Kevin Stevens|Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
Matters on the local and regional sports fronts have been largely out of kilter, just plain odd and turbulent for far too long. This interruption, that mandate or recommendation or protocol —and who knows what's next, given the root of it all circling back in fullforce?
Not so back in the day, specifically 30 years past, when a whole lot was going on in Broome County-area athletics, and in perfectly normal, impactful fashion.
Savor a trip back to a heaping helping of sports goings-on, circa 1991, a couple items inspiring on a national scale.
Birth of Binghamton Mets
June 27 came word that the New York Mets would supply necessary funds and operate an Eastern League team in Binghamton beginning 1992. That was judged hands down by sports staff members as Press & Sun-Bulletin Story of the Year—and that late-December piece contained the following:
“It’s the ultimate flip-side of the 1990 P&S-B’s Sports Story of the Year—‘Binghamton Gains Franchise, Only To Lose It.’ Out of the grave, amazin’ as Lazarus.”
Local baseball fans were teased in 1990 with apparent acquisition of an Eastern League franchise, only for that to fizzle with the intended operator’s bankruptcy. But early-summer 1991 brought the New York Mets’ pledge to operate a Binghamton affiliate for at least 10 years upon completion of a $4.5 million stadium on the corner of Henry & Fayette for which the parent club would fork over the vast majority of backing.
Class B football: Maine-Endwell rallies to capture championship over Pleasantville
Class C football: Chenango Forks shuts down Schuylerville, earns back-to-back state titles in football
Class D football: Tioga Central closes perfect football season with 27-0 championship win
The Binghamton Mets, dignified name and all, proceeded to win the league championship in their first yearand repeat two summers later.
Couples toast of the Tour, & Endicott
That runner-up finish back of Doug Barron a couple summers ago was not Fred Couples’ top showing at En-Joie Golf Course, lest some forget.
Damn-near half-a-lifetime before, 31-year-old Couples won his second tournament of the season and sixth of his PGA Tour career on the final day of Summer 1991, rounding out 15-under 269 with a round of 68 at En-Joie. That was five better than 54-hole leader Brad Faxon —who would go on to win the 1999 and 2000 B.C. Opens —and worth $144,000.
Peter Jacobsen, runner-up on four rounds of 68, post-round donated $10,000 of his $86,400 reward to B.C. Charities, only to be one-upped by the champion’s $11,000 give-back. Hey, 10 consecutive sub-par rounds will put a fella in a giving mood. That day, Couples passed $4 million in career earnings —back when that was a pile of Tour cash —and elevated to No. 2 on the season’s earnings list with $750,683.
Jacobsen shared the following that day: “The B.C. Open can’t have a greater champion. … Everywhere we go people just want to be near Freddie because he’s got a real magnetic personality. Kinda like the kid you want your daughter to marry—not MY daughter, I know him too well.”
Dick Baldwin: Hornet-turned-Colonial
A story in the May 1, 1991 edition of the Press & Sun-Bulletin began with:
“Immediate success.
“That is what Dick Baldwin has in mind as he assumes control of a SUNY-Binghamton basketball program that long has struggled to remain eye-level with mediocrity.”
In 40 seasons heading Broome Tech/Broome Community College, Baldwin ascended to the top of college basketball’s all-time coaching victory list, the winter of 1986-87 bringing his 38th winning season in 40 tries. He was chosen from among a reported 60 applicants to resurrect the program on the Parkway, which was coming off a 9-16 season that made for a 24-51 mark over the most recent three.
Baldwin’s first season resulted in 19 wins, a program-record 14 in succession, and the third brought a 23-7 mark. He vacated the Binghamton post at age 74 in the summer of 1996 —succeeded by first lieutenant Jim Norris —his 45-season coaching record a perfectly astounding 961-341.
Resurgent Rangers rolled
A year removed from unprecedented futility, Binghamton’s professional hockey team flourished.
Following 10 seasons as Hartford’s junior varsity, the Binghamton Rangers debuted in 1990-91 with 44-30-6 resurgence from the previous year’s 11-60-9 mess. In fact, those 44 victories exceeded by five the predecessors’ take in the previous two seasons combined. That 1989-90 calamity made American Hockey League history for the wrong reason.
The first-year B-Rangers placed second in the Southern Division, passed through an initial playoff round and were eliminated in the second.
Goaltender Mark “Trees” Laforest was selected team MVP via a vote of players following a 25-14-2 / 3.16 goals against average / .902 save percentage regular season.
Patriots simply perfect
With Mark McBride rushing for 112 yards and two touchdowns, Binghamton High concluded an 11-0 football season by dealing Pine Bush a 15-12 loss at eerily foggy Schoellkopf Field. The Patriots’ first unbeaten season since 1985 was achieved two years before advent of a state tournament and left them a No. 4 Class A ranking back of Fairport, Rome Free Academy and Farmingdale, and coach Steve Deinhardt an eight-season record of 63-12-2.
Opening night required rally from a two-TD hole for a 21-18 win at Cicero-North Syracuse, and another key step was 14-8 September success against an Elmira Free Academy squad ranked atop Class B.
Operating behind Section 4’s finest offensive front headed by Chris Kumpon, fullback Brad Bess chewed up 7.7 yards per rush with 150-plus in six games. In that finale at Cornell University, Binghamton feasted on six Bushmen turnovers.
Coach Jim Hoover’s Walton squad likewise went 11-0 and closed No. 2 back of Watervliet in Class C-D state rankings.
Trojans sparkle on diamond
Greene rolled unbeaten through the baseball season until a 15-10 loss to eventual Class C state champion Watervliet in the semifinal round, unable to overcome an uncharacteristic three throwing errors despite twice holding four-run leads.
The Trojans won a 5-3 quarterfinal against Section 6 champion Wilson with sophom*ore Clint Williamson pitching a complete game, that after Chris Vanderbunt’s seventh-inning home run wrapped up the Section 4 final against Windsor at Oneonta’s Damaschke Field. In that classic, Vanderbunt sent a three-run home run deep over the left-field wall to finish a 7-5 win. Three batters before, teammate Jeff Sergi smacked a two-run HR to left. Windsor had led, 5-0.
Sidney tops state field hockey
A 1-0 squeeze past unbeaten Putnam County power Mahopac brought Sidney’s girlsa state field hockey championship and coach Mary Morrison her 200th victory.
Josette Woodyshek’s penalty corner set up Pam DuMond for the short-order goal with 31 seconds elapsed. DuMond, Lori Marron and Amber Wilson were named to the final four all-tournament team. The Warriors advanced to the title game via 3-1 success against Centereach.
Sweet reversal it was for holdovers from the 1990 squad, 1-0 victim of Lakeland in the state final.
David Branham: Mr. 60
The 1991 Canasawacta Country Club championship was nothing out of the ordinary for David Branham, who ran his streak to 11 that year. Oh, but that third and final round!
A stirring 31-29 —60 is what Branham produced that day on the Norwich tract, marking six-stroke overnight improvement for a second straight day.
His first birdie came via 9-iron to six inches at the 139-yard second, and he polished off the front side with 3-wood/8-iron/20-footer. He holed a 35-footer at the 12th, a 40-footer at the 14th, and wrapped up matters with a driver and two putts covering the remaining 28 feet at the inviting 18th.
In mid-July 1991, he’d successfully defended his Triple Cities Golf Association championship with 10 shots to spare,and in September opposite the B.C. Open went 70-67 over Canasawacta and Afton GC for Chenango County Amateur supremacy. That made it a fourth consecutive summer for a Branham up top that event’s leader board, two apiece for David and brother Bob.
Great weekend to be a grappling ’Cat
How about four top-three state-tourney finishes for Johnson City wrestlers, strongest showing by a Section 4 team in 26 years.
Seniors Matt Sorochinsky and Paul Lyman won championships with 5,000 spectators on hand at Syracuse’s War Memorial, those following third-place finishes by two teammates. Sorochinsky decisioned Craig Furrer of Centereach, 6-3 in the 145-pound finale, and Paul Lyman followed with 10-6 superiority against Chris Francis of Palmyra-Macedon.
Do remember, that was accomplished when it was an all-comers tournament, pre-watering down by splitting into two divisions.
Sidney’s 1965 Warriors rang up two champions and two runners-up.
Making their Point ... Times two
It was a Class C state final four double-dip for Whitney Point’s boys and girls basketball teams, mid-March in Warren County.
Quarterfinal advancement for the girls was earned with 54-34 march past Canastota, in which the Golden Eagles rattled off the opening quarter’s final 15 points for a 23-6 advantage. Karen L’Amoreaux had 14 points and seven of the winners’ 17 steals, and sisters Amber and Brandy Croft teamed for 18 points and 24 rebounds.
Not so enjoyable was the semifinal, a 65-45 setback dealt by Allegany, in which freshman reserve Megan Mackey produced team highs of 13 points and six assists for the 19-6 Eagles—a mere game over .500 through nine.
Coach Jack Halloran’s boys exited Section 4 competition on the strength of a 70-60 win against Trumansburg, 16 free-throw successes in a 22-point fourth quarter locking up the program’s second sectional championship in three seasons.
The state quarterfinal brought a 77-60 win against Syracuse Westhill, which was held 31 points below its season average, before Watervliet decked the Point, 79-64 in the title game.
JC had it Cookin’ in softball states
Johnson City closed its 21-5 softball season with a 4-1 win over Massena (21-1) in the Class B final at Clifton Park. Freshman Charleen Cook rationed the Section 3 foe three hits, as she did Bayport Blue Point in a 4-2 semifinal.
Gloves and arms were in fine form for the Wildcats, error-free through the last 11 of 14 innings that June day. Cook permitted only singles, one earned run, struck out 15 and walked six in the two games.
It was part of a three-title harvest for Section 4 representatives. Horseheads won Class A and Thomas A. Edison topped Class D— the latter on Maureen Mawhir’s no-hit title-game pitching.
U-E girlsbowled ’em over
Just a piece down the road from school, Union-Endicott’s girls claimed the program’s second state bowling championship in seven years, a season-best 973-pin sixth game rounding out 123-pin margin at Mid-Way Lanes.
Kristen Cretaro turned in a pair of 236s in the three-game afternoon block, closing with a 1,231 (205 average). Tigers coach Dick Smith prudently utilized his full complement of eight bowlers, Cretaro the lone Tiger to fire in all six games.
AOTY: Jason Morris, Norwich
The Press & Sun-Bulletin selected Jason Morris of Norwich High our Athlete of the Year.
An All-Metro football running back, Morris was Section 4’s rushing leader with 1,347 yards (149.7 per game, 12.71 per carry). Of the conference’s next-best 19 in rushing yardage, all but one had more carries. He was second-leading scorer on the basketball team (12.0 ppg) and STAC & Section 4 100-meter champion (school-record 10.9).
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