Class Note 1972
Issue
May-June 2024
Dear ’72s, as I write this, our class planned to hold two mini-reunions in March. One was in Sedona, Arizona, on March 11-15, and the other was in Naples, Florida, on March 18-20. In Sedona, Charlie Schudson planned to lead hikes and Ed Wisneski was to lead a walk around his hometown of Prescott, where the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday hung out. Thanks, also, to Neal Traven and Roger Curley, who helped organize the Sedona mini.
The Naples reunion was to offer a reception and dinner at the Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club for ’70s, ’71s, and ’72s as well as boat excursions, golf, and private dinners for our class. Thanks to Joe Davis and Dan Cooperman, who have been involved in planning both reunions, as well as Dave Friend, Gary Shanley, and Shel Prentice, who planned the Naples mini.
Both mini-reunions correspond to spring training for the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues, which led me to think about Dartmouth baseball. Wayne Young caught on the 1970 team that went to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Wayne is still very much involved in Dartmouth baseball and football. Wayne caught both Pete Broberg and Charlie Janes in that season and Fred Crossman along the way. Gary Dicovitsky played third base for a time and Frank Mannarino played in the outfield. I unsuccessfully tried out for freshman baseball, and I shagged fly balls hit by Chuck Leer in Red Rolfe field before tryouts.
I knew that our field is named for Red Rolfe but knew little of this Big Green giant of baseball. Robert “Red” Rolfe was in the Dartmouth class of 1931. Rolfe subsequently was the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees (in the late 1930s and early 1940s), winning four World Series and playing for 10 major league seasons. Rolfe’s finest season came in 1939, when he led the American League in batting with an average of .329; he had 213 hits, 139 runs, and 80 RBIs.
After a four-year stint coaching baseball at Yale, Rolfe became associated with the Detroit Tigers and managed Detroit in the early 1950s. Rolfe returned to Dartmouth in 1954 and served as our athletic director for 13 years, retiring in 1967 (just before our class entered our alma mater). Rolfe died of kidney disease in Gilford, New Hampshire, at the relatively young age of 60 in 1969. My older brother, Robert, born in 1945, could well have been named for Rolfe, as my father was class of 1938 and an avid Yankees fan. At any rate, Red was Big Green through and through.
Lest the old traditions fail.
—Shel Prentice, 2311 Tradition Way, #102, Naples, FL 34105; shelprentice72@gmail.com
The Naples reunion was to offer a reception and dinner at the Hamilton Harbor Yacht Club for ’70s, ’71s, and ’72s as well as boat excursions, golf, and private dinners for our class. Thanks to Joe Davis and Dan Cooperman, who have been involved in planning both reunions, as well as Dave Friend, Gary Shanley, and Shel Prentice, who planned the Naples mini.
Both mini-reunions correspond to spring training for the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues, which led me to think about Dartmouth baseball. Wayne Young caught on the 1970 team that went to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Wayne is still very much involved in Dartmouth baseball and football. Wayne caught both Pete Broberg and Charlie Janes in that season and Fred Crossman along the way. Gary Dicovitsky played third base for a time and Frank Mannarino played in the outfield. I unsuccessfully tried out for freshman baseball, and I shagged fly balls hit by Chuck Leer in Red Rolfe field before tryouts.
I knew that our field is named for Red Rolfe but knew little of this Big Green giant of baseball. Robert “Red” Rolfe was in the Dartmouth class of 1931. Rolfe subsequently was the starting third baseman for the New York Yankees (in the late 1930s and early 1940s), winning four World Series and playing for 10 major league seasons. Rolfe’s finest season came in 1939, when he led the American League in batting with an average of .329; he had 213 hits, 139 runs, and 80 RBIs.
After a four-year stint coaching baseball at Yale, Rolfe became associated with the Detroit Tigers and managed Detroit in the early 1950s. Rolfe returned to Dartmouth in 1954 and served as our athletic director for 13 years, retiring in 1967 (just before our class entered our alma mater). Rolfe died of kidney disease in Gilford, New Hampshire, at the relatively young age of 60 in 1969. My older brother, Robert, born in 1945, could well have been named for Rolfe, as my father was class of 1938 and an avid Yankees fan. At any rate, Red was Big Green through and through.
Lest the old traditions fail.
—Shel Prentice, 2311 Tradition Way, #102, Naples, FL 34105; shelprentice72@gmail.com