Rich Kennedy Inducted Into Glen Ridge Hall Of Fame

COVER PHOTO: Rich Kennedy and wife Andrea

Rich Kennedy, the NJSGA Director of Handicapping and Membership Services, was recognized for his athletic excellence on Friday, May 3, when he was inducted into the Glen Ridge High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

Kennedy, who began his tenure with the NJSGA as a Boatwright Intern in 2000 and was named Director of Handicapping the following year, was acknowledged by the Hall of Fame for his prowess in both basketball and baseball at Glen Ridge High School. Also inducted were former NJSGA tournament official Donald Merkelbach (Dan Gleeson Award for Meritorious Service), Jack Close, Class of 1955, Tim Liddy, Class of 1988 and Carolyn King, Class of 1993. Merkelbach, of the Glen Ridge Country Club, was a member of two NJSGA Best Ball of Four championship teams (1968 and 1976)..

“I loved everything about being a Glen Ridge High School athlete. It’s a great honor to be included in the Glen Ridge Hall of Fame and to be able to join my two older brothers there,” Kennedy stated.

He went on to become a four-year starting pitcher at Rutgers University, which went on to win the Big East championship in his senior year of 1998 and compete in the NCAA Tournament.

Rich’s brothers include Hall of Famers Bill, Class of 1985, and David, Class of 1988, who were both standouts in baseball and basketball.

In basketball, Rich Kennedy was a two-time All-Colonial Hills Conference selection.

In baseball, he batted .532 his senior year and .341 his junior year. He had a pitching record of 15-2 over his final two seasons.

In his junior year of 1993, Glen Ridge won the NJSIAA Group 1 championships. In his senior year of 1994, the Ridgers went 24-2 and reached the finals of the Esssex County Tournament and the Group 1 sectionals and were at one point ranked No. 2 in the state.

"Rich was a combination of a scorer and distributor during the four years he was on the Glen Ridge varsity. He could have scored many more points than he did, but because he chose to get his teammates involved in the scoring, he gave up many shots that he could have taken,” said Glen Ridge basketball coach Clem Tennaro.

“The fact that he was captain of the team his junior and senior years, demonstrates how important his leadership was to our program," Tennaro added.