Reading Schools To Name Varsity Track After Longtime Teacher, Coach

READING, MA — Reading community members will gather this week to honor longtime Reading high school teacher and track coach Harold Croft, the town announced on Thursday.

An event on Friday will see the Reading Public Schools name the district’s new varsity running track after Croft. The event is scheduled for Friday at the track following planned Reading Veterans Day observances.

Officials on Thursday estimated Veterans Day events would wrap up in time for a 12:15 p.m. start for Croft’s ceremony.

Croft is a veteran of the Vietnam War. In addition to his teaching and coaching roles, Croft previously served on the Reading School Committee.

Croft led dominant teams during his time as Reading’s varsity track coach, sweeping opponents with a perfect record in dual meets between the early 1970s and the early 2000s, as noted in a biography on the website of the Boston and Providence-based Croft School, which bears Croft’s name.

Croft was the subject of a Sports Illustrated profile in 1995. His legacy further grew over the years, with a line of league and state championships spanning decades in Reading.

Reading has been in the process of renovating its previous football and track facility.

As that work moved forward, Reading School Committee members in April voiced support for renaming the track as they voted to form a renaming committee of various community members.

Reading Veterans Day observances will take place beginning at 11 a.m. in front of Reading Memorial High School on Friday.

Ceremonies elsewhere on the school’s campus later in the day at the soon-to-be Harold Croft track will include multiple speakers, as noted in the town’s announcement last week.