it. In 1942, Billy was the second fastest schoolboy in the nation and the fastest half miler.
Billy was recruited to play football buy, Wisconsin and Columbia, but he turned 18 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps and was part of the Marine invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1946. Billy was badly injured and lost his lower leg. Upon hearing the news after he awoke, he commented, “I guess I won’ t be playing football anymore.” After returning home, Bill was frustrated by his inactivity and really got a saw and sawed the metal ankle brace off of his “good” leg. He rode a bike to get his good leg, which was weak, as strong as possible. He didn't look back.
Football's loss was Amityville's gain. Billy became a beloved educator and coach in Amityville. His daughters report that he never coached girls sports but the only bumper sticker he ever had on his car was “Support Girls' Sports!”
Billy married Doris Schefer of the Class of ‘46.They raised four children: Billy Jr, Bobby, Nancy and Caroline, who all played sports at4MHS. He took great pride in seeing his namesake grandson playing quarterback for Amityville on the 1999 LI championship team.
John "Jack" Schmitt
Amityville Memorial H.S. Physical Education Teacher and Coach 1954 — 1979
Jack has a long history inAmityville sports. He coached theAMHS boys’ varsity basketball team to an outstanding win loss record of 321-147 from 1954 to 1979. During that period he won 10 league titles in ’56, ’60-’65, ’67, ’68 and ’79. He won 4 Sufolk County titles in ’56, ’60, ’64, and ’68. He has been named League Coach of the Year, Suffolk Coach of the Year, and Long Island Coach of the Year numerous times.
Besides his basketball coaching duties, Jack led the boys' varsity volleyball team to 8 straight league and Suffolk County titles.
Jack's other coaching duties included varsity boys' and girls' tennis, junior varsity and freshman football coach, track and field varsity and assistant coach and JV boys soccer coach.
Two of the many players Jack coached were pro football player John Niland and Hall of Famer Bernie Wyatt. Niland is quoted as saying, “Coach Schmitt was unparalleled in his ability to be an informed motivator for the betterment of us individually as well as a team.” He continued,”He was as much a part of my success as any coach I have ever had the privilege of having.” BerniWyatt added, “Coach Schmitt stressed team, leadership and taught us to play with pride. He wanted us to represent our team and community with integrity and to wear our school colors proudly.”
Peter J. "Pete" Pappas
Class of 1936
Pete graduated from Amityville High School in 1936. He was a member of the first Amityville Wrestling Team, started by another Amityville Hall of Fame Member Lonnie Kittle. He was an outstanding wrestler, winning the Suffolk County Championships in 1934, 1935 and 1936 as well as the Long Island Wrestling Championship. He helped lead this new wrestling team to win the Suffolk County Championship those same years. Pete continued his successful wrestling career in college.
Pete was also a member of the undefeated Amityville Football team coached by Homer Ball in the 1930’s.
After graduating from Amityville High School, Pete attended and graduated from New York University in 1942. He continued his successful wrestling career in college. In 1942, he joined the Navy, was trained as a fighter pilot and was a flight instructor during World War II.
Pete returned home and became a successful real estate developer and general contractor in Amityville. He is a charter member of the Amityville Kiwanis Club. One of his favorite pastimes is playing golf. He has been married for many years to his wife Millicent “Milcie” and has two sons.
Pete was nominated by fellow Kiwanis Club member and Amityville Alumnus John “Hal” Schad.
Fred Williams
Amityville Memorial High School Teacher, Basketball and Track Field Coach 1970-1987
Fred was born in Montgomery AL and came to Long Island as a child. While attending AMHS, he played basketball and ran track as well as other school activities. He graduated in 1965 from Amityville and received a basketball scholarship to East Texas State University. While he was in college he led the nation with the best foul shooting percentage in his senior year.
After college Fred returned to AMHS to teach physical education and coach basketball, and track and field, first at the middle school and then in 1980 he was named varsity basketball coach at the high school. In 1983 and 84 his basketball team won the Suf folk County Championship in its division and reached the semi-finals in the state championships. One of the stars on his team was Shelton Jones, who is also being honored in this yeafs hall of fame class. Fred was named Coach of the Year in his division in 1983 and 1984. In his seven years of coaching, his teams had a well- deserved 92-41 win/loss record.
Another award that Fred was very proud of was winning the coveted Western Suffolk Good Sportsmanship Award 5 years in a row. He believed in a disciplined team and he held study halls before and after practice, demanding his players present themselves as gentlemen on and of f the court.
He was happily married to another AMHS language teacher Sandra and they had one child. Fred was taken from us much too young after a short illness. Sandra in her remarks about Fred ends his biographical sketch with this observation, “You never found Fred yelling at his players during a game, when he was asked why, he would softly answer ‘I do my coaching before the game.’ For this trait he received the name Amityville's Quiet Giant Warrior.”