by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Joe Monte was an All-High 1st team selection in 1973 & 1974. The third of three Monte brothers to play at Bennett, (Mike & Rick in late 1960’s/early 1970’s) Joe compiled a career pitching record of 14-2. Pitching in the sectional finals in 1973, Joe gave up one earned run in the Tiger’s 2-1 loss to Tonawanda, a team that had 3 players chosen in the 1973 amateur baseball draft. Going 5-0 in 1974, Joe led the Tigers to an undefeated Cornell Cup championship. In his two All-High seasons, Joe struck out 86 batters in 69 innings and posted a remarkable earned run average of 0.50. In addition to his dominant pitching, Joe contributed a .425 batting average and truly earned the ultimate praise of coach Jerry Berkman in calling Joe “the best picther I ever had at Bennett.” Joe has since retired after 20 years of service at the NFTA and now resides in Cheektowaga with his wife Michelle, and daughters Elaina and Elyse.
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
Arthur was a varsity Cross Country and Track athlete while at Bennett. His efforts and achievements in track elevated him to this Hall Of Fame level. A versatile performer, Arthur excelled in the high jump, high hurdles, long jump and triple jump, achieving first team All-High in the high jump in both his junior and senior seasons. The Tigers won the “Scalp & Blade” track championship all three years Arthur was on the track squad. In his specialty event, the high jump, Arthur literally rose to the top setting a school, city and Section VI record with a leap of 6’ 10 3/4 “ in winning the New York State track championship. That winning height represents an incredible full 13 inches above his own actual height, unheard of in this event.
After high school, McClinton enrolled in the United States Marine Corps. His track and high jump career continued to flourish while in service, when he set the Marine Corp track record with a leap of 7’ 3/4”. This super effort qualified Arthur for the U.S. Olympic team trials.
Today Arthur McClinton resides in Buffalo and works as a barber at Bono Hair Studio on E. Delavan Ave. Arthur and his late wife have two children, Uniqua, aged 18, and Kevin aged 17.
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
The Syracuse twins, Jack and Richard were the prime movers in getting varsity soccer brought to Bennett H.S. In 1987. Soccer was played as a “club sport” in the Buffalo high schools, but not yet at Bennett. When the skilled soccer playing brothers were asked by a friend to play with him at Lafayette H.S., another team in the league (Hutch Tech ) protested that the players should only be allowed to play for Bennett, which of course did not have a team. The brothers took the issue to the Buffalo Board of Education. The Board then decided that if the boys could get a commitment from 30 other players at Bennett, they could enter a team in the league. Jack and Richard prevailed, got their 30 plus signatures on a petition, and soccer was born at Bennett H.S. Bennett joined the club soccer league, with the boys father as volunteer coach. In 1988, soccer became a regular interschool varsity sport in the City of Buffalo. Bennett was represented with the late Wally Thompson as head coach.
The brothers soccer prowess soon came to the fore. Both Richard with 23 goals and Jack with 16 goals finished 1 – 2 in the league in scoring. Both were named first team All-High and All-WNY selections in soccer after the 1987 and 1988 soccer seasons.
After high school, the brothers attended Ohio Northern University where they played soccer for one year, after which they returned home to tend to the family business. Today they are the proprietors of Gecko’s Bar and Grille, 1462 Hertel Ave. Jack and his wife Rachel have a son, Santonio, aged 4. Richard and his wife Diana have three children, Talia 9, Ariana 7, and Enzo aged 3.
by Jeff | Feb 17, 2023
William Harty went to Bennett High School where he graduated at an early age. He attained All High honors in tennis in 1934 and In 1936 he was ranked 22nd nationally in the boys 18’s singles in the United States. He went from Bennett to Dartmouth College where he was captain and played first singles. After serving in Iran during WWII, in the Persian Gulf Command, he returned to Buffalo where he won the Niagara Frontier Tennis Championship – the forerunner to the MUNY Championships in 1946. Harty married Teckla Cederquist in 1946 and retired from competitive tennis, focusing on his work at The Exolon Company where he became president and worked until his retirement in 1980.
His life centered around his family, his friends, and his love of Buffalo where he helped raise his four boys, Donald, Douglas, Mark and Tom. (His son Mark, during high school, would rise at an ungodly hour and play tennis with another aficionado , fellow Bennett Hall of Famer, Charlie Garfinkel, where they would pound the courts at Amherst High School in the early hours of the morning..)
He shared his love of tennis with all his boys. Mark followed in his footsteps and captained the Dartmouth College tennis team.
William Harty passed away in 1981, leaving a tennis legacy as one of the finest tennis players to have ever played for Bennett High School.
