Howard H. Bollerman Sr. was one of the original founders of the Jamboree and a member of the Bergen County Coaches Association. Bolly, as he was called by his players, students, and friends was a giant of a man in many ways. He stood 6’8” tall and was a very talented athlete, coach, official, and educator.

Bolly left his mark on the sport of basketball in the following ways:

Athlete, Hackensack High School (1921-25)

•                As a senior, he lead the team to a win over the Passaic High School “Wonder Five” on February 26, 1925 ending its 159 game winning streak

•                Won the N.N.J.I.L. championship and was named to the all state team

•                Played at Colgate University (1925-29)

•                1929, named to the All-America team

•                2000, named to the record’s All-Century team

Coach, Hackensack High School (1937-1954)

•                2 state group III Championships (1945, 1952)

•                3 North Jersey Section 1 Group III Championships (1945, 1952, 1953)

•                3 Bergen Jamboree Championships (1952, 1953, 1954)

•                5 N.N.J.I.L. Championships (1939, 1945, 1948, 1950, 1953)

Official, College and High School (1934-1958)

•                Considered one of the top five college officials in America, officiated numerous N.I.T. and N.C.A.A. tournament games.   

Howard H. Bollerman Sr. passed away unexpectedly on August 15, 1966 at the age of 59.   At the time, he was principal of Hackensack High School. His legacy to basketball in Bergen County lives on in the annual award presented his name by the Bergen County Coaches’ Association and the Jamboree Committee.

50 YEARS of the BERGEN COUNTY JAMBOREE

The Bergen County Basketball Jamboree came into being on the scholastic basketball map in December of 1950 when the Bergen County Coaches Association appointed a committee to look into the possibility of a countywide high school basketball tournament.

Charlie Yennie, former basketball coach at Ridgewood High School, headed the first jamboree committee in an effort to get the ball rolling. Others who served on that committee included Francis “Red” Garrity of Englewood, Oscar Thompson of Hackensack, Al Brown of Bogota, Wilbur Ruckel of North Arlington, Harold Schaible of Rutherford, Tom Morgan of Englewood, Bob Curley of St. Luke’s, and Carl Mueller of Woodridge.

In 1951, the first Jamboree was played with Holy Trinity of Hackensack defeating North Arlington 37-27.

The Bergen County Tourney, named in honor of the late Oscar F. Thompson, has had many great ups and some downs. On three occasions in the last 50 years, the years of 1962, 1965, and a four-year period from 1967 through 1970, it was necessary to call off the tourney due to various reasons. One of the main problems was State scheduling restrictions.

In 1971 however, Pete LaBarbiera, as Bergen County Coaches Association President, initiated the reinstatement of the Jamboree. He appointed a committee with Ed Strohmeyer of Tenafly as chairman, Mickey Corcoran of Northern Highlands, Charlie Brown of Paramus, and Tony Comeleo of Lodi and passed on his idea of spreading the tournament dates throughout the month of February to avoid scheduling violations. More recently Lee Clark, Bruce Bartlett, Paul Puglise, and Ralph Lella have served on the committee.

Since then, for 30 consecutive years, the Jamboree has been one of the most prestigious scholastic sports tournaments in New Jersey. In the 44 previous tournaments that have been staged, the thrills have come aplenty. But the 1954 finale between Hackensack and Englewood and the 1985 Championship between Demarest and Rutherford stand out above many other great title clashes.

In 1954, Hackensack, coached by Howard Bollerman Sr., was gunning for its third straight championship as it battled against mentor Tom Morgan’s talented Englewood squad. The Comets and the Maroon Raiders battled every inch of the way in a contest that saw the score tied or the lead change 31 times. Junius Daniels’ fine all around play and Tom “Nip” Goodwin’s fantastic outside shooting kept Englewood in contention throughout the exciting contest. The game went right down to the wire with the two teams matching basket for basket until Englewood moved in front, 6 1-59, with four seconds remaining. Englewood gained its 61-59 edge on a pair of charity throws by Goodwin and everything appeared doomed for the Comets as the clock showed four seconds left and the more than 1,500 fans in attendance at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s gym were in an uproar. A Maroon upset was in the making and excitement was ready to explode. But then Kenny Harrison, Hackensack’s guard took an inbound pass and flung a football-like pass down court to center Bill McCadney. McCadney leaped into the air, pulled the ball down into his possession and, almost in the same motion, twisted and snapped it into the basket for a field goal to tie the score 61-61. Almost unnoticed as the final buzzer sounded, however, with McCadney’s shot going through the hoop, was referee Harold Schaible’s whistle signaling that McCadney was also fouled on the play. A semblance of order was restored and as the crowd ringed the playing floor. McCadney stepped to the foul line and sank his shot to give Hackensack its third straight jamboree crown in an exciting storybook ending.  

In the 1985 Final, unbeaten Rutherford (23-0) and unbeaten Demarest (22-0) fought through two overtimes before a champion was crowned. It seemed unlikely that the game could live up to advance billing, but it did that and more. Rutherford’s coach, Bill Whitney, and Demarest’s coach, Chuck Luethke, matched wits for thirty-eight nail-biting minutes. A nip and tuck first half ended with Demarest clinging to a 27-26 lead. Rutherford’s Matt Shannon opened the second half with a jump shot and the Bulldogs led by as many as six points on two occasions before the Norsemen finally took the lead one minute into the second overtime. The outstanding play of point guard Tom Zacharias and the rebounding and scoring of Dave Brooks had kept Rutherford in control throughout the second half. However, Demarest kept battling back behind the fine all-around play of the Buckley twins, Bill and John, and Peter Cornet who scored 31 points and grabbed 18 rebounds. It was Cornet’s buzzer beating shots that forced the first overtime and the second overtime. In the second overtime, Bill Buckley’s jumper with 2:00 left and his follow-up with 1:30 to go gave the Norsemen a 60-56 lead it didn’t relinquish as it gained a 68-64 victory in an unforgettable championship game.

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