At the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday night, many spoke about what made the inductees great at their respective sports, but Mike Rotundo discussed another important issue.
Rotundo, who graduated Tappan Zee High School in 1954, played basketball, baseball, track and cross country. He continued to play basketball until he was in his mid-30s and spoke Saturday night about knowing when to hang it up.
“It was then some young kid got in front of me to get a rebound, which I never allowed anyone to do without a fight,” he said. “And when he jumped to get that rebound, all I saw was Converse All-Stars at eye level. It was time to get out.”
On Saturday, Rotundo was one of eight honorees at the Rockland County Sports Hall of Fame’s 40th annual induction ceremony, held at the Pearl River Elks Lodge in Nanuet. Before the newest class was introduced, 20-plus past inductees were on brought out to celebrate the hall’s 40th anniversary.
The 40th anniversary induction class was made up of:
- Keith Bulluck, Clarkstown North Class of 1995, football and basketball. Played college football at Syracuse and in the NFL with the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants
- Jodi Schlesinger Salsberg, Clarkstown South 1999, triple jump and long jump. Seven-time state champion and three-time national champion
- Khyl Farrison, Suffern 1999, all-state football, baseball and wrestling
- Ed Wanamaker, Nyack 1972, all-county soccer, hockey and baseball
- Mike Rotundo, Tappan Zee 1954, basketball, baseball, track and cross country
- Gary Gray, Nyack boys basketball coach. Won 432 games, second most in Rockland County history.
- Bud Kast (posthumous), Pearl River 1938, All-county football, basketball and baseball. Football standout at Dartmouth
- The Deer Head Inn and Dear Head Softball Tournament, which received the Joseph Holland Lifetime Achievement Award
Vic Alfieri, Jr. accepted the award for Deer Hear, which was based in West Nyack and started in 1966, running until 1996. The tournament took place behind the Deer Head Inn and was started by Jack Cuff, of Clarkstown, and taken over by Alfieri, along with his father, Vic Alfieri, Sr., and his uncle, Ernie Capobianco.
“I’m proud and honored to receive this award,” Alfieri, Jr. said. “I thank you very much. Thank you very much, sports Hall of Fame. And let me say, I couldn’t be in with a better class of people inducted into the Hall of Fame than the people who are inducted tonight.”
Rotundo wasn’t just honored for his time as a varsity athlete, during which he earned 16 varsity letters, but also for his post-playing coaching career. The Piermont native also spent 21 years coaching freshmen basketball at Albertus Magnus High School. He said while people should remember athletic accomplishments, it’s important to put them into perspective next to all else life has to offer.
“The benefit I derived from sports was life-lasting,” he said. “The many teams I’ve played with, the many players I’ve played with and against and the many events that I’ve participated in all affected my being in a positive manner.”
Kast’s induction trophy was accepted by his daughter Patty Meyer, who said her father loved Pearl River and its community. She also said he always enjoyed being around sports, whether playing, coaching or simply watching from the sidelines.
Farrison, who is now a member of the Rockland County Sheriff’s Department, thanked his coaches and family for giving up their time and effort to help him as an athlete.
“Now that I have my own family, I understand the importance of that and I understand the sacrifice of that,” he said. “I’ve always had a tremendous support system around me, and that starts with my parents. From a young age, they never pushed anything on me. It was never you had to do this or or you have to do that. But they instilled two basic traits in me. They said, ‘if you’re going to start something you’re going to finish it. You’re never going to waver.’ And the second was ‘you’re going to give 110 percent.’ Those are two characteristics that I take with me everyday.”
