By Ted Menswar Jr.
QCAHF PART 2 (you can find part 1 here)
The Difficulties Continue for QCAHF
Finding a place to hold the initial banquet proved to be difficulty number one. Bill explained, “No one wanted it. Finally, the Center of New Hampshire (now the Radisson Hotel) gave us the green light and also agreed to cater the event for us. Great, but that created the next problem. They wanted to know the final number referent to how many would be attending a week in advance, and I couldn’t provide that. By the middle of that last week, I had sold another 50-60 tickets and all I could think of was that I’d have to order out for pizza to feed those people.”
Enter difficulty number three: getting in touch with the inductees and getting them, their families, and their friends to the event. Frank took over the explaining.
“We thought the Union Leader would embrace it, but they never did. Thanks in large part to the efforts of John Hussey, they DID give us a spread the day before the event and put in a couple pictures. We held the dinner on Saturday evening with hopes it’d be in the Sunday News edition that following day, and it always was.”
Finally, in June, 1989, the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its initial class. It included the following:
From the Pre-1940s
- Ed Cullen, John “Dodie” Healey, and Hubie McDonough
From the 1940s
- Bob Chabot, John “Jumbo” Reilly, and Ben Roy
From the 1950s
- Sonny Cronin, Bo Dickson, Lou Kirouac, Bill Pappas, and Don Sarette
From the 1960s
- Darrell Buck, Mike Flanagan, Dick Powers, and Steve Schubert
From the 1970s
- Dan Duval, Mike Lavalliere, and Don Macek
As I said earlier, the CREAM of Manchester’s athletic crop.
Asked to sum up in one word their individual feelings after the initial QCAHF dinner had concluded, Bill quickly answered, “Thank God it’s over!” Frank, reminding him of my request, said “Billy, Ted said one word. You’re supposed to describe it in one word.” Bill’s choice: “Exhausted.” Frank followed with “Great!,” but continued, “Seeing guys you otherwise wouldn’t have seen, and not just the inductees, but the people who came to honor them, the people who came from far and wide to share in their celebration, that was the awesome part.
Though we felt good about ourselves and the job we had done, we immediately talked about what we had done right, what we had done wrong, and how we could improve it.” At this point Frank paused, his face in total reflection, and then he continued, “Ted, I want you to again mention a guy whose name we’ve barely mentioned. A guy who worked his butt off from the first dinner on.: Lance Williamson. He worked hard, VERY hard, and we couldn’t have done it without him.”
“You got that right!”added Bill. Clem’s word choice: “Fantastic!” He continued, “We went through so much to put it all together. We had brought Manchester together for a re-union of sorts and now we could finally smile.”
FINDING A HOME FOR QCAHF
While the Center of NH, followed by the Wayfarer (in Bedford), “served” them well, St. George Greek Orthodox Church on Hanover Street became the official “home” of the induction dinners, in Frank’s words, “They have been the perfect home to accommodate us. Under the watchful eye of chief cook and bottle-washer, Manny “Muscles“ Tsipopoulos (former owner of Merrimack Fruit), they have been wonderful hosts.”
…AND AN MC
Pretty much since its inception, well-known and extremely entertaining local “celebrity,“ Hubie McDonough Jr. has served as the Master of Ceremonies. His wit is envied, his humor is undeniable, his slap-stick routine is unmistakable. The entertainment he alone provides is worth the price of admission, as anyone who has seen and heard him will attest.
The QCAHF ceremony is always held in early summer. As explained by Bill, “Because the presentation of scholarships is also a highlight of the evening, we wanted to be sure the students who receive them are still in town and haven’t headed off to school already. We want them there to receive recognition.”
Speaking of scholarships, the recipients are NOT given the money at the dinner. Instead, the checks are sent out after the students have completed the first semester of the schools they are attending. Again, Bill: ”We wanted to be sure they went to school and had actually completed at least the first part of the school year. While it’s not a lot of money (the sum has ranged from $500 to $750), every little bit helps, and we just wanted to be sure the student was there to use it.”
Scholarship recipients must be from a Manchester high school (which includes Central, Memorial, Trinity, and West). The committee attempts to select two students from each of those secondary schools dependant on the number of applicants there are for the scholarship.
As of the 2009 induction dinner, the Queen City Hall of Fame had awarded more than $120,000 to 200 Manchester seniors. That’s not just commendable, that’s remarkable!
THE QCAHF INDUCTEE NOMINATION/SELECTION PROCESS
All a person needs to do to nominate an individual for possible induction is to pick up an application at the Parks and Recreation Office at the Derryfield Country Club, fill out the information requested, and submit it for perusal. The actual process used to select an inductee is a fairly lengthy one. Suffice it to say that the selection committee will get the job done once an application is received..
DEBATABLE ISSUE:
Is the Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame getting “watered down”? (Are people getting in that really shouldn’t be?)
As with any organization of this type, particularly as additional classes are selected, the topic of “exactly who should be in it?” becomes a centerpiece for discussion. And a variety of factors now enter.
Selection committee members who show up only to get a person they want “in” and are rarely (if ever) seen again after they’re successful (or unsuccessful) attempts in pushing for those individuals. In Clem’s words, “That was my greatest gripe. People would show up to get a certain person in then you’d never see them again, and that‘s just not right!”
Parents and/or friends who are angry (and sometimes irate) that their son/daughter/friends did not gain entry to the hallowed hall and vent those frustrations on the hall’s “leaders.“ And Frank emphasized the point by adding, “Every one of us, no exceptions, has received a number of calls from people asking why a certain person did or didn’t get in.”
I couldn’t help but notice that each of them rolled their eyes when we started to discuss the issue, and I could definitely relate. As chairperson of the Manchester Memorial High School Hall of Fame I, too, have had those calls.
QCAHF committee members themselves continually reviewing the selection process always looking for a better way to accomplish the task…and not always happy that their efforts were rewarded. Some members have become so frustrated that they have left the group, some until they’ve “cooled down” – some never to return.
THE “PARTICULARS”
- To date, 248 men and women have been inducted into the hall
- Number of inductees per year: 10-18
- Cost of individual trophies presented to inductees: $125 (per trophy)
- Ticket price (includes the meal): $30
- Estimated crowd size (per induction dinner): 125-250
- Largest crowd to attend: 250 (1st induction dinner)
- Rental Fee for the church hall: $500
- Master of Ceremonies (by popular demand): Hubie McDonough Jr.
- Longest speech by an inductee: Bob Rivard – 45 minutes
Bill described it as follows: “If it’s too long, Hubie will begin offering hints to ‘wrap it up!“ As Bob’s progressed, and he failed to do so, Hubie’s hints became less subtle. First he began pounding the table then, signaling that it was all he could take, he rolled off his chair and onto the floor in mock humor that he had finally succumbed to the verbal “torture” and had “passed out” (or away depending on your personal choice!)
A LAST MINUTE ENTRY…
As I always do after finishing the draft of a story, I contact those who have been interviewed and send it to them so that they can read its content. That way they can tell me to add, delete and/or amend anything contained within it before they give me the “OK” to submit it for publication. Though all three of the men who are “featured” in this article each gave me the green light after making several changes to its content, Bill asked that I include one more person that he considers instrumental in the success of the city’s hall of fame: Lance Williamson.
While his name has already been mentioned, all three (Bill, Clem, and Frank) felt exactly the same way about Lance’s input. He was most definitely a vital cog whose work kept the wheels of the QCAHF turning and without him, they would never have achieved the success they did.
QCAHF – THE CONCLUSION
So there you have it, the origin, the trials, the tribulations, the joys, the frustrations, and the demise of what is still regarded as THE athletic hall of fame in Manchester…an idea that, thanks to the efforts of four incredibly hard-working and dedicated men, became a reality.
Unfortunately, because the “frustrations” have won out over the “rewards,” the “battles” having taken their tolls, the hall of fame has, at least temporarily, halted its operation. Though Bill, Clem, and Frank have stepped down from their positions of leadership, they have not deserted the organization. Too many years of hard work eliminate that possibility.
Simply put, while they’re extremely pleased with what the organization has done and with the impact that it has had upon the community. Though they’re collectively EXHAUSTED, Bill, Clem, and Frank are by no means “out.” They just want to see some new blood, some new “organizers,“ particularly a new chairperson, who will pick up from where they left off, hence, the reason behind my “Want Ad” opening in Part 1.
“Borrowing” a question used by the Ben Bailey, host of the hit TV game show “Cash Cab,“ So whaddya say, you in?”
QUEEN CITY ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME SELECTION COMMITTEE
Disclaimer: Many of the details (i.e. facts revealed, names remembered) contained within these stories are based on the best remembrances of those involved and any errors, though unlikely, are unintended.
QCAHF ADDENDUM:
Of the four men responsible for creating the QCAHF, only one remains, Frank Harlan, retired teacher and former sports official. It’s sad to see what was once a jewel in the crown of the Queen City cease its existence.
Speaking as the former chairperson of the three divisions of the Manchester Memorial High School Hall of Fame, as much as it was a boatload of work to organize and operate, I assure you that it is well worth the effort. The smiles of the family and friends of the inductees as they give their individual acceptance “speeches” during the induction dinner was worth the price of admission.
Please understand one very important thing. It is NOT a one-person job. It’s a multiple-person effort separated into multiple-person tasks.
The Four Horsemen of the QCAHF (Bill, “Bo”, Frank, and Clem) have done the groundwork and created the outline for success for whoever is willing to pick up from where they left off.
Wally Rozmus, a member of the QCAHF and the MMHS Hall of Fame, contacted me several years ago to ask about “chairing” a hall of fame and what it entailed. It appeared that he was about to accept the task when another “chairperson” called him “upstairs” for induction into a much bigger hall of fame, Heaven.
So, if you’re interested, re-read the introduction to this story, think about Nike’s famous slogan and “Just Do It”…AND…please contact me!
Ted Menswar Jr. is a life-long resident of the Queen City and a retired member of the English Department of Memorial High School who has been involved in local sports for 70 years as a player, a coach, a mentor and a fan. He can be reached at tedmenswar@outlook.com