Suffolk Sports Hall Of Fame – Class Of 2022

Garden City NY

11 May, 2022

8:41 AM

Description

Induction ceremonies this month welcome 21 new members of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. The hall features more than 350 inductees, celebrating athletes, coaches, athletic directors, journalists and others who enjoy a sports connection to the county. This year’s inductees are: Sam Apuzzo of West Babylon High School. She received the Tewaraaton Award at Boston College as the top NCAA lacrosse player. After an historic playing career, she was on staff as an assistant coach when BC won the NCAA D1 national title last year. Charlie Bunger is a surfing legend. His Bunger Surf Shop has been a legacy name on the East Coast surf scene for decades. He is this year's Historic Inductee of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. Linda Cohn is known for her extensive work on ESPN. John Daly, a Smithtown native, has represented the United States in skeleton at the Olympics. Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica, a Westhampton Beach High School alum, has spent almost his entire ESPN career as a research producer for eight-time Emmy Award winning College GameDay, college football’s longest-running and most-celebrated pregame show. Keri Farley, a star three-sport athlete at Sachem High School, got even better in basketball at Cornell University, where she still holds records. Then, she played for the U.S. Handball team on an international level. Olivia Galati is in a softball league of her own at St. John the Baptist High School and Hofstra University. Kevin Harrington is one of the winningest volleyball coaches in New York history. He built a dynasty at John H. Glenn High School. Myles Jones was a legend at Walt Whitman High School and Duke University and now a star in the Premier Lacrosse League. Billy Koch was a star baseball player at West Babylon High School and Clemson University before becoming one of the most dominant closers of his era with Toronto, Oakland, Chicago and Florida. Paul Longo of William Floyd High School is the winningest high school football coach in Suffolk County history. Ralph Macchio is a lifelong Suffolk County resident and he has made his mark on sporting culture with Karate Kid and Cobra Kai. Tina Moon is one of the winningest field hockey coaches in Suffolk history at Sachem High School, and she is an All-American from Centereach High School and UConn. Joe Pellicane from Deer Park is a longtime college hoops coach with more than 540 victories. He is the current women’s coach at Molloy College. John and Allison Pfeffer as longtime Bay Shore High School head coaches of multiple sports, including lacrosse and gymnastics. A.J. Preller as president of baseball operations and general manager of the San Diego Padres and from Walt Whitman High School. Matt Senk as longtime Stony Brook University head baseball coach with more than 870 victories and a trip to the College World Series. Kia Wright is one of Long Island’s highest scoring girls’ hoops players at Copiague High School. She is a member of St. John’s University Hall of Fame following an outstanding college career. Darrell Young from Amityville High School is a former NFL running back with the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) and current director of player personnel with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Steve Zimmer is inducted as a veteran NFL referee, including many high stakes games such the Super Bowl. Suffolk Sports Markers Installed During recent months, SSHOF installed two markers that commemorate historic sports events in the county. On April 5, a marker was dedicated at Bridgehampton High School to honor Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. The ceremony coincided with the resurrection of baseball at Bridgehampton after a 43-year hiatus. Yastrzemski, who was inducted into the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 1990, grew up in Bridgehampton and graduated from the high school during 1957. He hit .512 during his prep baseball career. Yastrzemski is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. On May 5, a marker was dedicated to Negro League and Major League Baseball pitching star Leroy “Satchel” Paige. He pitched in Riverhead during a 1950 barnstorming trip that stopped at Wivchar Stadium. The marker is located at the former site of the stadium. Paige is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. _______ James C. Metzger is a 2014 Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame inductee.