Baseball: As the Bergen County Tournament turns 65, look back on these milestone moments

What do the four winningest high school baseball coaches in Bergen County have in common with a Super Bowl-winning football coach?

The 2024 Bergen County baseball tournament presents an opportunity for all of them to celebrate an anniversary.

The inaugural eight-team event took place 65 years ago, beginning with a May 28, 1959 quarterfinal game held at Fairleigh Dickinson University. The starting pitchers were Teaneck senior Arne Thorsland and River Dell senior Bill Parcells.

Thorsland led the Highwaymen to a 2-1 win and, eventually, the championship, before going on to sign a $55,000 contract with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Parcells, of course, went on to coach the New York Football Giants to a pair of Vince Lombardi trophies.

The coach with the most Bergen baseball titles to his credit is Frank Salvano of St. Joseph with seven. He retired in 2015 and remains the county’s all-time career wins leader with 630, followed by Kurt Hommen of Tenafly/Ridgewood (active, 600-plus), Tim Byron of Old Tappan (active, 560-plus) and John Ponchak of Ramsey (retired, 555).

With The Record archives as a guide, here is a look back at many of the championship-round “firsts” (and a few “lasts”) that have reached milestone anniversaries.

65 years ago

No. 1 seed Teaneck def. No. 2 Lyndhurst, 2-1, in 11 innings (June 6, 1959)

Thorsland earned the tournament’s inaugural Most Valuable Player award and, yes, he pitched all 11 innings of a title game that was scheduled for nine. His 18 strikeouts gave him 33 in two county starts, and John Duffy plated Al Fraser with the winning run on a squeeze bunt.

“The entire Teaneck squad poured onto the field to congratulate Duffy and Fraser. After the game [Teaneck coach Joe] Cervino said, ‘The reason I put Duffy up there as a pinch-hitter was because he’s the best bunter I have’.” —Gabe Buonauro article, Bergen Evening Record, Monday, June 8, 1959, page 25

60 years ago

No. 1 Paramus def. unseeded Leonia, 9-1 (June 6, 1964)

Center fielder Jerry Giampetruzzi, the tournament MVP, homered twice in the game to give the Spartans their only Bergen County crown to date. Left-hander John Deane allowed as many hits to Lion batters as he had at the plate (2), and he struck out 11 in a complete game.

“Giampetruzzi, [Lou] Sette, [Bob] Mulcahey, Dennis Moore, Bob Cortese and Deane all matched the Leonia hit total.” —Jack Fein article, The Record, Monday, June 8, 1964, page 50

55 years ago

No. 8 Bogota def. unseeded Bergenfield, 3-0 (June 7, 1969)

The Bucs captured their first (and only) title in the last nine-inning championship game. For the tournament’s first 10 years, earlier-round games went the varsity regulation seven innings before teams played nine in the final. MVP Rich Graham fired a six-hit shutout in his third start in four days.

“But the little right-hander would not be pitching were it not for the ice he applies to his arm between starts. ‘I packed it (the arm) in ice last night and it still feels pretty good,’ he said after his victory.” —Ron Drogo article, The Sunday Record, June 8, 1969, page 5-C

50 years ago

No. 2 Park Ridge def. No. 1 Ridgefield Park, 4-1 (June 3, 1974)

The Owls claimed the first of their two county titles thanks in large part to the pitching of the Hagman brothers. Jim, a senior, won nine games to help Park Ridge qualify for the tournament but sprained an ankle in the opening round. Keith, a sophomore, then won three games to get their team to the final, where Jim threw a seven-hitter with 10 strikeouts.

“All I can say about Jim’s pitching today was he did it all on guts… he was hurting out there,” Park Ridge coach Bob Kolb told The Record’s John Rowe after the game.

45 years ago

No. 1 Pascack Hills def. unseeded Westwood, 8-4 (June 8, 1979)

A matchup of first-time finalists went in favor of the team then known as the Cowboys – after rain forced the title game to be postponed twice. Catcher Frank Musco roped a two-run single to give Pascack Hills an early 4-1 lead and give himself 10 runs batted in for the tournament.

“Frank is a modest player. … Nobody will probably ever know he was MVP unless they were on the team or saw the game. He wouldn’t tell them.” —Pascack Hills coach Doug Burek to John Rowe

40 years ago

No. 7 St. Joseph def. No. 4 Rutherford, 3-1 (June 8, 1984)

So began a Bergen County dynasty. This was the first of the Green Knights’ record 11 championships, and the first of two for coach Greg Carney, who returned to the team after suffering a heart attack mid-season. Keith Connolly (4⅓ innings) and MVP Brian Branigan (2⅔) combined on a six-hitter.

“Brian was well rested, so we knew we’d use him if we got in a jam,” Carney told The Record’s John Brennan.

35 years ago

Unseeded Ramsey def. No. 1 Paramus Catholic, 14-3 (June 4, 1989)

This began a run of back-to-back titles for the Rams, and it happened 11 years to the day after their first county-tournament triumph against a 25-0 Ridgefield Park team. MVP Pete Ohnegian capped a 10-run fifth inning with a two-run homer, leading Ramsey past the 25-win Paladins.

“Isn’t that an amazing coincidence?” Ramsey coach John Ponchak told The Record’s Mark Czerwinski.

30 years ago

No. 4 Tenafly def. No. 7 Ramsey, 3-2 (June 5, 1994)

The Tigers’ lone county crown thus far was also the first for Kurt Hommen, who appears on this list twice. Five of the victorious players also had been a part of a Bergen freshman tournament-winning squad in 1990, including first baseman/pitcher John Hynes, the MVP.

“We were always hoping for the championship since we won as freshman [sic],” Hynes told The Record’s Bob Kurland. “…I do think that having the experience of having won the frosh title, helped us win this.”

25 years ago

No. 2 Bergen Catholic def. No. 1 St. Joseph, 10-6 (June 2, 1999)

Along with the Crusaders’ inaugural championship came the first occurrence of co-Most Valuable Players. Baseball/bowling ace Tad Jones shared the honor with St. Joe’s Mike Cohan after rebounding from elbow surgery… and taking a postgame head butt from baseball/football standout Jim Burt.

“I always dreamed of being on the mound when we won the County championship… it was worth it,” Jones told The Record’s Greg Schutta before heading to the hospital for stiches above his left eye.

20 years ago

No. 5 Old Tappan def. No. 3 St. Joseph, 3-0 (May 31, 2004)

Although the Green Knights became the first two-time defending champ to return to the county final, Old Tappan came away with its first Bergen title behind sophomore southpaws Eric Katzman and Nick Vallillo. Katzman earned Tournament MVP, while Vallillo five-hit St. Joe’s and struck out seven.

“Everyone says, ‘He’s the ace’ or ‘he’s the ace.’ … The best thing is I’ve got them both for another two years,” Golden Knights coach Tim Byron told The Record’s Mark Czerwinski.

15 years ago

No. 2 St. Joseph def. No. 5 Ramapo, 10-0, in 5 innings (May 31, 2009)

This was the first year that Bergen County coaches gave out separate Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher awards. The former went to Green Knights pitcher/first baseman Kevin Ferguson, whose RBI single capped a six-run fifth to invoke the mercy rule. Bob Graber of Ramapo earned the latter honor.

After Ferguson, Rich Anastasi and Rob Frank allowed only one run in four county games, St. Joseph coach Frank Salvano told The Record’s Art Stapleton, “With those guys, it was pretty much, ‘Here’s the ball. I’ll see you in the seventh’.”

10 years ago

No. 8 Don Bosco def. No. 3 St. Joseph, 7-1 (May 26, 2014)

Ironman second baseman Josh Shaw doubled twice in the victory to earn the first of his two straight Most Valuable Player awards. The following year, he joined Dwight-Morrow’s Jack Grasing (1962-63) and Demarest’s Alex Hayden (1992-93) as the only players to achieve that feat.

The Record columnist Darren Cooper noted that Don Bosco also became the lowest seed to win the tournament since the committee started seeding all of the top 16 entries in 1996.

5 years ago

No. 9 Ridgewood def. No. 10 St. Joseph, 10-7 (May 25, 2019)

The Maroons’ first county triumph was the second for Kurt Hommen, who also became the second coach to lead multiple programs to a Bergen title. The Lt. Thomas Evans MVP, Sam Favieri, and Larry Ennis Most Valuable Pitcher Kevin Seitter led a senior class that had played in the 2015 Junior League World Series.

"When we came in, I think our grade in particular turned the Ridgewood baseball program around... and it was a lot of fun," Favieri told The Record.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen County baseball tournament: Looking back on milestone moments