2008

Danny Williams (Class of 1961) - Danny Williams was an outstanding three-sport athlete accumulating nine varsity letters while at GRHS. He earned three in football, two in basketball, and four in baseball, the sport at which he was best. In three years of varsity football, Williams scored 22 touchdowns as a half-back and was voted first-team All-Essex/Union County All-Stars (all groups). As a sophomore letter winner, he helped the team to a State Championship. An outstanding basketball player, he was selected first team all conference his senior year. But it was on the baseball diamond that Danny Williams made his mark. With Williams at third base, the team won the State Sectional Championship his sophomore year. His junior year he led the team and conference in hitting by batting .409. His senior year he once again led the team and conference with a .453 average. Williams was named first team All-State Group I in his junior and senior years. After high school Williams attended the University of Miami on a baseball scholarship and was a three-year starter there, helping the team to qualify for the College World Series. As a testament to his versatility, he was also an intercollegiate boxing champion at Miami for three years as a middleweight.

Jack Chichester (Class of 1959) - Jack Chichester played on championship teams in three sports. In two of them he was a pivotal player, who made the team run. He may have been small in physical stature, but he possessed big-time leadership skills. Although he played just one year of football, he helped the team to a 9-0 record and the North Jersey Conference championship in its first year. A point guard in basketball, he averaged 11 points per game and earned All-State Group I mention his junior year as Glen Ridge won the state Group I championship. He averaged 15 points per game as a senior and led the team to the Group I Tournament Final. Once again he earned All-State Group I recognition. Chichester's real value to his basketball teams was his ability to read and adapt to defenses. He was like a coach on the floor and possessed tremendous basketball aptitude. In baseball, he was a letter-winner four consecutive years, and batted over .300 each year. In his first three seasons, he was the starting second baseman. As a senior, the team needed a catcher to handle All-State pitcher and GRHS Hall of Famer Fred Alworth, so Jack became the catcher and made third team All-Essex at his new position for a 19-1, Group I sectional championship team, which also won the North Jersey Conference. Jack Chichester was one of the greatest athletes, pound for pound, in Glen Ridge history.

Joseph Galioto (Class of 1981) - It is fitting that the first wrestler in Glen Ridge High School history to place in the NJSIAA State Tournament is the school's first wrestler to be inducted into the Glen Ridge High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Galioto, a four-year varsity letter-winner in the sport posted a career record of 69-18-1, including a 29-3 mark in 1981, when he was District 7 champion, Region II champion and fourth in the state tournament. He was a 1981 first-team All-Area selection by the North Jersey Herald-News. A heavyweight grappler, Galioto also was a member of the All-Colonial Hills Conference team in 1980 and 1981, and a star performer on teams which compiled records of 14-4-1 in 1980 and 18-1-1 in 1981, which included winning back-to-back conference championships and second place finishes in the state sectional wrestling tournament. In addition to his outstanding wrestling accomplishments, Galioto was a three-year varsity letter winner in football, and anchored the offensive line as the starting center on the 1980 Group I, Section 2, state championship team. Joe Galioto competed with great heart and enthusiasm. He was a leader and favorite among his many teammates.

Kathy Mueller Rohan (Class of 1974) - When Kathy Mueller graduated from Glen Ridge High School in 1974, Title IX was in its infancy and state and county championship tournaments were not held in girls sports. While Kathy was a four year starting guard and top performer on the girls varsity basketball team, her greatest impact came on the tennis courts. Kathy culminated an outstanding four year varsity tennis career with a perfect 18-0 first singles record in her senior year, which still stands as a school record. Kathy used her perfect senior season at GRHS as a springboard to collegiate tennis at Trenton State College (now the College of New Jersey), where she competed against all divisions and compiled a perfect 96-0 record over four years at first singles during team match play. Kathy was the Eastern Collegiate Champion in 1977 and 1978. She was named an All-American in all divisions in 1977 and 1978 and awarded the Broderick Cup (now the Honda Award) as the top women's collegiate player in the United States in 1977. After completing her collegiate career, Kathy went on to play in the Women's Professional Tour in 1979 and 1980 and was ranked 150th in the world. She was inducted into the Trenton State College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. Kathy is a girls' sports pioneer for Glen Ridge High, being the only graduate to have received collegiate All American Honors and played professional tennis.

Michael Stanisci (Class of 1983) - One of the greatest two-way football players in school history, Michael Stanisci started on offense and defense for three years (28 games), never missed a game, and led the team to a 22-5-1 record and two State Championships in that span. As a captain his senior year, he amassed 1,450 passing yards and 13 TD passes, 535 rushing yards and five rushing TDs on offense and directed the team to Group I Sectional State Championship and a 9-1 record and was named first team All State Group I, first team All-Essex County and first team All-Colonial Hills Conference Quarterback. Stanisci could just as easily received the same honors as a linebacker that season as he recorded 78 tackles, 50 of which were unassisted, three interceptions one returned for a TD. In the 1982 Group I Sectional State Championship Game, Glen Ridge was an underdog against a powerful New Providence team, and to make matter worse, Stanisci was injured the previous week and practiced only once during the week of preparation for the game. He went on to complete 14 passes in 20 attempts for 220 yards and three TD passes and led the team to a convincing 28-14 victory. His head coach, Rich SanFillipo, claimed that Stanisci was the most talented quarterback in terms of overall athletic ability and pure passing skill that he coached in 19 years as a head coach. Stanisci was also a three-year starter for the baseball team and a captain his senior year. The clean-up hitter batted .356 with four HRs and 20 RBI and a 6-2 pitching record his junior year for the 21-5 team and hit .300 with three HRs and 17 RBI for the 23-5, Group I State Champion Team. Overall, the team played to a 72-15 record in Stanisci's career. During a golden age of GRHS athletics, Michael Stanisci stood out as one of the school's most versatile and accomplished competitors.

William F. Vesterman (Class of 1937) - Bill Vesterman was quarterback and sole captain of the football team for both the 1935 and 1936 GRHS football teams. His 1936 team won the first Suburban Conference Championship (his son, William R., would be on the 1957 team that took the Championship in the last year Glen Ridge played in the Suburban Conference). Vesterman played on the Ridgers' offensive and defensive units, and was selected first-team All-Essex County in his senior year and second-team All-State. As might be expected of someone who was elected captain by his teammates after his sophomore season, Vesterman was a born leader and an inspiring player, and though he weighed only 135 pounds, he was known as a fierce tackler. Bill Vesterman later served for many, many years as a firefighter in the borough and was the last chief of the now extinct Glen Ridge Fire Department. All eight of Vesterman's children were educated in the Glen Ridge school system.

William Indek - Bill Indek was GRHS Outdoor Track Coach from 1981-2003 and the Indoor Coach from 1991-2001. He was named Essex County Coach of Year in 1993 and was twice named All- Area Coach. The girls track teams under his tutelage won the 1993 Colonial Hills Conference Championship, as well as over 100 dual meets in total. He coached six individual County Champions and coached 22 individual Conference Champs for the girls. During his career, he coached 27 Sectional Winners and eight Group I State Champions. He also had two girls place in the top six at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. He had three outdoor teams win county titles: javelin in 1987, 4-mile relay in 1991 and distance medley in 1992. The girls team in 1993 also placed 5th in the State Group I Meet. While coaching indoor track, the girls Distance Medley won the Indoor State Group I Title in 1992 and set the meet record. The Boys' teams under Bill Indek's direction won the 2002 Dual Meet CHC Division Title. He coached six Conference Champions and three State Sectional Winners for the boys. At the 2001 Indoor Meet of Champions, he coached a 6th place finisher in the 55-meter dash. In 2002, he coached a 5th place finisher at the Meet of Champions in the 100-meter dash. Bill Indek served as guidance counselor at GRHS for 36 years until his retirement in June of 2008.