Summer Classic – Keep on Rolling

By Keith “Bugsy” Goldberg

This Saturday, July 20, at The Rockaway Hotel, we will celebrate 40 years of Summer Classic basketball, so this will be the final installment in the history of the Summer Classic.

I would like to begin by thanking everyone who has ever been a player, coach, official, sponsor, director, or otherwise contributed to the rich history of the Summer Classic. I would like to especially thank the rectory and academy staff, particularly Dorothy Brenna, Susan Gavigan, Marguerite Kazalski, Suzanne Blum, Annmarie Greene, and Principal Christopher Scharbach for their great work over the years. I would also like to thank the 40th Anniversary Committee and the sponsors of our event this Saturday. I apologize for any omissions in what I have written over these five weeks. Forty years is a long time, and I did my best to recall what has taken place, though I am sure I left out some who should have been mentioned.

The current group of Division Directors include holdovers Bryanne Flaherty, John Moran, and Terence Mullin, Marty McManus, JoJo O’Grady, and Joe Courtney, who have served as directors for most of the decade following many years of playing and coaching. Skippy Doyle, Siobhan Fitzgerald, Grace Leahy, Kerry Brady, Mike Friedman, Dee Tubridy, and Mike McCann also moved into director positions after coaching. Our newest directors are Ed Dennis and Justin Flanagan. Others who served during the decade, in addition to those mentioned in previous articles, include Jimmy Mullen, Dom Maiorano, Matt Stack, Marty Murray, Kevin Murphy, and Noelle Riches. Others of special note include our lead Timer/Scorer Brian Raphael while Tommy Mercer and JoJo Allessandro also had lengthy terms as timer/scorers, Christian “ASAP” Allessandro, who has done excellent work with his Open League Instagram and live streaming of championship games, and all around Summer Classic presence Jack Bender.

The Summer Classic began its fourth decade of play in 2015. It was the third season following Hurricane Sandy. During the decade, the league added a co-ed division for those finishing second grade. They began play in the gym on Mondays and Tuesdays before the Women’s Open games. It was the first new division since the Graybeards division split into two in 2007 when Steve Stathis’ son Christian began his Graybeard career. The Graybeards had begun as a 35 and over league but as time went on and new players entered, the “veteran Graybeards” wanted to prolong their careers and so the division was split into two, with the Young Guns division for the less Gray ones and the Legends division for the more Gray ones. Fifty is the unofficial separation line for the two divisions. There is currently a race to be the first Graybeard to play at 70 with a few likely getting to the magic number next year. So far, Steve has come the closest when the lost COVID season ended his playing days after he hit 69 the previous season.

In the Men’s Open League, Kenny Whelan took over from his son Ryan, before Bugsy then took over from Kenny. J.Caiazzo Plumbing & Heating, led by captain Joe Caiazzo, won five times over the last two decades between 2008 and 2018. Kennedy’s Restaurant, under the guidance of Ryan Woerner, has won three championships and has two finals appearances between 2015 and 2023. Charlie Marquardt has been the player of the decade and the most prolific scorer in league history. It is unusual when he doesn’t hit for 40, and he has broken 50 many times. One of the most iconic moments of the decade is captured on the Summer Classic homepage when his halfcourt shot as time expired put a knife through The Melons in the 2019 playoffs. Others during this time who were not previously noted include Kevin Crockett, whose 61 is a Summer Classic high in the modern era, Kevin Riley, and Conor Monaghan.

In Women’s Open, Jameson’s has captured the most championships in the current decade and outstanding players include Christy Morrone, Mei-Lyn Bautista, Kerri White and Kaitlin Grant.

Adversity once again hit not only Rockaway, but the entire world in 2020 with the COVID pandemic. The CYO Basketball season was heading towards the Diocesan Championships when all games were postponed for two weeks to “stop the spread.” Two weeks became two months, and then much more. Since beginning in 1985, the Summer Classic had been played continuously, never missing a season despite 9/11 and 11/12, and Sandy. This one was going to be a challenge. As CYO Coordinator for the Diocese of Brooklyn, Keith “Bugsy” Goldberg was responsible for coordinating with the Office of the Schools Superintendent, and former NYPD Chief of Department and Chief of the Office of Emergency Management Joe Esposito to develop protocols for the resumption of CYO activity. Bugsy took these protocols and adapted them for the specifics of the Summer Classic. He submitted them for approval and when Chief Esposito signed off on them, the Summer Classic was on. Only players and officials were permitted in the schoolyard. All needed to wear a face mask except while they were on the court playing. Teams had to enter together with their coach, one team at a time. Spectators along the perimeter fence all needed to be masked. Balls were rotated to be sanitized. It took time to get approval to start, so the season was delayed at the beginning and extended at the end, going into September. It was the only game in town as no other league was operating during this period. Unfortunately, with indoor play not possible, second grade and Graybeards were not able to play that year. The Women’s Open league moved outside, and Court 4 became their home for the season with some great games on the blacktop instead of the usual hardwood.

Rockaway suffered yet another tragedy when Firefighter Timothy Klein perished in a fire on April 24, 2022. Timmy was a very popular young man who had played in the Summer Classic since he was a child and had been a mainstay of the Men’s Open league for the past decade. This followed the passing of Summer Classic Women’s legend Clare Droesch on May 11, 2018, after a long, courageous battle with breast cancer. After speaking with the Klein and Droesch families, the Men’s Open division was named for Timothy Klein and the Women’s Open was named for Clare Droesch. Sadly, Summer Classic division director Ray Marten passed less than two months after Klein, after his own battle with cancer. While it is no substitute for having them still with us, the Summer Classic helps preserve the memory of the wonderful people they were.

Last year’s Summer Classic had a record 100 teams which has now been surpassed with 104 this year. It has been quite a ride since Flip Mullen planted the seed and 26 teams took the court that first year in 1985. The future of the Summer Classic is bright but there is no guarantee how long it will continue. It will take new leaders willing to make the commitment made by the founders and the directors that followed.

Hopefully we will run this back in 10 years with another installment for 2025-2034. For now, let’s celebrate the first 40.