Legacy

Spectators crowding the sideline at the Curtis-New Dorp game at Thompson's Stadium on Thanksgiving Day, 1948. — Spectators crowd the sideline and line the fence at the Curtis-New Dorp game at Thompson’s Stadium on Thanksgiving Day, 1948, the start of a holiday rivalry that was the highlight of the local sports calendar for four decades.

Staten Island’s ties to sports are as old as the games themselves, and as deeply-rooted.

Small wonder, then, that a mid-sized rock in the shadow of the big city would become home to the man who gave baseball’s Giants their name … and, two world wars later, to the young Giant slugger who hit the biggest home run of them all.

As the games have grown in stature, a few events, trophies, or titles … by virtue of their place in the collective consciousness of the neighborhood … have stood as guideposts amid the evolution. The Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame, in keeping with our mission, will strive to memorialize some of them.

Bobby Thompson speaking at the SI Varsity Awards Dinner in 1950

Staten Island Varsity Club Award

The organization responsible for the oldest Island-wide award, honoring a graduating high school scholar-athlete, was founded against the backdrop of the Great Depression. 1942Lawrence Paugh (Tottenville High School) 1941Donald Currie (Curtis High School) 1940Michael Tighe (St. Peter’s High School) 1939Edward Wholihan (Curtis High School) 1938Arnold (Read more...)

Joe Andruzzi triumphantly holding Lombardi trophy over his head

Super Bowl Champions from Staten Island

The Super Bowl morphed in a short period of time from big game to undeclared national holiday – the perfect mash-up of sport, commerce, entertainment and patriotism. For even the biggest stars, a Super Bowl ring is the ultimate career validation, one that can’t be (Read more...)