sports•man•ship: fair and generous behavior or treatment of others, especially in a sports contest.
Last month, on January 19th, the Roselle Park Grappling Panthers celebrated a historic event, they became only the fourth high school varsity wrestling team in history to achieve 1,000 wins. In front of bleacher-filled stands, the Panthers celebrated that win at home. That meet was originally scheduled to take place three towns away. Had it not been for the sportsman-like conduct shown by the Scotch-Plains Fanwood Raiders to accommodate a request to move the event, the Panthers’ 1,000th victory would not have happened at the T. Ralph ‘Pug’ Williams gymnasium.
In recognizing integrity, Mayor Carl Hokanson sent the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (SPFHS) Raiders a note of gratitude from 07204. The head of the borough thanked Scotch Plains-Fanwood for their class and sportsmanship in moving the match to Roselle Park.
SPFHS Assistant Principal of Athletics Ryan Miller commented, “When Mr. Foy called me about the move I never gave it a second thought. Overall, the right thing to do was to move the match. At the time I did not realize the Roselle Park was the fourth team nationally to achieve 1,000 program wins, but if a respected colleague like James Foy is asking, then there is a meaning.”
Mr. Miller added, “I was thrilled and honored to be able to put ‘doing the right thing’ in action to help another. Frankly, I am humbled by the attention this has drawn – I know that Mr. Foy would have done the same for any of the programs at SPFHS.”
A copy of Mayor Hokanson’s letter is included below:
Download Mayor Hokanson Letter to Scotch Plains-Fanwood Raiders