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February 27, 2008

Past, present & future of OCHS basketball come together

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


Last Tuesday there were about 75 people in the Ocean City High School gym to watch the Raiders play Millville. Three nights later, nearly 200 gathered in the gym on a night when there was no game.

That isn't meant to be a negative comment on the 2007-08 Raiders. Tuesday night was a rainy night and the game with Millville had no importance. No, the real meaning of that comparison is how important Dixie Howell was to the people who gathered to name the gym in his honor on Friday night.

With Sweet Georgia Brown playing in the background, there were Bud Rinck and Dave Beyel, seniors on the last team coached by Dixie 40 years ago. Glenn Darby and John Huff were on that team, too, and went on to play for Jack Boyd the following years.

The magical backcourt trio of Randy Fox, Barry Banks and John Laudenslager was there. They were part of the 1964 state championship team as underclassmen and went on to further success in the years that followed.

Dan Money and Dave Farina were there, as well. Money, the imposing four-sport athlete, and Farina, looking like he just stepped off the set of The Sopranos or Boston Legal. One of the clearest memories of Dixie Howell was seeing him watch that helicopter land in Dennis Township in 1962, carrying Farina away from the flood waters in Sea Isle City so he could join his teammates in the NJSIAA Tournament.

Mike and Jerry Fadden were there, both having traveling thousands of miles for the ceremony. They are one of only two brother combinations in OCHS history to both lead their team in scoring. Mike was the school's first 20-point per game scorer and Jerry captained the team that won an eighth straight CAL championship.

Two former Raiders who became successful coaches elsewhere were there - Ken Leary and Whitey Haak. Leary spoke on behalf of the former players with eloquence and emotion. He became one of New Jersey's most successful coaches at Pleasantville. And Haak excelled as a coach in many sports - golf, basketball, tennis, cross country - undoubtedly putting to work many of the skills he acquired from Dixie Howell.

From Dixie's early teams there were Gorge Loder, Pat Henry and Nate Davis. And Tom Adams was also there. One of the smoothest players to play for the Raiders, Adams said he thought Dixie became successful rather quickly because he didn't come in like so many do and just change everything. He watched the offenses and defenses the young Ocean City players were running and made only small changes until he had gradually instituted his entire system.

Of course, Rick and Terry Howell were prominent among Dixie's players. Both had very successful careers at OCHS and returned last week with a dignity and sense of pride and gratitude, looking like they could have been U.S. Senators.

While these former Ocean City High School players were sitting on one side of the gym, the current Raiders - both boys and girls - were seated on the opposite side. The girls would go on the next day to win a second straight CAL championship. Dixie never coached girls basketball but he wanted a successful program so, as athletics director, he hired Pat Dougherty and, when she retired, Chris Lentz.

With the Raider past on one side of the gym and the current players on the other side, the only thing missing was the future. And that gap was filled by the seventh grade recreation team that played against Middle Township in a game that followed the ceremony. One of the players, to further emphasize the continuity of the evening, was Tom Adams' grandson.

Naming the gymnasium in memory of Dixie Howell was clearly a tribute to him and what he meant to the people of Ocean City for over three decades. Dixie and Fenton Carey were pretty much the entire athletics department for a long time and now they both have been permanently acknowledged.

But dedicating the gym was more than a tribute to one man. Watching those men being escorted onto the court by girls from the OCHS varsity, with Sweet Georgia Brown echoing around them, was a clear reminder of how much these former student-athletes - and many more like them - have meant to Ocean City High School.

Their return on Friday as a group to honor the memory of Dixie Howell, who retired as a coach 40 years ago and died 20 years ago, did more than just dedicate a gymnasium. They may have played and studied in a different building on the opposite side of Atlantic Avenue but their spirit and their personalities needed to be a part of the new school. The four-year old building that houses that new gym finally became Ocean City High School on Friday night when those special people from the past brought their memories and traditions across the street.

Lets hope they will return many more times.



Read more of Tom Williams' columns