Skip to content

NJSports.com

New Jersey…The State of sports

Primary Menu
  • Baseball
    • Player Profiles – Baseball
    • NJ Baseball Teams
  • Basketball
    • Player Profiles – Basketball
    • New Jersey Basketball: A Brief History
    • NJ Basketball Teams
  • Football
    • Player Profiles – Football
    • NJ Football Teams
  • Hockey
    • Player Profiles – Hockey
    • NJ Hockey Teams
  • Soccer
    • Player Profiles – Soccer
    • NJ Soccer Teams
  • More Sports
    • Motor Sports
      • Player Profiles – Motor Sports
    • Track & Field
      • Player Profiles – Track & Field
    • Golf & Tennis
      • Player Profiles – Golf and Tennis
    • Boxing & Wrestling
      • Player Profiles – Boxing, Wrestling & Martial Arts
    • EVEN MORE SPORTS!
      • Player Profiles – Misc. Sports
      • Player Profiles – NJ Olympians
  • Women
  • NJ College Teams
    • Princeton
      • Princeton Baseball: A Brief History
      • Princeton Men’s Basketball: A Brief History
      • Women’s Basketball at Princeton: A Brief History
      • Princeton Football: A Brief History
    • Rutgers
      • Rutgers Football: A Brief History
      • Rutgers Men’s Soccer
      • Rutgers Women’s Soccer 
    • Seton Hall
      • Seton Hall Basketball: A Brief History
  • Great Moments in NJ Sports
  • It Happened In New Jersey

Hockey

  • Pro Teams
  • College Teams
  • NJ Hockey History
  • Great Moments
  • It Happened in Jersey
Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
New Jersey Sports Heroes

New Jersey Sports Heroes

10

This site commemorates the great athletes & moments of NJ sports history. Be sure to like this page for facts & bios.

Monte Irvin... gridiron great:Arguably, Monte Irvin was the finest all-around athlete ever to graduate from a New Jersey high school, earning 16 varsity letters in four sports at Orange High while setting a state record for the javelin throw. His athletic prowess made no difference on senior prom night when he and his date, and a friend and his date, were refused service at a late-night eatery in their hometown because of the color of their skin. The year was 1937.

While Irvin took great pride in his track and field and football accomplishments, he recollected a childhood filled with dreams of playing baseball.
"I just wanted to be a real good ball player. I didn’t know if I’d ever play professionally. I didn’t know if I’d ever play in the major leagues. I certainly wanted to play in the Negro Leagues. You see at that time we aspired to play in the Negro Leagues. That was as high as our aspirations could go. I would say, now one of these days I would like to play for the Homestead Grays; I would like to play for the Newark Eagles; I would like to play for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, or the Lincoln Giants. If you were a baseball player you did aspire to play for those clubs. We never knew that later on we would get a chance to play in the majors. But those were our inspirations at that time."
After a tryout at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, where he was playing while still in high school with that city’s semipro Smart Set team, Irvin joined the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League. He played under the assumed name of Jimmy Nelson to preserve his amateur status, allowing him to continue to play high-school and college ball. He is most remembered from his major-league days as a fine outfielder. But in the Negro Leagues his athleticism translated into a versatility that saw him as a surehanded infielder with a strong throwing arm from third base and shortstop, with quality time in center field as well. During the Eagles’ championship season of 1946, they could boast of a second-base/shortstop combination who would turn out to be Hall of Famers, with Irvin at short combining with teammate Larry Doby at second for strength up the middle. ... See MoreSee Less

5 days ago
Monte Irvin... gridiron great:
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 5
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

A trio of NJ sports stars were born on this day…

Yankees Rookie Sensation Anthony Volpe (#watchungnj)
njsports.com/anthony-volpe/
Pro Bowling Pioneer Frank Esposito (#paramusnj)
njsports.com/frank-esposito/
Bowling Hall of Famer Dave Davis (#Hackensack)
njsports.com/dave-davis/ ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Born today in NJ:

Jets Coach Herman Edwards (#eatontownnj)
njsports.com/herman-edwards/
Giants Owner Horace Stoneham (#newarknj)
njsports.com/horace-stoneham/ ... See MoreSee Less

1 week ago
Born today in NJ:
Jets Coach Herman Edwards (#EatontownNJ)
https://njsports.com/herman-edwards/
Giants Owner Horace Stoneham (#NewarkNJ)
https://njsports.com/horace-stoneham/
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 6
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

A quartet of NJSports stars were born on this day…

NFL Quarterback Gary Cuozzo (#glenrodgenj)
njsports.com/gary-cuozzo/
1,500 Meters Champion Browning Ross (#woodburynj)
njsports.com/browning-ross/
Pro Bowl Lineman Dion Dawkins (#rahwaynj)
njsports.com/dion-dawkins/
1950s Shortstop Sam Dente (#kearnynj)
njsports.com/sam-dente/ ... See MoreSee Less

2 weeks ago
A quartet of NJSports stars were born on this day…
NFL Quarterback Gary Cuozzo (#GlenRodgeNJ)
https://njsports.com/gary-cuozzo/
1,500 Meters Champion Browning Ross (#WoodburyNJ)
https://njsports.com/browning-ross/
Pro Bowl Lineman Dion Dawkins (#RahwayNJ)
https://njsports.com/dion-dawkins/
1950s Shortstop Sam Dente (#KearnyNJ)
https://njsports.com/sam-dente/
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0
Load more

Contact Us

  • Facebook

A note on content and images: All of the written content on NJSports.com is original and subject to United States copyright laws. The images on this site are used for informational and educational purposes and, unless noted in the credit line, are not the property of Upper Case Editorial Services. Image sources and copyright information are listed when known.

Autographed items and other vintage or original artifacts - as well as photography now the the public domain - are listed as part of the Upper Case Collection. NJSports.com does not control or confer the rights to any images on the website.

[email protected]

Copyright All rights reserved