Northampton athletic fields named for former football coach Frank Tudryn
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NORTHAMPTON - On the day he helped dedicate the Northampton High School athletic complex to honor former football coach Frank Tudryn, current coach Ken O'Brien recalled Tudryn's hiring.
There was some controversy at the time due to Tudryn being just 22 years old. O'Brien shared a prescient quote from Tudryn at the time.
"He told the Gazette that some day they'll be erecting a statue in my honor," O'Brien said during the ceremony unveiling the new sign for the Frank Tudryn Athletic Complex held at halftime of the Thanksgiving Day game against Amherst. The Hurricanes won 14-12.
After the game, O'Brien added, "When he had the controversy, he said they'd build a monument to him and there it is. He deserved it. He worked hard."
Tudryn, who died May 19, 2010, after a battle with esophageal cancer, was the Northampton football coach from 1971 to 1999. He and his wife, Pamela Tudryn, moved to Naples, Fla., in 2000.
"We thought it was a great thing to do for him," Northampton athletic director Jim Miller said. "He was here for so long and did so much for the school and community. After his passing, we decided it was a good idea to name the complex after him. It's a great honor."
Along with leading the football team, Tudryn held numerous positions at Northampton High, including assistant principal, interim principal, teacher and track and field coach.
"It's a really fitting tribute and I'm glad they did it," said O'Brien, who was an assistant under Tudryn before taking over the program when he left. "It's bittersweet for me. Twelve years is a long time. It doesn't seem like it has been that long" since he left the city.
The program retired Tudryn's number, 85, last year, and dedicated that season to his memory. The sign with his name and number hangs from the front of the stadium's press box. Tudryn was also inducted into the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.
The football field is named after David Wright, who coached various sports at Northampton from 1919 until 1948.
Miller said the Frank Tudryn Athletic Complex sign will be placed near the parking lot entrance. The complex includes fields for all outdoor sports at Northampton.
Miller wrote a letter to the school committee proposing the honor last year, and it was approved Feb. 11.
"Thanksgiving was the right day because the alumni are here," Miller said Thursday. "You have the old football players here. This is the day when people across the country are out enjoying high school football games, and we felt today was the right day because we'd have the most people here to honor his memory."
Tudryn's immediate family, including sons Jason and Jeremy and daughter Kristy, were unable to attend.
Tudryn's teams went 167-121-4 in his time at Northampton, and won the 1986 Super Bowl championship.
The football field at Gulf Coast High School in Florida, where Tudryn coached after leaving Northampton, has also been named in his honor.
Jim Pignatiello can be reached at jpignatiello@gazettenet.com.
