Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

9/11/2009 - We Should Never Forget

(Note: I orginally wrote this blog last year about my friend Tom Linehan, who perished in the terror attacks of 9/11. It is is being reprinted as a tribute to him and all the other victims).

It was a crystal-clear morning. The sky was an azure blue and the World Trade Center Towers stood proudly at the end of Manhattan island waiting to greet another busy September day.

But as everyone knows by now, that September morning was by no means any ordinary day in the history of this country. No sir. The terrorist attacks in Manhattan, the Pentagon and on Flight 93, which went down in a Pennsylvania field, changed the world forever, especially for the families and friends of the 3,000 innocent people who were murdered that fateful morning.

Like most Americans, I was shocked and in disbelief when I saw the images of the towers collapsing after two airliners plunged into the colossal buildings like a proverbial knife through the heart of our nation.

It was a terrible day that should never, ever, be forgotten. I don’t know of anyone from the tri-state area that was not directly affected by the attacks and that brings me to my recollection of that horrific day on its seventh anniversary.

Sitting on the 96^th floor of 1 World Trade Center was a 39-year-old executive from Marsh & McLennan named Tom Linehan. Linehan, or “Lenny” to his friends, was more than just a successful businessman, father and husband, he was one of the best athletes to ever come out of Vernon Township High School and an old friend of mine from Highland Lakes.

Over the last seven years, I have written about Tom and his exploits when I was working for the local newspaper. So this isn’t new territory for anyone who has read any of my columns over the years. But as I said before, no one should ever forget 9/11 and those who knew Lenny will never forget him, either, so as long as I have an outlet to express my thoughts and feelings, I will always write about Lenny on 9/11.

As a young kid growing up in Highland Lakes, Lenny was someone the kids my age looked up to, even though he was just four years older than us. But at that age, fours years are a lifetime, and Lenny was one of the coolest cats you’d ever meet.

He was silky smooth on the basketball court and was the prototypical point guard, a guy who would always look to pass first and make the players around him look good. But he could also shoot the rock or take you to the hoop as you had to gather yourself to collect your undergarments as he whizzed by.

Lenny, a man of few words, brought that same effortless style and grace to the baseball diamond and could pick it with the best of them at shortstop.

But now as I look back, it wasn’t Lenny’s spectacular athletic ability that made him special, it was how he handled it and treated everyone around him. He never boasted and never was one to pick on the younger kids like some in the crowd he ran with liked to do. Lenny was secure in himself and felt no need to beat his chest.

When Lenny played ball for Vernon all the kids from Highland Lakes would pack up their cars and go watch him play, and boy, did he play. As a junior he helped Vernon share the Sussex County Interscholastic League boys basketball title with a 20-4 overall record and 15-3 mark in the league.

The Vikings shared the crown with Lenape Valley in 1979 in just the school’s fifth year of existence. He also helped the Vernon win its first and only boys basketball state tournament game when the Vikings topped Harrison 74-58 in the opening round of the North 1, Group 2 tournament.

But it was Linehan’s play in the final week of the regular season that helped turn the tide for the Vikings. He helped beat Pope John to knock the Lions and their head coach Mike Parichuck out of the race. To this day Parichuck, the outstanding basketball analyst for Mugs Media, marvels at how Linehan played that night.

The win was also special for Lenny as he went to Pope John his freshman year and now had bragging rights over his buddy, fellow Highland Lakes hoopster and PJ standout, Kevin “Porky” Rourke.

Lenny continued his magical junior season and helped the Vikings win the North 1, Group 2 section crown in baseball under first-year coach John Mayer, who went onto excellent career with the Vikings and is now the head of guidance at Wallkill Valley Regional High School.

It was a magical time for Vernon athletics in the late 1970s. Vernon was not the behemoth Group 4 school it is now that is expected to win because of its size. No, Vernon was a high school made up of the offspring of transplanted New Yorkers and Hudson, Bergen, Essex and Passaic county residents. It was a school in search of its athletic identity and Tom Linehan helped put the Vikings on the map.

A severe shoulder injury kept him on the sidelines for most of his senior season, but after graduating in 1980 he went onto to play college hoops at Assumption College and after graduation he was still a standout on the court, the softball diamond and not a shabby golfer, either.

Lenny left behind his wife and two kids and a lot of lasting good memories and laughs. His pals still talk about his exploits on and off the court till this day and they always end the conversation with a smile because that is the way Lenny would have wanted it.

So every 9/11 I will reflect on Lenny and say a prayer for all those who perished, including Jean DePalma, whose son was an outstanding soccer player for Pope John. I will always remember Drew and his family’s courage as they waited for word on whether Jean survived. I remember how Drew decided to play soccer and how everyone in the SCIL came together in support of the family in their time of need.

There are thousands of amazing stories from 9/11 and the dark days that followed and they should never be forgotten, but as the years go by, it seems like 9/11 has drifted into the background even though it has been less that 10 years. In this age of 24-hour cable news cycles, stories get lost in the shuffle.

But anyone who watched Lenny play or knew him as a family man will never forget him and that is the way it should be. God bless, Lenny.

That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.

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Sussex County Sports Blog

By Dan Cleary

9/11/2009 - We Should Never Forget