PLYMOUTH – These were some of the brightest stars to ever shine on the Norwich High School sports stage, and they were honored Saturday night at Canasawacta Country Club as the first inductees into the NHS Sports Hall of Fame.
From Glenn “Tommy” Manning, a product of the “Roaring ‘20s” to breakthrough track and field star, Katie Almeter, tales of legendary accomplishments were told by those who knew these athletes the best.
Manning, Salvatore “Toots” Mirabito, Charles “Doc” Ulrichs, Edward Ackley, Kurt Beyer, Jason Morris, Almeter, and the boys’ basketball teams of 1992-1993, and 1993-1994 comprised the first class, and Manning was the lone entry to not have a family member present for the occasion.
Hall of Fame committee member, Jim Dunne, recounted stories of Manning in the opening acceptance speech. He reminded the some 170 guests in attendance that the selection process of athletes from the bygone era was not an easy one, and required hours of painstaking research. It also helped, Dunne joked, to tap into the long memory of Frank “King Kong” Mirabito, who was familiar with many great Norwich athletes prior to World World II.
In an era where seniors dominated the playing field – as well as post-graduate players – Manning was that rare athlete from the 1920s who played – and earned – three varsity letters in football, and four in basketball. Manning, as the team’s best football player, quarterbacked Norwich to a combined 13-2 record his final two seasons, and as a starting guard, his NHS teams posted a 59-18 record, nearly 15 wins a year – during his playing career.
Mirabito’s son, Rick, presented his father Sal, who may well be the most decorated and gifted athlete Norwich has ever had. Not only did Mirabito guide the unbeaten and unscored on football team of 1937 (scoring 19 touchdowns as well), but he played nearly every other high school sport with distinction. In college, Mirabito was even better. Mirabito finished his athletics career as the NCAA heavyweight boxing champion. In summing up his father’s statistics, the most impressive was indeed in boxing. Not only was Sal Mirabito unbeaten during his college boxing career, an 82-0 record, but he never lost a round either.
Ulrichs, one of four posthumous selections, was the very definition of an All-American boy, said 1945 NHS classmate, Frank Benenati. Benenati was a lifelong friend of Ulrichs, who went on to play college football with Ulrichs at Princeton. Benenati noted that Ulrichs was the star of the NHS football team, a star on the basketball team, and he was a star in the classroom, amongt his peers, and in his community service. Ulrichs served in several leadership positions during high school, while also teaching swimming lessons to the youth of Norwich during the summer.
As was the pattern of Norwich sports, about every five to 10 years, another great set of athletes came to the forefront. Ulrichs graduated in 1945, and eight years later, Ackley headed up one of the greatest collection of athletes in Norwich history.
Ackley is the first of perhaps many athletes from his playing era who will eventually enter the NHS HOF. As the first of his group, the choice was a no-brainer in the estimation of his presenter, Pete Smith.
Not long after Ackley’s graduation, Smith became an avid follower of Norwich sports. It wasn’t long before Smith became acquainted with the records and statistics of Ackley and his teammates.
During a three-year varsity football playing career (Ackley spent time on the varsity as a freshman, but didn’t play enough to earn a varsity letter), Norwich regained its stature as a dominant football force in Central New York. In his senior season, Ackley, as quarterback, piloted the last unbeaten Norwich football team – an 8-0 record. As quarterback, he ran for 12 scores and passed for six more. His postseason honor as captain of the Syracuse Herald-American all-stars was the equivalent of being first team all-state – and the most distinguished of all the all-state players. In addition to his football exploits, Ackley was an outstanding basketball player, and ran on the track and field team with distinction. He continued his football playing days at Syracuse University where he had the opportunity to share the backfield with the great Jim Brown.
Smith closed his speech about Ackley declaring him as the best quarterback in Norwich football history. It’s a statement that is hard to argue.
Setting the table for all of this athletics success – from the 1930s to the present – was Beyer. Don Chirlin, a player for Beyer in the 1950s and a personal friend of “Coach,” said that there would not be a Norwich Sports Hall of Fame without Beyer.
Beyer created the framework for Norwich sports excellence beginning in 1930. Not unlike other coaches, he demanded excellence and a tireless work ethic from his players. He also required that his players carry themselves with dignity, humility, and class. Rarely in the Beyer era did you see a Norwich athlete step out of line. If he did, and Beyer caught wind of it, it was the last time such an occurence would happen. All over New York State, Beyer’s name was known and respected.
Chirlin, with great pride, called himself one of the “Beyer Men.” He was one of the thousands of young men and women influenced in a positive manner by perhaps the most influential person in Norwich sports history.
Beyer was named president of Section IV athletics in 1935, and served in that position for 18 years. He also became the youngest president of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association taking the position at the age of 36 in 1943. Beyer is widely credited with helping create New York State championshps in track and field, wrestling, and other sports, and was also instrumental in establishing modified sports.
