Reuniting to Celebrate Our Heritage: A Salute to Coach Jerry Edwards

More than 80 Montclair State alumni from 13 states as far away as Florida and California gathered on June 1 to attend
an extraordinary reunion to honor their former football coach, Dr. Jerry Edwards. Some of the players hadn't seen each other
in over 49 years. It was overwhelming to be so honored, said Coach Edwards. I was interested in learning what they gained
from me while at Montclair State.

The event was organized by Dr. Emanuel Manny Scrofani 61 and his former football teammates. Dr. Scrofani personally made over 200 calls to all of the players and coaches who played under Coach Edwards from 1958 to 1965. Many were part of Montclair State's undefeated teams of 1960 and 1964. At the event Wesley Rehberg 61 and Andrew Durborow 62 presented a picture of Montclair State and a plaque to Coach Edwards to commemorate the occasion.

Football was a vehicle, said Scrofani. Coach took care of people. Coach Edwards agreed: Football was a stage for young people to gain confidence and have opportunities to win by giving their all.

Dr. Edwards came to Montclair State in 1958, having written his doctoral
thesis on teenage addiction. He was one of the first to believe that addiction prevention could best be accomplished by getting schools involved. When I was teaching in junior and senior high schools I felt it was important to develop the classroom as a support system for kids, to prevent them from failing, he said. I attempted on the first day of class to determine which students already had given up and expected to fail. These kids needed help right away. I would pair them up with the students who expected to receive a good grade. The classroom, in essence, became a team and no one failed.

The 1961 Montclair State College track and field team with Coach Edwards.

Edwards also coached three teams: football, track and J.V. basketball. All were very successful. Coach took a holistic approach to his players from the start, concerned with their academic and professional lives as well as their athletic talents. He strove to give all his players a sense of confidence that they knew they would win. The football team had undefeated seasons in 1960 and 1964. The three years of J.V. basketball teams he coached had records of 20/5, 25/4 and 22/3. The track team won all of their meets except one and beat a strong Seton Hall team for the first time. The team also had an All American mile relay team that broke the school record by 6 seconds.

Dr. Edwards always tried to help those in trouble. He once had a couple of players whose grades weren't high enough for student teaching. Coach went to Montclair State's Department of Business Education and pleaded their case. He said I'll be personally responsible for their work. Both players got As in their classes and were tremendously successful as student teachers and later as professional educators. Edwards said, I knew they wouldn't let me down.

Many of the players came from inner-city neighborhoods and were the first in their families to go to college. We needed guidance and clarity, and Coach always helped us, Scrofani remembered. More than winning games, he wanted us to have the tools to win at life. In March 1965, Edwards coordinated a trip to Selma, Alabama with a group of Montclair State faculty to take part in the civil rights movements March on Selma. The march was an intense encounter. However, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s We Shall Overcome speech was inspiring and helped to overcome the tense atmosphere.

Coach Edwards dedication can be seen in the success and loyalty of his
former players. Wesley Rehberg 61 became a Methodist minister and Greenpeace
environmental activist. Thomas Turney 62 is an educational consultant and developed one of the most successful peer leadership programs in the U.S. Andy Durborow 62, confined to a wheelchair, is an inspirational leader who is still assisting his former Caldwell, NJ football team. Many others too numerous to mention were and presently are successful coaches in many sports as well as successful in other fields throughout the U.S. Dr. Scrofani is retired from a long career with the State of California education system as a school superintendent and was formerly Director of Staff Development for all the school districts in the State of California.

Now 82 and living on Long Island, Dr. Edwards remains very active and engaged
with his former players. The connections are so rich, he said. It was a joy being at Montclair State because the students/players were wonderful. We were also very fortunate to be successful. It's something we'll never forget, agreed Scrofani.
Coach Edwards calls his days at Montclair State one of the richest experiences of
my life.

Dr. Scrofani and his fellow alumni athletes are establishing a steering committee to explore setting up an endowment fund in athletics to honor Coach Edwards. For more information, contact Myrtis Yake at 973-655-4036 or at yakem@mail.montclair.edu