2000 Inductees
Each year the
Vineland High School All-Sports Booster Club inducts a female, a male and a
posthumous person into our Hall of Fame. The
requirements for this induction are: the
person must have participated in athletics, graduated from Vineland High School
at least 10 years ago and contributed to the community in some way.
Female Honoree
2000
In addition to
fulfilling these requirements, our first inductee was also
nominated by three coaches for her outstanding participation in swimming, track
and field hockey. When Sheryl Thedford became a member of the swim team
as a freshman, she promised coach Casadia she would do her best on the medley
relay team and that she did. Her
freshman year the 4 swimmers not only shattered the state record but established
a new national record as well.
As a sophomore,
Sheryl broke the state record in the individual breaststroke placing second.
Three weeks before the states in her junior year, Sheryl broke her ankle.
But that didn't stop her. Coach
reminisces "as she hobbled to the blocks with her ankle heavily taped, I
thought that was it. Her swim was
the most courageous I had ever witnessed as her gutsy and inspirational
performance propelled her team to a third straight state title."
While on the
field hockey team, Sheryl Thedford was a goalie.
She had a shutout percentage of 54.5, the most in the history of the
team. Her goal average per game was .55. She
had a 2 year total of 12 shut outs. The
honors Sheryl received were Atlantic City Press All Area, All Cumberland County,
and Courier Post All Group IV. Her
track coach states: "'Sheryl was a female athlete and not just a girl out
for a team. Sheryl was always a
credit to her sport, her school and her team."
As a senior she was selected the team’s MVP. During her sophomore year,
she tried out for softball and made the JV squad. Her senior year she won the Marine Corps Physical Fitness
Award for the Delaware Valley. She was truly an all round athlete.
Sheryl
graduated from Vineland High in 1982 and attended Grinnel College in Iowa where
she played varsity field hockey, was on the swim team and also participated in
track and field. In field hockey,
she held school records in the high jump, javelin, and heptathlon and was voted
most improved athlete in 1983. She
was three time All-American and was voted the Most Valuable Swimmer her junior
and senior years.
After graduating
from college with ABA in biology, Sheryl attended graduate school at the
University of Florida College of Medicine.
In 1993 she was inducted into the Grinnel College Athletic Hall of Fame,
received a doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Florida and
accepted a position in cardiac research at the University of Maryland College of
medicine.
As one of her coaches said, Sheryl has the character, determination and desire to succeed, has worked hard to develop her god given talent and is truly a leader by example.
Male Honoree
2000
Our male honoree
for this year is Charles Scarani. Mr. Scarani was a member of the 1930
All-State Championship Football Team and was selected All-State Center by the
coaches and sports writers. He was also a member of the track team in 1929, 1930
and 1931 where he ran the half-mile and was a member of the 220-relay team.
A participant in the Penn relays, he ran at the University of
Pennsylvania and participated in the University of Delaware Interscholastic
meets held in Atlantic City and Bridgeton. He is described as an outstanding
athlete.
After graduating
from Vineland High, Mr. Scarani attended Bucknell University on a football
scholarship. He was also a member of the Bucknell boxing team.
Upon returning from college, he played quarter back for the Vineland
Trojans, a semi-professional team. Attending night classes at Rutgers
University, Mr. Scarani earned a degree in political science and history.
He also completed a course in personnel management and several real
estate courses. He later opened his own real estate business here in Vineland.
During World War II, Mr. Scarani was an instructor at the Camden County vocational school and later taught at the New York shipbuilding corporation. Mr. Scarani served as a Cumberland County freeholder for 20 years and has been very active in civic organizations. He has traveled to Russia and China where he studied their government. It is indeed an honor to induct someone into the hall of fame who was not only an outstanding athlete but someone who has done so much for the community.
Each year we
induct someone posthumously into the hall of fame. The family of the person
receives a plaque and we have a headstone that will be placed in our Walk of
Fame, which is located in front of the 11/12 building.
Posthumous Inductee
2000
This year, our
posthumous inductee is Mr. Larry Aldrich.
Larry was a 1953 graduate of Vineland High where he was a star offensive
end on the football team, center and captain of the basketball team and was on
the track team as well.
A 1958
graduate of the University of Idaho, he was a star left offensive end on the
football team, playing all four years. Although his senior year was injury
plagued, he was one of three Idaho players named to the 1957 East-West Shrine
Bowl game. Prior to the start of his senior season, he was named one of the top
five receivers in the nation. He was the fifth draft pick of the Pittsburgh
Steelers, but was injured in his first game. He later played several seasons for
the London Lords in the Canadian football league and for the Richmond Rebels.
Mr. Aldrich was a physical education teacher in the Vineland school district for 25 years, retiring in 1992. He was at Rossi School for his last teaching position. Mr. Aldrich was also basketball coach at St. Augustine prep school where he led his team to the New Jersey Parochial C finals. His friends remember him as a "tough coach from the old school--tough but fair". "He had a terrific sense of humor and was well liked by his colleagues and his students". Mr. Aldrich passed away in 1997.