50 New Jerseyans Nominated to Hall of Fame

River Dell's own Golden Hawk alumni  is among the 50 great New Jerseyans nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012—and there’s still time to vote.

Voters, who do not have to live in the state, have until Jan. 1, 2012 to learn about the nominees and pick their favorites at www.NJHallofFame.org.

The "Big Tuna" graduated in 1959 as a three-sport athlete (football, basketball and baseball) and is honored as a member of the  Athletic Hall of Fame.

Parcells is nominated under the sports category, which is reserved for New Jerseyans “who are among the state's greatest sports figures,” according to a release from the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

According to Parcells biography his highlights include:

-       Born in Englewood, but grew up in neighboring Hasbrouck Heights, his family moved to Oradell when he was a sophomore;

-       As a Golden Hawk, the 6'2" Parcells was a star quarterback, pitcher, and center while wearing black and gold;

-       Parcells' started his 46 year coaching career at Hastings in 1964 and by 1979 had moved on to the NY Giants;

-       He won two Super Bowl rings with the Giants, defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXI and the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV; and

-       Parcells' led the New England Patriots to Super Bowl XXXI but lost to the Green Bay Packers and then the NY Jets to the AFC Championship Game in 1998. He finished his coaching career with the Dallas Cowboys from 2003 to 2006.”

Other nominees in the sports category are Coach Bob Hurley, Giants owner Wellington Mara, broadcasting icons Dick Vitale and Ed Sabol, basketball star Carol Blazejowski, track star Mary Decker Slaney, football greats Milt Campbell and Rosy Grier, and baseball legend Monte Irvin.

In the Historical Category, which is for deceased Jerseyans whose accomplishments transcend any particular category, perennial nominee President Grover Cleveland is joined by Thomas Jefferson’s Vice President and controversial Founding Father Aaron Burr. The list also includes Revolutionary War luminaries Thomas Paine, Richard Stockton and Molly Pitcher. Activists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Irene Hill Smith are also included along with the first female film director Alice Guy Blaché, rodeo star Annie Oakley and biochemist Selman Waksman.

The Arts & Entertainment Category includes actors Alan Alda, Christopher Reeve and Michael Douglas, musicians from members of The E Street Band to Celia Cruz, Connie Francis, Dionne Warwick, Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughn, as well as “Mr. New Jersey” Joe Piscopo.

The Enterprise Category includes a diverse roster of scientists, business leaders, inventors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and leaders in medicine, from chef Alice Waters to publisher Samuel I. Newhouse.

The largest category, General, includes educators, writers, poets, military leaders, scholars and more. The nominees this year include artists Alexander Calder, Alfred Stieglitz, Charles Addams and Thomas Nast, philanthropist Doris Duke, economist Milton Friedman, writers Joyce Carol Oates and Dorothy Parker, scholar Dorothy Porter Wesley and Gov. Tom Kean.

“We expanded our list of nominees this year because the people of New Jersey have nominated so many remarkable individuals over the past 12 months,” stated John O’Brien, Chair of the New Jersey Hall of Fame Voting Committee and Director of the New Jersey Press Foundation. “As people study the candidates and decide how to vote, they will be learning about great role models who never gave up in the pursuit of their dreams.”

The final 50 are chosen by the New Jersey Hall of Fame Voting Academy, which is comprised of approximately 100 of the state’s top organizations as well as former governors.

The NJHOF currently has an exhibit on the boardwalk in Asbury Park and plans to create a mobile museum, which will bring exhibits to schools and communities around the state. An annual essay contest is open to New Jersey students in fourth through twelfth grades.