In 1969, the Notre Dame High School Boys Basketball Team won its one-and-only Manhatten Cup in basketball and that team will be honored along with other Hall of Fame inductees Saturday.
There will be a tour of the newly renovated school at 4:30 p.m., followed by a picture of the 1969 team members in front of a replica trophy.
The actual Hall of Fame event begins at 5:30 p.m.
Press release:
1969 Boys Basketball Manhattan Cup Championship Team: First and only Manhattan Cup championship team. Also were the Smith League Champions for the first time. Many believe this to be the greatest championship in school history due to the format of this tournament, which involved schools of all sizes much like the Hickory championship in the movie “Hoosiers."
Tony Cinquino ’69: Outstanding wrestler during our era of dominance in Smith League Wrestling. Three-time All-Catholic who ended his wrestling career on a 61-match win streak. Three-sport athlete who also ran X-C & track. X-C senior season went 7-1 and the wrestling squads he was on won three Smith League titles and two All-Catholic Championships with one second-place finish.
Dan O’Connor ’69: 1969 Athlete of the Year who earned All-Catholic recognition in football, wrestling & track. Led Smith League in rushing his senior season and the wrestling squads he was on won three Smith League titles and two All-Catholic Championships with one second-place finish.
Tom McGrath ’76: 1976 Athlete of the Year. Tom was an exceptional all-around athlete who excelled at four sports: football, basketball, baseball and golf. He led the Varsity Football team in receptions, was the boys Varsity Basketball team’s leading scorer and the MVP of the Varsity Baseball team his senior year.
Phil Pangrazio ’79: 1979 Athlete of the Year. Phil was a GR All-Star in football who also was a top track performer earning All-Catholic in the discus. Played basketball & wrestled.
Mark Wadams ’96: Three-sport standout (Football/Basketball/Baseball) was Notre Dame’s Athlete of the Year in both 1995 & 1996. Mark was a three-time Section V All-Star in basketball playing IN THREE Sectional Finals winning in 1995 and earned GR All-Star recognition in baseball, basketball & football. He was named First Team All-State in Basketball in 1996 and is the only player in school history to accumulate both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
Dave Pero ’69: Longtime basketball coach who was on the bench for more state championships than any other coach (three). Dave served 12 years as a very successful JV boys basketball coach where he had an outstanding win/loss record developing players for future varsity success and was an assistant coach for two state championship teams (1992 & 2001). Took over as Girls coach in 2003 where he won a state title as a head coach in 2013. He also won two Western Regionals, four sectional titles, six GR championships and is ND’s winningest Girls Basketball coach.
