Old friend Marty Kane is back home in Boston after some wayward years of working “outta town,” or as we locals say, somewhere west of Jamaica Pond. A long-ago hockey player for BC High and Boston College, Marty sends word of a nifty annual event that celebrates almost five decades of ice hockey rivalry between his high school alma mater and Catholic Memorial.
The two schools, each considered hockey powerhouses, will resume their rivalry on Saturday, Feb. 6 when the CM team hosts the BC High skaters in a 3:30 p.m. game at the Walter Brown Arena, once called Boston Arena.
“The game is dedicated to the Ed Wright memorial scholarship fund,” Kane said. “The driving force behind the event, now in its tenth year, is Savin Hill’s own John Glynn. The committee includes (BC coach) Jerry York, (BU coach) Jack Parker and Bill Coyne, all of whom played in that 1st game.”
Alumni from both teams will appear on ice at the game’s conclusion to present the Ed Wright award to the game’s MVP. The trophy is named as a memorial to former CM player Ed Wright who participated in the first-ever BCH/CM game December 31, 1962. He later played at Yale, and became a doctor.
Representing the school and the decades are: BC High, Marty Kane ‘63, P.F. Hurley ‘73, Steve Connolly ‘87, Jack O’Brien ‘96 and Matt Greene ‘04. Catholic Memorial alumni are Fred Kinsman ‘63, Richard Wright ‘71, Ed McElaney, Jr. ‘86. Mike Prendergast ‘91 and Chris Myers ‘02.
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Plans are underway in New Jersey to build a memorial to honor the late US Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan Jr., described as “one of this country’s most distinguished Irish-Americans.”
Organizer Guy Sterling told the BIR in an e-mail, “In mid-2009, a committee of local attorneys and citizens was formed in Newark for the sole purpose of erecting a life-size bronze statue of Justice Brennan in a public place for all to see. I am the group’s co-chairman.
“As you may know, Justice Brennan was born and raised in Newark and educated in the city’s public schools. His father, who came from County Roscommon, served as Newark’s elected commissioner of public safety and could have been mayor had he so chosen.
“Justice Brennan began his law career in private practice in Newark and worked here both before and after World War II until his appointment to the judiciary. Almost universally regarded as one of the Supreme Court’s most influential justices, he was always proud to call Newark his home and usually made time to meet with lawyers from the area when they traveled to Washington, DC, to be sworn in before the U.S. Supreme Court Bar.”
“For the last five months, we’ve been raising the money to defray the project’s costs and are more than halfway to reaching our goal. You should know that the Brennan family is fully aware of what we are doing and behind us 100 percent. Its members have both appeared and spoken at our functions. Nancy Brennan, the justice’s daughter, is director of the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway Conservancy in Boston.”
Writing in early January, Sterling said, “As of this past week, the sculptor has begun his work and it is our hope to dedicate the statue sometime in late spring or early summer. Dedication of the memorial will cap a year in which a U.S. postage stamp was issued in Justice Brennan’s honor and in which he was elected to the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Additionally, his authorized biography is finally set to be released in the fall.”
For more information, contact the committee at 973-589-0085, email gsterling1@optimum.net.