Jul 26, 2025
Bill Hammond
Since the late 1950s, I have either played with and against, or coached, officiated and covered for the newspaper, literally thousands of athletes.
A few have stood out from the rest. These are the late 1960s through 1980s era’s best of the best, in my opinion, in baseball, men’s softball, basketball, football and men’s and women’s track and field. If I inadvertently missed someone, please let me know via my email below.
Baseball has a clear winner. Dunkirk High School 1969 graduate Dave Criscione is my obvious choice. The former Major League catcher dominated local baseball diamonds starting in 1960 as a 8-year-old Little League phenom. He led Dunkirk to the New York State Babe Ruth championship in 1967 before signing with the now defunct Washington Senators in 1969.
Honorable mentions go to Cardinal Mindszenty pitcher Dan Wolfe, Dunkirk High’s Dave Wisniewski, Jeff Kubera and Frank Jagoda, Fredonia State pitcher/hitter Mark Clifford, Fredonia High/Fredonia State’ pitchers Jeff Shaver, Doug DeJoe and Bart Carruth and Cassadaga Bombers pitcher Rich Clifford and teammate Rick Roos.
Looking at men’s softball, Ripley’s dual threat Ron Bretz stands alone. An overpowering pitcher and feared left-handed hitter with strength and speed, Bretz was the total package. Dan Mierzwa was the best pitcher, Dale Till the toughest out, and Jeff Kubera, Jojo Bartkowiak, Tom Harvey and Joe Rutkowski the best overall players.
Randy Smith
In basketball, Fredonia High’s Michael Heary is above the rest. Silver Creek’s Jeff Pagano, Dunkirk’s Steve Borowski, Jesse Thomas and Lewis Mack, Fredonia’s Greg Ludwig and Mindszenty’s Jim Gestwicki, Tom Krystofiak and Joe Rutkowski are next in line. Silver Creek’s George Carter was a bit before my time.
In football, the Wallace brothers of Fredonia were in a class by themselves. Quarterback Mike Wallace etched his name in the NCAA small-school record book after a similarly productive high school career. Brother Bob Wallace was the most dominating high school lineman I’ve ever seen.
Honorable mentions include the Mindszenty trio of Ed Ransford, Dan Wolfe and Mark Orlando, Dunkirk’s Bob Barlette, Rick Donaldson, Dave Graf and Mike Balzer, plus Fredonia lineman Don Reinhoudt Jr., also known as The World’s Strongest Man.
Fredonia’s Olympic pole vault champion Jenn Suhr and Dunkirk’s Barlette headline the track and field group as a sub-10 second 100-yard dash ace.
I know that I’m overlooking soccer, wrestling and swimming, plus women’s sports, but they weren’t around in the ’60s and ’70s when I was in school.
John Chapin
I did coach Little League girls softball for 20 years and worked with three outstanding athletes in Rita Corsi, Amanda Drummond and Sarah Reilly.
As far as the best athlete I had the pleasure of covering, Buffalo State’s remarkable Randy Smith is the easy choice.
The former state high school record holder in the high jump, Randy produced two highlight-reel material performances in my presence.
The first was on the Fredonia State soccer field. Randy was playing the left wing when he raced past me at the midfield scoring table. He looked up briefly before launching a 60-yard left-footed blast that somehow settled in the net behind the stunned Blue Devil goalie. It may well have been an attempted crossing pass, but ended up being the longest goal I have ever seen in person — by at least 30 yards.
Turning to the basketball court, FSUC traveled to meet Randy’s Bengals the following winter. Randy attempted a jump shot from the deep left corner and it hit the far side of the rim.
The ball rebounded high above the rim and when it came down, Randy was there to tip it in. I have never seen that play duplicated by anyone at any level and I watched a lot of basketball in my day.
The most amazing athletic feat I witnessed in person, however, came in Fredonia State’s Dods Hall swimming pool.
It happened around 1970 during the SUNYAC Championships.
I first watched in amazement as Blue Devil All-American John Chapin remained unbeaten in his specialty, the backstroke. It was the 200-yard finals and he won handily.
But he wasn’t done. He accepted congratulations, toweled off and then stepped on the starting blocks for the very next event. He barely had time to catch his breath.
He hit the water and went down the length of the pool and back to win the 50-yard freestyle in a photo finish, beating the conference’s well-rested top sprinters by inches. It was awesome and unforgettable and I was there to see it. I still get chills just thinking about it.
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DO YOU have a favorite memory of playing, coaching or officiating? Drop me a line at mandpp@hotmail.com and let’s reminisce.
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Bill Hammond is a former EVENING OBSERVER sports editor.
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