RHS Athletic Hall of Fame
Members of the Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall of Fame are those that have made a lasting impact on the school’s sports program as either student players, coaches, or supporters. Often the student players have continued to influence their chosen sports after high school by ongoing participation in athletics.
George Munro, 2010 Inductee
George Monro, a 1939 graduate, is one of the all-time great three-sport athletes in the history of Ridgewood High School. Monro capped his stellar sports career at RHS by receiving the Ridgewood High School Award for Excellence in Athletics, established in 1914 and awarded annually to the member of the graduating class who compiles the best record in various sports.
Occasionally referred to by the nickname “Scotty”, Monro excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, earning six varsity letters.
As a fullback on the gridiron for head coach Jack Broomall, he was the Maroons’ leading rusher, playing alongside halfbacks Gus Anton, George Bolding, Stew Moore and Eddie Walsh and quarterback Charlie Brown, while running behind a line that featured standout Walt Livingston.
One of Monro’s top games came on Nov. 5, 1938, when he scored two touchdowns in Ridgewood’s 20-6 victory over Leonia. According to the Nov. 6 edition of The Sunday News, the first came when “the husky Scot crashed through the center” of the defense from the 1-yard line. His second trip over the goal line also came from the 1 as he “went through that same hole at center for the touchdown.”
In the 1938 season, the Ridgewood football team also scored wins against Tenafly (a 26-0 triumph in which Monro ran for one touchdown and threw for another), Park Ridge and Hawthorne, in addition to playing a scoreless tie with Pompton Lakes on Thanksgiving Day.
Although the Maroons could not crack the end zone against Pompton Lakes, The Ridgewood Herald noted in its Dec. 1 edition, “Monro was by far the outstanding player on the field, banging out one hard earned gain after another and picking up as much as 5 yards at times, after he had apparently been stopped, with his terrific leg drive.”
In basketball, Monro played guard and was one of the team’s leading scorers. Come spring, he played second and third base and was one of the best hitters for the Maroons. One of Monro’s more memorable games came against Pompton Lakes. According to an article in the May 25 edition of The Ridgewood Herald, “George Monro’s circuit drive in the final frame drove in the winning tallies and pulled the game out of the fire for Cal Dinkins, as Ridgewood set Pompton Lakes back for the second time in a tight 3 to 2 contest yesterday afternoon at the Lakeside Oval.
Monro was popular with his coaches and fellow players, being strictly a “team” player, and was rated highly with the fans throughout his brilliant career.
George Monro went on to have a stellar football career at Franklin and Marshall College and was inducted into the F&M sports hall of fame in 2001.
He served with the United States Marine Corps in World War Two after his graduation from college in 1943.
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2022
Patti Auger, Eric Benedict, Eunae Jo, Peter McGinley, Karla Mixon, Clair Nowakowski, 1983 Softball Team, Joe Pedone, Julia Rappa
2020
Carlos Peay, Louis Edward “Eddie” Peay, Kelly Conheeney, Samantha Cermack, Chris Rae, Chelsea Steinberg, Mark Strittmatter, Andrew Clarke, Jim Dee, Phil Ross Sr.
2018
2016
Maureen Greico, Larry Coyle, Jacob Brown, Richard Bennett, Toshiko D’Elia
2014
John Marshall, Jim Bruni, Mark Romeo, Jean Hughes, Chris Van Note, Nancy Hogan, RHS Football Team 1913, Don Taylor, Rachel Grygiel, John Cerf, Paul Tornatore, Michele Marangi, RHS Boys’ Lacrosse 1990-92
2012
Craig Halyard, Tom Flatt, Tricia Pappalardo, Mike Henderson, Kandie Latham, Leigh Jester, Tom Dusel, Roger Sweeney, Linda Zabielski, Patty Capasso, Dennis Sullivan, Nick & Dottie Capasso, Track and Field (Bain-Daley-Oliver Era)
2010
Primo “Duke” DeRochi, Debbie Paul, George Monro, Bill Dunne, Amy Lyons, James Sullivan, Michael Culver, Keith O’Connor, Josh Kauke, Patti Mileski, Mary Ellen Mileski
2008
Kitty Batterson, Henry Blauvelt, Frank L. Bradley, Jr., Lucia Cancelmo, Chris DuFlocq, Renee DuFlon, RHS Girls’ Basketball 1922-1923, Harry Grundy, Jim Jones, Joe LeMay, Jen McDermott, Shannon McGarrigle, Tony Napier, Margaret Niemann, Vince Robertiello (Jamie Roberts), Damian Ross, Mike Springer
2006
Mario Ferraro, Paul Ferraro, Don Haldane, Wendy Hartwig, Tom Hopper, Bob Keino, Frank Mozeleski, Tim Mullen, Jenna Rogers, Donna O’Connell, Carin Cone, Charles Yennie
2004
Paul Arrigoni, Pete Campbell, Doug Cook, Becky Deetz, Otis Grendler, Jodi Hartwig, Gene Links, Debbie O’Connell, Aimee McGuire, Walt Perdue, Tom Simos, Kazbek Tambi, Jack Van Yperen, Bob Whitaker, Margaret Scutro