Salem County Sports Hall of Fame welcomes seven new members, brings all-time roster of inductees to 143

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – Everyone on the Davidow Theater stage was decked out in their Sunday best befitting a Hall of Fame induction, but still it was easy to pick out the baseball player in the bunch. He was one wearing the Pennsville baseball jersey that looked just as sharp as a three-piece suit.

Pennsville baseball great Lex Bleckley was among the seven newest inductees into the Salem County Sports Hall of Fame. They were inducted in ceremonies on the Salem Community College campus Thursday night.

Bleckley was joined in the class by Jaymes Dennison (track), James Dickerson (track) , Nick Elmer (football), Steve Merritt (coach), Donna O’Leary (coach) and Latika Ross (basketball). In addition, the Hall board will recognize Vince Gioia and Steve Lopes for their decades of service to Salem County sports as well as eight current and previous high school state champions.

The high school honorees were headlined by Penns Grove’s three-time boys (2013-15) and two-time girls (2013-14) Group I state champions.

Record-breaking Salem running back Jonathan Taylor, currently in training camp with the Indianapolis Colts, was enshrined in a separate ceremony last month.

The story of the Pennsville jersey finding its way on stage is a story of family love. Johnny Swiderski, one of the heroes of this year’s Pennsville Little League District 3 championship team, ran into Eagles baseball coach Matt Karr at a midget football game last week and asked if the coach had a couple of extra jerseys he could spare so the family could support their uncle at the ceremonies.

Karr came through. Young Johnny wore a blue Pennsville jersey the team wore a couple years ago and a vintage Montreal Expos cap representing the MLB team that drafted his uncle out of the University of Delaware. Bleckley had this year’s Eagles jersey, number 15. (He wore 5 when he helped the Eagles to an undefeated season).

“I was thinking about putting a piece of tape over that 1 and leave the 5,” he joked. “Close enough.”

Bleckley, who celebrated his 61st birthday Wednesday with family and friends, was a product of the Pennsville sports system, playing football and baseball. He is most proud of the baseball championships from an early age through his decorated career with the Eagles. The championships include district titles in Little League, State and Mid-Atlantic Champions in Babe Ruth Baseball and a state championship his senior year with a 25-0 record and the No. 1 ranked team in the state. The undefeated season has not been duplicated. 

“We went 25-0, but there were only so many guys who could play and there were so many guys on that team that would have been starters for anybody else – and they were busting their butts every day,” he said. “I always wished they got more recognition. I’m up there because of them.”

His personal accomplishments include three-time All-Salem County, two-time Tri-County, two-time South Jersey Group II, two-time All-South Jersey, Group II All State, All-State First Team and Today’s Sunbeam Player of the Year. He finished his career at Pennsville with a .503 batting average and a team win-loss record of 66-6. He was taken in the major league draft twice.

“When I was growing up in town, Lex Bleckley was one of the names that you heard about in baseball,” said Karr, who didn’t attend the ceremony but was on top of the happenings. “I saw that Coach (Ed) Reiger was there tonight. I had him for study hall  when I was a junior and senior and he used to share with us all his stories about teams from the past and some of those legendary teams and Lex Bleckley was definitely a big part of all that type of baseball history.”

The Kansas City Royals drafted Bleckley after his high school career, but he went to Delaware, where he was a three-year starter at shortstop. During his UD career, the Blue Hens were East Coast Conference champions twice and missed making it to the College World Series by one game. Lex came in second for the Division I batting title with a .455 average his junior year and was named ECC Player of the Year. He was drafted and signed by the Expos and spent a brief time in the minors before being derailed by a shoulder injury. After his playing career ended, he was head coach at Salem CC for two years. 

He now runs a wholesale seafood business in Florida, but keeps up with the sports happenings from home on the internet. He’s going through some health challenges, but otherwise was in good form Thursday and genuinely proud to be on the stage with the other inductees.

“This has always been home,” he said. 

JAYMES DENNISON excelled in track at Penns Grove High School. A member of the Class of 2013, Jaymes was a two-time state champion. He won the 800 in his junior year and the 400 in his senior year. He helped lead the team to a Group 1 team state championship in 2013, and holds school records in the 800.

He was a three-time South Jersey champion in the 800 meters. As a senior, he finished seventh in the Meet of Champions in one of the most competitive 800-meter races in its history. “If you ran 1:54-flat you did not finish in the top 10,” Hall board member and 2011 inductee Tom Mason said in introducing Dennison. 

His post-high school accomplishments may be more impressive. In two years at Iowa State, he was a two-time NCAA All-American in 2018, Second Team All-American in the 4×400 meter relay and Honorable Mention All-American in the 800 meters. He was the Big 12 indoor champion in the 600 meters. Before enrolling at Iowa State, he was a two-time junior college indoor national champion in the 600 meters.

JAMES (JIMMY) DICKERSON graduated from Salem High School in 1964. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force for eight years and traveled extensively throughout Europe. While serving in the military, Jimmy was a medic.

In addition to his medic responsibilities, he played in the European Conference, on the track and field team, where he placed first in high jump at 6-10 and excelled in the triple jump. He also made the All-Europe Football Team as a running back and kick returner. After his tour of duty, Jimmy was an OSHA inspector at BF Goodrich in Pedricktown until his retirement.

In 1976, Jimmy was invited to attend Philadelphia Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil’s tryout camp. Although not selected, he considered meeting fellow tryout attendee Vince Papale, who went on to make the Eagles’ roster from that tryout, an experience of a lifetime.

At 34, Jimmy enrolled at Gloucester County College and competed in the track and field high/triple jump. He never lost a match during his two seasons. Community focused, Jimmy is involved in coaching youth basketball and mentoring. In addition, he is an active member of his church and sings in the senior choir.

NICK ELMER was a multi-sport athlete (football, wrestling, track and field) at Penns Grove High School.

In football, he set school records for passing yards (4,580) and passing touchdowns (61). He also helped lead PGHS to a record-breaking 2012 season and a South Jersey Group 1 championship in which he rushed for a record 308 yards in the title game. The 2012 team still holds the record for most points scored in a season in South Jersey history. He earned All-State First Team honors in 2012 and was the Philadelphia Inquirer South Jersey Player of the Year.

As a wrestler, Nick amassed a school-record 137 victories and qualified for the state tournament on twice, ultimately earning a seventh-place finish in 2013. He continued his academic and athletic career in wrestling at Drexel University, where he was a varsity starter for two years, accumulating 31 wins and a spot on the podium in the 2016 Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) Conference Tournament and earned an EIWA Academic Achievement Award in the same year.

He went on to medical school at Thomas Jefferson University, where he graduated cum laude and as a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honors society. He is currently a plastic surgery resident at NYU Langone Hospital in New York City.

His commitments in New York prevented him from attending the ceremony. John Emel, the current West Deptford football coach and former Penns Grove coach, spoke on his behalf.

DONNA O’LEARY graduated from Paulsboro High School and was a two-sport varsity athlete (field hockey and tennis) there. She also swam competitively year-round at the Woodbury YMCA. 

She earned a degree from Glassboro State College as a health/physical education major. Playing field hockey and swimming in college were important milestones in her path to becoming a coach. After graduation, she became the head women’s swim coach at Glassboro State. During those six years, she produced six All-Americans. 

In 1988, Salem City hired her as a full-time health/physical education teacher in the elementary school and as the field hockey head coach at Salem High School. After taking the reins from Liz Pappas, she put her heart into making the field hockey program successful and without a feeder system afforded other communities she accumulated 315 wins and seven Tri-County championships. She was a two-time Coach of the Year. 

“First of all, I never expected to be 34 years in one spot,” she said. “I figured when my kids went to high school I would leave. I loved it so much.

“Field hockey and Salem is n-o-o-o-o-t (usually in the same sentence) … We quietly made an impact and that’s what I think I’ll remember most.”

In 34 years of coaching she estimates she’s had an influence on more than 1,000 athletes – a remembers almost of them.

LATIKA ROSS, a 2001 Salem High School graduate, excelled in both basketball and track and field. In track, she broke the 800-meter record as a sophomore. In basketball, she became the third Lady Ram to join SHS’s 1000-point club and pulled down over 1,000 rebounds as a four-year varsity player. Latika earned numerous accolades, including All-Tournament Team and First Team for All South Jersey Group 1 and Tri-County Conference Classic Divisions for two consecutive years. Today’s Sunbeam named her Player of the Year in 2001.

Moving on to Salem CC, Latika amassed 1,130 points and 1,028 rebounds over two years, earning National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Second Team honors. She holds the NJCAA Division II Women’s Basketball regular-season record for rebound average (23.2 per game in 2002-03).

After attending Drexel University for one year on a full athletic scholarship, Latika transferred to Saint Augustine’s University (SAU), where she made the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association All-Tournament Team and averaged a double-double her senior year (10 points, 10 rebounds per game). Graduating from SAU with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and 3.9 grade point average, Latika embarked on a successful 15-year career in accounting. 

Today, she channels her talents into entertainment as an actress, producer and stand-up comedian, performing under the name Latika Sye (a family surname). 

During the ceremony it was announced Latika is the first member of a Salem CC sports team to be inducted into the County Sports Hall of Fame.

STEVE MERRITT was never the last to be picked for any of the seasonal schoolyard games, until he turned 12 and lost a game of “chicken” with the front end of a Buick or Pontiac. It’s not clear to this day. A significant injury cost him any speed he might have had or would have.  Nonetheless, it is difficult to temper a Type A personality and there was always some kind of competition at home with three brothers.

A single junior varsity season of baseball and senior year “cup of coffee” as a wrestler sums up his high school athletic career.  Intramural softball and volleyball were competitive outlets at Glassboro State College.

After college, long-distance running became his outlet for competition. His omnipresent opponent became the stopwatch.  No longer did he have to finish first to win. He ran the New York City Marathon twice, the Marine Corps Marathon twice and the Boston Marathon in 1992.

A combined 50 varsity seasons (tennis, soccer, basketball and softball) as a head coach at Salem High School yielded over 500 victories, four South Jersey Championships, three Tri-County Classic titles and helped to satisfy his yen for competition. Earlier this summer he was named the girls basketball coach at Pennsville High School.

COMMUNITY SERVICE HONOREES

VINCENT GIOLA JR. graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1968 and began working for DuPont Chambers Works in 1969, retiring in 2010. To say his life revolved around sports would be an understatement. 

Vince first coached in 1969 and over the next 50 years spent countless hours coaching, managing and maintaining the fields at the Carneys Point Recreation Complex for the Carneys Point-Penns Grove-Pedricktown Little League and Penns Grove Soccer Club. 

He played and coached in both the Salem County Men’s Baseball League (1969-1976) and the PG-CP Men’s Softball League (1975-2015) while also serving as a league officer and a liaison with Salem County. He coached for the PG mini-wrestling organization (1979-1986), managed for the PG-CP Women’s Softball (1978-1982), and for the PG Babe Ruth (1985-1987). Vince also coached PG Twins 130 lb. football team (1985-1991) and was head coach of the SCC’s softball team (1991-1995, 2011-2013). 

Vince has been a member of the South Jersey Officials Association (football) since 1999 and Unified Umpire Association of Southern New Jersey since 2007. He served on the Carneys Point Recreation Commission (1999-2023) and was chairman (2004-2023). He managed the CP Recreation Complex (2004-2023) and was president of the Servicemen’s Memorial Home (2015-2023). 

Today, Vince can be found on a field or in a gym in South Jersey officiating, umpiring or just watching his grandchildrens’ games or any game, for that matter.

STEVE LOPES graduated from Penns Grove High School in 1964, after playing three years of varsity basketball with coach Rudy Baric. 

For 45 years, Steve has officiated over 800 high school football games. He had the honor of officiating over 50 state playoff games, including several state championship games at Rutgers, Giants and MetLife Stadiums. Steve has served as the president of New Jersey Football Officials Association – South, the organization representing football officials in South Jersey. Additionally, he is an official for the NFL’s Girls Flag Football program and officiated the Big 33 tournament sponsored by several NFL teams. In addition, Steve has umpired high school, college and semi-pro baseball for 17 years.

For 16 years, Steve managed in the Penns Grove-Carneys Point-Pedricktown Little League and Babe Ruth League, where his teams won several league and district titles. He has played and managed a senior (ages 50, 60, 70) baseball team in Carneys Point.  For over 20 years, he has played in men’s senior baseball national tournaments in Florida and Arizona.