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Aaron Young

Aaron Young

by | Feb 17, 2023

Aaron Young was All High in football as a middle line backer from 1989-1991. and also All High in track as a shot putter from 1990-91. Young has many fond memories from his years at Bennett. He relates that he was 14 years old and very immature when he first attended Bennett. Bennett helped him grow as a person and taught him to be responsible for his actions.

Mrs. Carr, his English teacher at Bennett made Young realize that with dedication and hard work he could achieve anything that he wanted. Mrs. Carr helped him become the upstanding citizen he is today. Legendary coaches Larry Veronica and Jerry Berkman taught Young that he could be successful both on and off the football field.

Young has been a Buffalo policemen since 1998. After 13 years he was promoted to being a police lieutenant Two years ago he was promoted to the position of Buffalo police chief.

For the past 8 years Young has been offensive line coach for the Bennett football team. He related that he wanted to give back to the school (Bennett) that had given him so much.

David Y. Gibson

David Y. Gibson

by | Feb 17, 2023

David Gibson starred in football, track, and throwing the shot put from 1971-74 at Bennett High School. He was All High 2nd team Offensive tackle in 1972 and All High 1st team on defense in 1973. Other noteworthy feats were his achieving the NAACP Scholar Athlete Award in and Co-Captain in Football, both in 1973. In 1973 he also led the team in tackles and played every minute of each game. After graduation from Bennett he attended Columbia University.

He credits coaches Larry Veronica and Jerry Berkman for teaching him the love of the game, setting high standards for academics and his character. He strongly feels that the lessons that he learned at Bennett continue to serve him well to this day.

Since graduating from Bennett he has committed his life to helping children and families through his work with various community based nonprofit organizations. Presently, he is the Executive Director of three public charter schools. He is responsible for over 1,500 Pre-K through 12th grade children; working with low income families and under served communities in Kaneohe, Hawaii.

Aaron Hayes

Aaron Hayes

by | Feb 17, 2023

Even in 7th grade it was evident that Aaron Hayes was going to be an outstanding athlete. He was already playing AAU basketball and was recruited by many high school teams in Buffalo. However, from the start Bennett was going to be his first choice. His brother had starred at Bennett in sports and there was a great tradition at the school that appealed to Aaron. Hayes joined Bennett’s International Studies program and went on to a storied sports career at Bennet. His sports accomplishments were legendary, He was All High in basketball 3 straight years, All Western New York 2 times, and totaled over 1000 points and 1000 rebounds in his career.As great as his high school scoring records were Aaron was equally proud of the fact that he was named team captain for both his junior and senior years and was part of the Bennett team that defeated the legendary Niagara Falls High school basketball team. Aaron was extremely proud that he had joined the prestigious International Studies program at Bennett. He reiterated that going to Bennett was one of the best decisions of his life.

After attending Canisius College for a year and playing basketball he left Canisius and started raising a family. Aaron presently works as a Vendor Manager at Key Bank.

Derrick Jones

Derrick Jones

by | Feb 17, 2023

Derrick Jones played varsity basketball and baseball for three years at Bennett. In football, he was a starting receiver for two years. As good as he was in football he was even better in baseball; starring as a leadoff hitter and center fielder. He had the perfect blend of speed, batting and fielding skills. In 1981 Derrick reached the pinnacle of his baseball achievements by making All High and All Western New York in baseball. Derrick was a huge reason for the Bennett Tigers winning the Cornell Cup with a perfect record of 14 wins and 0 losses. In the Section VI Baseball Championships Bennett won its first game over Williamsville South. Unfortunately, they suffered their first loss of the year in the semifinals in the Sectional Championships to Tonawanda High School.

Derrick’s career individual highlight was achieving the highest batting average in WNY in 1981 with an amazing .737 average for the season. His incredible season gave him the distinction of being the first Bennett High School player to ever be named ALL WNY in baseball.

Gerald Rosenbaum

Gerald Rosenbaum

by | Feb 17, 2023

Gerald Rosenbaum, affectionately known as “Kelly”, had a standout baseball career at Bennett and UB. He played from 1949-1951 at Bennett and from 1953-1956 at UB. In 1951 “Kelly” was All High as an outfielder. At UB he still holds the all time record for most runs batted in in a single inning; a mind boggling total of six in 1955. He served in the army from 1956-58 and was stationed in North Korea.

As great as his high school and collegiate records were his career as a coach in the Buffalo school system was exemplary. “Kelly” was a Physical Education teacher for many years at Lafayette High School . He coached football and baseball for 35 years. He also coached track, basketball and swimming for short periods of time. His baseball teams won Cornell Cup Championships in 1964, 1975, 1978-1981, and 1983. In addition, he was a Health Teacher in night school at Bennett from1962-1987. In racquetball, he was ranked 6th in the WNY B Racquetball League in 1978 and 1979.

“Kelly” is also a member of the Harvard Cup Football Hall of Fame, Lafayette High School Wall of Fame and the Jewish Center Wall of Fame. In 1977 he was named WNY Football Coach of the Year. “Kelly” and his wife Linda have two daughters named Jill and Wendy and four grand sons.