MLB Player and Scotch Plains-Fanwood Alum Inducted into Bollinger Hall of Fame

A former New York Mets manager from Westfield and two Major League Baseball players from Union and Scotch Plains-Fanwood are some of the local Garden State sports luminaries being inducted into the NJSIAA (New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association) Bollinger Hall of Fame as the class of 2015.

The inductees are:

• A catcher at Westfield High School, Jeff Torborg was named All-State, First Team by the Star-Ledger. He continued his athletic career at Rutgers University, where he spent three seasons on the varsity, once batted .537, and was named an All-American. He signed a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, spent 10 seasons in Major League Baseball, and after his playing days ended managed the New York Mets (1992-’93), as well as the Indians, White Sox, Expos, and Marlins. In 1990, he was the American League’s Manager of the Year.
• Among the finest athletes ever produced at Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, Jeffrey Hammonds earned baseball All-Conference and All-County honors in 1987, 1988 and 1989. In addition, he was the Gatorade Player of the Year for New Jersey in 1989. Hammonds went on to an All-American career at Stanford University, then played a dozen seasons in the Major Leagues with the Orioles, Reds, Rockies, Brewers, Giants, and Nationals.
• A baseball legend at Union High School, pitcher Al Santorini was an All-State, First-Team performer in 1964, 1965, and 1966. He graduated with a career 35-1 record, recorded 552 strikeouts, and had an earned run average below 1.0. A first round draft pick of the Braves in 1966, then a first round expansion draft pick by the Padres in 1969, he played ten seasons in the Major Leagues.
• Art Still was a football stand-out at Camden High School, where he was named to the All-South Jersey Team by the South Jersey Press. He was also a major contributor to Camden’s 1974 State Group 3 championship basketball team, which had a record of 28-1. Still played football at the University of Kentucky, where he was a unanimous Associated Press All-American selection in 1977, as well as Southeastern Player of the Year during his senior season. In the NFL, he played for 12 seasons with the Chiefs and Bills, and was voted to the Pro Bowl in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1984.
• Frank Budd, who passed away in 2014, was an exceptional athlete at Asbury Park High School, and went on to attend Villanova University. He competed in the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, finishing fifth in the 100-yard dash, then a year later assumed the title of “world’s fastest human” by establishing a new, 100-yard dash world record (9.2 seconds) at the National AAU Championships. Budd also spent two seasons in the National Football League as a receiver for the Eagles and Redskins.
• Winslow Township High School state champion wrestler Jordan Burroughs competed for the University of Nebraska, where he was an undefeated national champion both as a junior and senior. A three-time collegiate All-American and the 2011 InterMat Collegiate Wrestler of the Year, Burroughs won an Olympic gold medal in London in 2012. He was a World Champion in 2011 and 2013, and following a defeat at the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, he recaptured his title this September in Las Vegas.
• Gary Williams played basketball for Collingswood High School and received a scholarship to the University of Maryland, becoming that school’s starting point guard and leading it to victory in the 1965 Sugar Bowl Tournament of Champions. His coaching career began at Woodrow Wilson High School, and he captured an NJSIAA state title in 1970 with an undefeated squad. On the college level, he coached Lafayette College, Boston College, American University, Ohio State, and, from 1989 to 2011, the University of Maryland. There, his teams earned 14 NCAA Tournament berths, had seven Sweet 16 appearances, and won the 2002 National Championship. With 649 career NCAA victories, Williams is the fifth winningest head coach in NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball history.

• Over the course of 27 years and 74 different seasons, Montclair High School’s Clarence “Clary” Anderson coached five different sports -- football, baseball, hockey, basketball, and swimming -- and compiled a remarkable .768 winning record. As a football coach, Anderson -- who passed away in 1988 -- won 16 Group IV football championships, while his baseball teams were 10-time sectional champions. Further, he’s widely recognized as being instrumental in the development of the North Jersey Scholastic Hockey League. On the college level, Anderson coached football and baseball for seven seasons at Montclair State University, then served as Fairleigh Dickinson University’s baseball coach in 1977.
• Representing one of New Jersey’s smallest schools, the 1989 girls basketball team from Hoffman High School (now South Amboy High School) stunned their competition by capturing the state’s inaugural Tournament of Champions event. The Lady Governors, who finished 1989 with a 35-5 mark, were coached by future NJSIAA Bollinger Hall of Famer Reggie Carney. They’re the first team to earn hall of fame induction.

Established in 1995 and named for Short Hills, NJ-based sponsor Bollinger Insurance, a provider of sports-related insurance products, the NJSIAA’s Bollinger Hall of Fame receives nominations annually from high schools across the state.

These submissions are reviewed by a selection committee that makes final decisions regarding inductees.

Additional details – including specific criteria and the nomination form – are available by visiting http://goo.gl/PBwIBj.

About the NJSIAA

Established in 1918, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) is a voluntary, non-profit organization comprised of 435 accredited public, private, and parochial high schools. A member of the National Federation of State High School Associations, the NJSIAA conducts tournaments and crowns champions in 32 sports. Championship competition for girls is sponsored in basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, outdoor track, winter track, and volleyball. Boys’ championships are determined in baseball, basketball, bowling, cross country, fencing, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming, tennis, outdoor track, winter track, volleyball, and wrestling.