Local Heat, National Spotlight

By Mike Candel | Staff Writer

College stars from LI included Dave Pietramala of Johns Hopkins (Johns Hopkins Photo)

IT IS A BALMY Saturday afternoon and some teenage boys are playing baseball at Manhasset's High School athletic field. The year is 1931.

Suddenly, they notice a group of men wearing helmets with wire facemasks, carrying wooden sticks with triangular nets at the end. The boys stare at these strange-looking creatures and discover that one of them is their physical education teacher, Jason Stranahan.

Try to imagine the conversation.

``Hey, Mr. Stranahan, what's going on?'' the boys ask.

Stranahan replies: ``We're playing lacrosse.''

``You're playing what?''

``Lacrosse,'' he repeats.

``Never heard of it,'' the boys mutter, and return to their baseball game.

Each week, the Crescent Lacrosse Club would practice at Manhasset. ``We used it as our home field,'' Stranahan wrote years later. The boys watched with growing curiosity. A seed was planted.

So when Stranahan convinced Manhasset's administration to add the sport in 1932, he had no trouble filling the roster. Long Island's first lacrosse team was born. No one, not even Stranahan, could've imagined that this ancient American Indian game would become part of this area's pulse and culture; or that some 90 high schools would regularly produce the country's best teams and players.

Contrary to popular belief, lacrosse wasn't an instant hit. Garden City and Friends Academy signed on in 1934, and Sewanhaka started in 1938; after that, the growth was at a snail's pace.

``Our big problem was equipment,'' wrote Sewanhaka's first coach, Howard Nordahl. ``A store in Hempstead had two dozen left-handed cavalry saber gauntlets which I bought for 50-cents a piece. The boys used winter gloves on the right hand.''

The sport did not reach Suffolk until Huntington began in 1957, using borrowed helmets from Sewanhaka and jersies from Manhasset. By then, Sewanhaka had a dynasty. From 1948-1957, coach Bill Ritch guided the Indians to 91 straight victories. But his impact transcended wins and losses. Many of his players went to college and returned to this area to start teams or coach established ones. The ripple effect is still being felt.

``I'm one of the ripples,'' said Hofstra coach John Danowski. ``I was coached by Jack Kaley in high school and Tom Hayes at Rutgers. They both played for Ritch.''

Ironically, another Hofstra coach, the legendary Howdy Myers, was a prime mover in the sport's growth. Myers, who coached Johns Hopkins to three national titles before coming to Hofstra in 1950, spent countless hours speaking at clinics and lending equipment to high schools.

The real spurt came in the late 1960s when Long Island's population was multiplying dramatically. ``Houses upon houses were being built,'' said former Brentwood coach Bob Hoppey. ``New schools were opening and hiring lots of teachers.''

A tidal wave of youthful educators arrived from Cortland, Rutgers, Maryland, Syracuse and other college lacrosse powers. Among the newcomers were Doc Dougherty (Cortland) at Garden City, Bob Hartranft (Oneonta) at Farmingdale, Cliff Murray (Cortland) at Huntington, Alan Lowe (Maryland) at Manhasset, Jack Salerno (Syracuse) at Elmont and Hoppey (Cortland). Each of them built juggernauts.

But nothing before or since compares to the Joe Cuozzo Dynasty at Ward Melville. In 29 years, this Cortland alum has guided the Patriots to 19 Suffolk, 12 Long Island and five state crowns while fashioning a staggering 544-52 record. ``I don't know why lacrosse caught on the way it did,'' Cuozzo said.

``Whatever the reason, it sure caught on.''

Along the way Long Island joined Maryland as one of the country's hotspots and began producing a seemingly endless parade of stars including: midfielders Frank Urso (Brentwood), Jim Brown -- yes, that Jim Brown -- (Manhasset), Dick Finley (Freeport), Vin Sombrotto (Chaminade) and Stan Kowalski (Mineola); attackmen Jimmy Lewis (Uniondale), Tom Postel (Carey), Tom Cafaro (MacArthur), Mike O'Neill (Massapequa), Tim Goldstein (Ward Melville) and Eamon McInaney (Sewanhaka); defensemen Dave Pietramala (St. Mary's), John DeTommaso (Farmingdale) and Jim Burke (Huntingon); and goalies Sal LoCasio (Lindenhurst) and Larry Quinn (Levittown), two of the all-time best.

Nor does the Island's impact stop between the lines. Eight of last year's 20 top-ranked Division I teams were coached by local products: Bill Tierney (Levittown) at Princeton, Dave Klarmann (Wantagh) at North Carolina, Dom Starsia (Valley Stream Central) at Virginia, Jack Emmer (Mineola) at Army, Richie Meade (Mineola) at Navy, Greg Cannella (Lynbrook) at Massachusetts, Hayes (Sewanhaka) at Rutgers and Danowski (East Meadow) at Hofstra.

Little wonder college recruiters make the Long Island Expressway their second home during their annual pilgrimmage to this area. It was no surprise that Tierney built Princeton into a national power, winning four NCAA titles in this decade, by scouring this area for talent.

Great teams, great players, great events. The images remain frozen in time:

The NCAA bringing its first championship game to Long Island in 1971. Cornell beating Maryland, 12-6, at Hofstra thanks to 22 saves by goalie Bob Buhmann (MacArthur). Urso's goal in double overtime lifting Maryland to a 10-9 win over Johns Hopkins for the 1973 NCAA title. Urso's five goals in a 20-13 win over Navy for the '75 crown. Jimmy Lewis leading Navy to three straight natonal crowns in the 1960s. Ward Melville winning 71 straight games between 1988-90. Sachem's shocking 8-4 upset of Ward Melville in '93, ending an unprecedented streak of 11 straight county championships. Elmont's stirring rally from a six-goal, fourth-quarter deficit to beat Lynbrook, 12-11 in overtime, in the 1986 Nassau Class B final.

Kevin Lowe's (Mineola) overtime goal giving Princeton a 9-8 win over Virginia for the 1994 NCAA title. The beat goes on. Midget programs are flourishing. Summer camps abound. Playoff games draw crowds in the thousands. Lacrosse has become inextricably woven into the fabric of Long Island. And in a strange way, it's all a love song to Jason Stranahan.