7 surprising South Jersey connections from the sports world

It used to be a running joke in our newsroom that whenever a national story was developing, there must be some kind of connection to our region.

Somehow, someway, South Jersey would be involved.

Here are a few sports stories that have surprising ties to our area:

How the 1978 Gator Bowl punch is tied to South Jersey

Woody Hayes put together one of the most legendary coaching careers in college football history during his tenure at Ohio State.

Hayes led the Buckeyes to 205 victories from 1951-78. His teams won five national championships, 13 Big Ten titles and played in 11 bowl games, including eight Rose Bowls.

However, Hayes, known for his short temper, will forever be remembered for one forearm shiver on the sideline during the 1978 Gator Bowl that ended his coaching career.

The player who took one on the chin from the 65-year-old coach was Clemson noseguard Charlie Bauman.

Bauman is a Runnemede native who was an All-South Jersey player during his scholastic playing days at Paul VI before going on to have a successful career at Clemson.

Bauman’s only collegiate interception sealed a 17-15 win over Ohio State in the ’78 Gator Bowl. After the pick, Bauman was pushed out of bounds on the Buckeye sideline. As he got up with the ball still in his hand, Hayes grabbed the back of Bauman’s orange jersey before delivering a right hook at No. 58.

Ohio State fired Hayes the next day.

Bauman said he held no grudges for Hayes and told the Florida Times-Union in 2008, “I don’t have anything bad to say about Coach Hayes. He made a mistake. We all make mistakes. I mean, he didn’t hurt me or anything. … Maybe someday, this will all go away. I hope so.”

More: Who were the top male high school athletes in South Jersey during 2022-23 school year

No kidding: Camden's Kid Gleason was skipper of the 1919 Chicago White Sox

William Jethro “Kid” Gleason played 22 years in the majors, playing in four different decades including a stint with the Philadelphia Phillies (1903-08). A standout two-way player, he recorded 1,946 hits and won 138 games with a 3.79 ERA as a pitcher.

Not bad for a kid from Camden.

However, Gleason will also be remembered for being the manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, a team which was involved in the ill-fated gambling accusations to throw the World Series. The scandal resulted in eight White Sox players receiving lifetime bans from baseball.

Gleason was not involved in the scandal and according to some reports, he was one of the people who told owner Charles Comiskey of the potential fix.

Gleason has been referenced in several books, with another by author Dirk Baker in the works, and was portrayed by actor John Mahoney in the movie "Eight Men Out."

Not a bad side hustle for legendary Eagle Wistert

If playing football in the NFL wasn’t enough, Al Wistert found time for a second job.

Along with playing for the Philadelphia Eagles every Sunday, Wistert was the head coach for the Riverside High School football team.

Wistert coached the Rams from 1945-1947, according to South Jersey football historian Chuck Langerman, guiding the Riverside 11 to a South Jersey Group 1 title in 1946 with a 10-2 record.

The coaching run came right in the middle of a standout professional career as a two-way lineman. He played his entire nine-year career with the Eagles, earning All-Pro status in eight of those seasons and competed in the NFL’s first-ever Pro Bowl.

Following a legendary career at the University of Michigan, Wistert was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Eagles and signed for $3,800. He went on to start every game but one during his Eagles’ career and his No. 70 is retired by the team. Wistert was inducted into the Eagles’ Honor Roll in 2009.

In a 1947 Courier-Post story, the Eagles were rumored to invoke an edict that would “discontinue the practice of any of its members holding any outside position that would interfere with their allotted time prescribed under contract as a member of the Eagles’ squad.”

More: Who were the top female athletes in South Jersey sports for 2022-23 season?

Once upon a time in Pemberton for Chelcie Ross

What do Notre Dame football coach Dan Devine, baseball-doctoring pitcher Eddie Harris and a three-sport military brat from Pemberton have in common?

Just ask Chelcie Ross.

After crisscrossing the country as the son of an Air Force officer, Ross finished his high school days at Pemberton where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball and baseball before graduating in 1960.

Ross later joined the Air Force, rising to lieutenant and earned a Bronze Star, before leaving the military to become an actor.

Among his many credits on the big screen, Ross appeared in Rudy as Coach Dan Devine along with roles in baseball films "Major League" and "For the Love of the Game," as well as "Hoosiers."

One of his more memorable lines as Harris in "Major League" illustrates how the aged-veteran pitcher uses different lubricants including Crisco to doctor the ball. Talking to rookie Ricky Vaughn (played by Charlie Sheen), he says, “I haven’t got an arm like you, kid. I have to put anything on it I can find. Someday you will, too.”

Which grappler had plenty of giddy up?

One of the United States most decorated jockeys in the sport of horse racing hails from the green, green grass of … Haddon Township?

Yep, Tony Black registered 5,211 career wins, including his first just days after his graduation from Haddon Township High School in 1970. He is one of 21 jockeys to win 5,000 races in North American history. He won his final race in 2013.

Before riding horses, Black had plenty of riding time as a wrestler. He was a two-time district champ with the Hawks, winning the 98-pound titles in 1969 and 1970.

He credits his time on the mat as helping him find his way down the stretch on the race track.

“Wrestling gave me strong wrists and taught me conditioning and self-discipline in eating,” Black told the New York Times in 1971. “And self-discipline is almost the name of this sport.”

The Voice of Drag Racing

After flaming out as a drag racer, Bob Frey found a way to stay revved up.

In 1966, Atco Raceway was hiring a track announcer and the Waterford resident jumped at the opportunity. He got the job, grabbed the microphone and spent the next 46 years calling drag races throughout the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and England.

Frey, known as the Voice of Drag Racing and 46-year veteran announcer for the National Hot Rod Association, was inducted into the International Drag Racing Hall of Fame in 2023. He retired in 2012.

After graduating from Bishop Eustace Prep in 1964, Frey did own a win on the straightaway, capturing the E/Stock Automatic race at Vineland Speedway Drag Strip in 1965.

In a 2008 story in the Courier-Post, Frey was preparing to announce Top Fuel at the U.S. Nationals.

“Do you know how many guys in the history of the sport have done that? Maybe four,” he said. “I thoroughly enjoyed it. I just love it. I’m a fan.”

South Jersey’s Drozdov was huge on pro wrestling circuit

South Jersey has long had a stronghold in professional wrestling.

King Kong Bundy, aka Chris Pallies, was a two-time region champion at heavyweight at Washington Township before he climbed into the ring. Gorilla Monsoon, born Robert James Marella, had strong ties to the Burlington County area and is buried in Cinnaminson’s Lakeview Memorial Park while Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka resided in Haddonfield for a time and had his funeral services in Atco, despite dying in Florida in 2017, days after a Pennsylvania judge dismissed charges against him relating to his girlfriend's 1983 death.

Darren “Droz” Drozdov, who passed away in June at the age of 54, was a popular heel on the World Wrestling Federation circuit in 1998-99.

A Mays Landing native, Drozdov was a standout quarterback and All-South Jersey defensive end during his scholastic days at Oakcrest High School where he graduated in 1987. He also excelled in track and field, earning All-South Jersey status as a shot putter.

After a standout collegiate career at Maryland, Drozdov played three seasons with the Denver Broncos and one with the Montreal Alouetees in the Canadian Football League.

According to a 1998 Courier-Post story, Drozdov earned his nickname “Puke” during a game with the Broncos in 1993. On a nationally televised Monday Night Football game against Miami, Drozdov threw up on the football. He got flagged for a delay-of-game penalty when the Dolphins’ center didn’t snap the ball.

“It happened naturally, it just came out,” Drozdov said at the time.

Drozdov carried the nickname into the world of wrestling. However, his career would end after he suffered a serious neck injury wrestling against D’Lo Brown in 1999. Brown, aka Accie Julius “A.J.” Connor, was a star football player at Burlington Township during his scholastic days.

The accident fractured vertebrae in Drozdov’s neck and left him a quadriplegic with no movement below his neck. Drozdov would eventually gain some movement in his upper body, but had to use a wheelchair until his death in June.

Tom McGurk is a regional sports editor for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: 7 of South Jersey's unique ties to sports history