Celebrating Frank Bottone's Career as New Providence Football Coach

Frank Bottone. Anyone from New Providence and beyond knows the man behind the name well.

The retired after completing his 48th season with the team last fall. His career finished with a storybook ending — on Dec. 4 over the Lincoln Lions 21-8 in front of an estimated 2,500 fans at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford.

Now, it's time to celebrate Frank and his tremendous career at his Retirement Dinner on Friday, April 15 at Mayfair Farms in West Orange, NJ.

"So far, there are over 100 [people attending]," said Betsy Bottone, Frank Bottone's wife, on Wednesday afternoon. "A lot of phone calls just came in the last day or two. We’re hoping for at least 150 [people] and I think we will have that."

Betsy is planning the dinner, along with New Providence resident Laurie Barletta, Frank's nephew Pat Bottone and Amy Saffer.

"Pat Bottone is his nephew and he is an assistant coach at New Providence. He’s been there 24 years with him," Betsy said. "Amy Saffer is my girlfriend from here in Livingston. She is a retired Spanish teacher who grew up around the corner from Frank. She has known him since she was a teenager... so she knows as many of his family members as I do. She wanted to be involved because she's just known him forever.

"Laurie Barletta is the mother of , who was number 21 on the [football] team this year. Her other son Dan graduated last year. She's our New Providence connection... she has the contacts for all the players and families. Her husband is a dentist in town and both of them are graduates of New Providence. Her brother Joe played for Frank."

Betsy said there is not a cap on the number of people who may attend the dinner, which begins at 6 p.m. with cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, followed by dinner at 7 p.m.

"It is for anybody. We tried to have Laurie let people know that because when Frank had the , that really didn’t include the present team, that’s really for everybody that graduated," Betsy said. "I said to Laurie, 'make sure they know this is for everybody. This is for people in town.'"

Besides Frank's friends and family members, many players and coaches in the area and beyond, both past and present, will be in attendance, along with staff members from the school district, borough residents, and even Frank's former classmate.

"People from Madison are coming that he coached before he was head coach at New Providence, we've got people from the town of Madison who knew him and he stayed friends with," Betsy said. "I just spoke with Amy over the phone and she had a call from somebody who graduated with Frank from Caldwell High School who is coming. It's going to be so much fun, I just can't wait."

Anyone attending the dinner can look forward to speeches from people who know Frank well through his years of coaching in New Providence and elsewhere.

"People have been asking to speak so there will be people speaking. We will open that to people if it doesn't get too out of hand. Everyone [going] kind of knows other people and maybe haven't seen them in a long time so I'm almost afraid we just don't have enough time in one night to handle this, especially for [Frank] because everyone is going to want to talk to him and it's going to be hard," Betsy Bottone said. "[Mayfair Farms] actually gave us an extra hour for the evening because of that. They knew the people there are going to want to talk about him."

Betsy said a few people have already lined themselves up to speak and she expects that more individuals will speak throughout the night, which happened at the Football Reunion.

"I think everyone will be interested. We'll have to set a limit on time, that's all," Betsy said.

The dinner will run until 11 p.m. at Mayfair Farms, which is owned and operated by the Horn family. Peter Horn, who runs Mayfair Farms, is on the National Football Foundation Committee with Frank.

Tickets are $65 per person for the dinner. For the cocktail hour, Betsy said there will be white-gloved servers with hot and cold hors d'oeuvres. Some items on the hors d'oeuvre menu include: Bruschetta on Garlic Crisps, Baked Brie Cheese, Braised Mushroom Crowns, Tempura Chicken, Beef Wellington Miniatures and Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce.

There will also be silver chafing dishes during cocktail hour with Calamari and Sesame Chicken, among other items. There will also be a pasta station, cold antipasto, hand-carved Italian meets, assorted cheese and flat breads, and a Cornucopia of Fresh Garden Vegetable Crudités with Herbs. 

For dinner, there will be a salad course and a choice of beef or salmon for the main entree.

If you are interested in attending Frank Bottone's Retirement Dinner, RSVP is requested by today, April 1, 2011, and table arrangements can be requested with reservations.

Checks can be made payable to:

Bottone Retirement Dinner

47 Big Piece Road

Fairfield, New Jersey 07004

If you have any questions, please contact Pat Bottone at 201-805-1788; Laurie Barletta at 908-295-9002; or Amy Saffer at 973-403-9511.