Schenectady City School District Announces
2022 Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees
Ceremony scheduled for September 19
The Schenectady City School District Athletic Hall of Fame Committee is pleased to announce that 2022 inductees will be Casper Wells, Jack Edwards and Ernie Marshall. Legacy tributes will honor the six consecutive undefeated Nott Terrace High School Tennis Teams (1949-1954) and the outstanding 1961 Linton High School Football team. The ceremony and dinner are scheduled for Monday, September 19, 2022 at The Event Center at Rivers Casino & Resort.
Casper Wells played on three consecutive Big Ten championship baseball teams at Schenectady High School. The 2000 team was undefeated in the Big Ten. He was the 2002 Troy Record Player of the Year and a 2002 All-State selection. Wells was an outstanding pitcher (11-1) on the 2002 Schenectady team that won Sectional and Regional titles, and advanced to the NYSPHSAA final game. He was the winning pitcher in five post-season games, including the State semi-final. Wells had a very successful collegiate baseball career at Towson University, where he had a 6-0 pitching record as a junior. He batted .351 with 28 home runs and 115 RBI in his collegiate career. He was the 2005 Colonial Athletic Association Outstanding Player of the Year and a two-time All-CAA selection. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in 2005 (14th round). He played for five Major League teams (Tigers, Mariners, A’s, White Sox and Phillies). Wells had a four-game home run streak with the Mariners in 2011. He possessed a strong arm from the outfield (21 career assists). He batted .230, with 25 home runs and 81 RBIs in his MLB career. He also pitched in two MLB games. He is a member of the Capital District/ NYS Baseball Hall of Fame.
Jack Edwards was a standout athlete at Mont Pleasant High School. He was a 1959 Scholastic Magazine Football All-American. He also won the Thom McAn Award. He played in the 1960 Prep All-American Football Classic in Hershey, PA (attendance 23,500). He caught four passes for 48 yards in the game (only four completions). Edwards was also an outstanding track athlete. He was Sectional Class “A” champion in the 180-yard low hurdles (three years) and Sectional champion in the 120-yard-high hurdles (two years). He set the Section II Meet 180-yard low hurdles record. He also set meet records at the Utica Invitational, Rye Invitational and Schenectady Interscholastic Sports Carnival. He was the 1960 Mont Pleasant AC Athlete of the Year, sharing the award with Linton’s Barry Kramer. He lettered in football at Boston University in 1961. He is currently the mayor of Pineville, NC.
Ernie Marshall was an outstanding sprinter at Mont Pleasant HS in the 1930s. He ran on two winning teams at the Penn Relays Championships of America. He won the 100, 220 and 440 at two consecutive New Hampshire Interscholastic Track & Field Championship Meets, setting records in the 220-yards and 440-yards. Marshall won the 220-yard dash at the 1937 Class “A” Eastern New York Public School Athletic League Championship. A New York Herald Tribune sports columnist compared Marshall to Olympic champion Jesse Owens – “Another Jesse Owens in the Making.” He was named to the 1938 National All-Scholastic track team, as the best 220-yard runner in scholastic circles. His 220-yard Sectional record (21.6) stood for 19 years. His 440-yard Sectional record (49.2) stood for 23 years. He was a National Junior AAU 440-yard champion. He was a candidate for the 1940 U.S. Olympic team (Olympics were not held due to World War II). Marshall will be enshrined posthumously.
One of this year’s Legacy Tributes will honor the six consecutive undefeated Nott Terrace HS tennis teams (1949 through 1954) that won 77 consecutive matches. After two victories in 1955 the streak ended at 79 consecutive wins when Nott Terrace dropped a 5-2 decision to Mont Pleasant HS. The six undefeated teams were coached by Sam Thompson. During the streak Nott Terrace standouts Stewart Stearns (1950), Justus Kusserow (1952), Stan Majerowski (1953), and Floyd Downs (1954) each won a Sectional singles title. Stearns (1949), Joe Guerra (1951), Majerowski (1952) and Tom Poole (1954) each was a Sectional runner-up. In 1952 and 1954 the Sectional final featured two Nott Terrace players. In 1953 Majerowski, Downs, and Myles Bader were three of the final four singles players. Also, Lou Gwinner and Howie Hubbard won the 1951 Sectional doubles title.
A second Legacy Tribute will honor the outstanding 1961 Linton HS football team. This team finished 7-1 (only loss was to powerful Easton HS in Pennsylvania). Dick Lalla was the head coach. His varsity assistant was Dom Denio. The team was led by All-American and future Syracuse captain Ron Oyer. Paul Bricoccoli, a future quarterback at Rhode Island, and Rit Wilgocki were honorable mention All-Americans. Linton won the Class “A” League championship and shut out all Section II opponents. Denio, Oyer, Bricoccoli and team member Mike Meola are all SCSD Athletic Hall of Fame members.