The late Harold “Hal” Schank, who coached Freehold High School to gridiron glory in the 1950s, was one of the 2011 inductees into the Shore Football Coaches Foundation Hall of Fame.
Schank was joined by the late Vic Kubu, whose teams won state titles at Middletown North High School and Manasquan High School, and who established a dynasty at the latter; George Conti Jr., who turned Ocean Township High School into a powerhouse; and Chip LaBarca Sr., who won state sectional titles at Keansburg High School and Toms River South High School.
The inductees were announced at halftime of the annual U.S. Army All-Shore Gridiron Classic played on July 14 at Toms River North High School in Toms River.
Schank’s Freehold Colonials were giants on the gridiron, winning several Shore Conference division crowns and Central Jersey state sectional titles in the 1950s. Schank had the best record of any Shore Conference coach in the decade of the 1950s.
His most memorable team was the undefeated (9-0) 1953 Freehold team that featured a future NFL player in Danny Lewis, as well as the likes of Jack Mayes, Walt Freeman, Stan Dixon and Nalton Goode.
“What I remember about that team was its togetherness,” recalled Mayes, who was the quarterback of the Colonials. Freeman, who played wide receiver, credited Schank for the team’s success.
“We had a terrific team; no one wanted to come to Freehold in those days,” he said. “We had so many good players on that team. Coach Schank is the one who put it all together. He knew how to treat everyone individually on the team. He molded us.”
Freeman was at the Hall of Fame ceremony on July 14 to represent Schank.
Schank was a high school standout at Lakewood High School in the mid-1930s. He played football, basketball and baseball for the Piners. He was inducted into Lakewood’s Athletic Hall of Fame several years ago.
After high school, Schank went to Rutgers University, where he played football and basketball before graduating in 1940. He served in the U.S. military during World War II. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Lakewood.
Schank coached Freehold’s football team from 1950-63. After retiring from coaching, he became the Freehold Regional High School District’s first athletic director.
Schank previously was inducted into the New Jersey Football Coaches Hall of Fame.