Wyomissing dedicates field in coach Bob Wolfrum's name following win over Conrad Weiser

Oct. 14—On a cold and rain-soaked October afternoon, a group of boys not old enough to make a junior high roster were playing a pickup football game on a muddy field in the borough of Wyomissing.

One player yelled out for a pass interference call after a contested incomplete pass, while the designated quarterback deliberated and yelled back that the coverage was fair.

The kids carried on and continued to play even with parents beckoning for them to wrap it up, much to the young athletes' chagrin.

The scene had nothing to do with the dedication that had taken place moments prior, but then again, if you were to ask coach Bob Wolfrum, it meant everything.

On Saturday, the Spartans defeated Conrad Weiser 35-14 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 game. Afterwards, Wolfrum was honored for his 36 years as the Spartans' head coach with a special ceremony in which the A Field in Wyomissing was officially renamed "Bob Wolfrum Field."

During his time as coach, Wyomissing has won 357 games, as well 19 league titles, 11 District 3 championships and the 2012 PIAA Class 2A championship. Though, to those who know him best, Wolfrum's impact is more than just numbers and championships in a record book.

"Our legacy is not about the banners that hang in a gymnasium or trophies that we display on our walls," Wyomissing High School principal Corey Jones said. "It is about the culture that you built and the impact that you have had on everyone that you've coached."

Fitting for a coach who has touched as many lives as Wolfrum has, several former Spartans were in attendance, as well as fellow coaches and colleagues from over the years, some traveling from as far as Chicago to be in attendance Saturday.

After the win, the Spartans and spectators gathered on the field, umbrellas in hand, to honor Wolfrum with speeches and the unveiling of new signage on the scoreboard that now bears his name.

Assistant coach and athletic director Frank Ferrandino spoke of Wolfrum's dedication to the program and the success he has had over the years. But perhaps most fittingly, Ferrandino spoke about the impact that Wolfrum's commitment to football has had on the community.

"If you grew up in this community as an elementary student on a fall Saturday afternoon, your parents drop you off at the football stadium," Ferrandino said. "And most of that time you spend playing back there running around with your friends having a good time, but at some point you come and you start peering over the hill, and you start watching the football team on the field.

"And then we grow up and we start becoming junior high students and instead of Mom and Dad just dropping us off on a football Saturday, Mom and Dad start to come to the game as well. And we spend less time playing up on that field and we spend more time watching what's going on and trying to emulate it. And then of course we become high school students."

The scene is one surely every Wyomissing football player is familiar with and one that the Spartans exemplified on Saturday in defeating the Scouts. Five different Spartans scored touchdowns and, despite the poor conditions on the field, played with a full focus and intensity on the task at hand.

Senior Ethan Brower caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Logan Hyde to make it 21-7 early in the third quarter. After growing up surrounded by Wyomissing football, the experience of helping earn a win in honor of Wolfrum was special for Brower.

"It's an honor to be on this team when he's getting dedicated," Brower said. "I've played for him for three years now and I've been through the Wyo football program my whole life. So I've known Coach Wolfrum my whole life and to be able to be on the team where he gets this amazing dedication that he deserves, it's amazing.

Football in Wyomissing seems to be a perennial success, but that success comes from something larger than the sum of everything that happens on the field, according to Ferrandino. Indeed, at the heart of everything has been the community the team represents.

"He's been a leader on this football field for 50 years, and he's been a leader in our community for 50 years," Ferrandino said. "In 2012, we played Aliquippa for the state championship and on that day Aliquippa's football team was good enough to beat our football team. But what they could not beat was our community, our football family.

"I've said it many times and I'll continue to say it until the day I die. Wyomissing is special. This field is a special place, and now it will have a special name."

Wolfrum spoke to conclude the ceremony before pictures were taken under the scoreboard. In his speech he thanked his wife, Sheri, for her unwavering support over the years, as well as members of his staff, his players and the other coaches he's worked with along the way.

And in a touchingly humble anecdote, Wolfrum wrapped up with a story of a former student who would go on to be a big part of his life and the Wyomissing community: Ferrandino.

"I always tell this story, and I don't know how many people have heard it, but you know, I've been here 50 years when the old borough building was here," Wolfrum said. "There was a school right down by the circle that I started teaching in and I had this little second-grade kid. His name was Frank Fernandino, who by the way was a hellion, but little did I know that years later, he would be my boss.

"If you want to talk about one person who has brought more ideas and put in more time to make our athletic program a better program, that's the guy you go to. Frank is the guy that steers the ship right now in our school district and he does a great job."

More than anything, the few kids remaining on the field for the pick-up Saturday after the dedication wanted to keep playing the game. And generation after generation, more and more Spartans want to keep playing the game.

"Thank you for what you do," Wolfrum told the crowd. "Thank you to all the groups that I've mentioned here today. Thank you all for what you do to make this program what it is. All the legs of this thing, the players, the community, the parents, the WSA, and everyone has made this a very special place."