When it comes to sports, the legacies that come to mind are the well-known ones: Tom Brady, football; Simone Biles, gymnastics; Lebron James, basketball. However, the legacy of those in the smaller-knit community of Cherry Hill, haven’t had the light shone on them.
That was until 2015. In January of 2015, a group of four men – Fred Belchikoff, Dave Martin, Bill Sheppard and John Valore – were driving to a funeral. It was for a colleague and friend of theirs, Virginia Whitaker, who was a previous Cherry Hill Athletic Director. On the drive, the four friends discussed how absurd it was that of all the schools they had traveled to over the years, Cherry Hill High School East was one of the only high schools they knew of that didn’t yet have an athletic hall of fame.
“I had talked about it with people long before this, and we just couldn’t get it underway,” said Belchikoff, the now standing chairman of the Athletic Hall of Fame committee for Cherry Hill East. “So I said to the four of them, ‘We got to get a committee together, and we gotta get this going.’”
The four friends were inspired to help launch such a committee. In November of 2015 – 11 months following the funeral – the now 13-member committee inaugurated the first official Cherry Hill East Athletic Hall of Fame.
Nearly a decade later, the Hall of Fame is thriving. With now over 126 people inducted into the Hall of Fame, East’s athletic legacy has grown and evolved. This recognition isn’t about how important or involved an athlete was during their time at East; it’s about their individual contributions and successes they brought to their teams.
“I don’t think we’ve evolved much more than when we had [back] then,” said Belchikoff. “I think what’s [changed] is the more you do, the more people find out about it.”
Each year the committee inducts 18 athletes, coaches, teams and contributors from prior years–as far back as 1966 (when East first opened). To be considered as a nominee, it must be at least ten years since the candidate graduated.
“When we started this in 2015…the one thing we said was we didn’t want a whole lot of criteria stifling us from putting somebody in that we thought deserved it but may not have met the exact criteria within the bylaws,” said Belchikoff.
“Then the decision becomes the committee’s to look at the nomination and decide whether they should be in- ducted.”
Over the years, the Hall of Fame has seen minimal changes, only adding teams to the nominees instead of just athletes and coaches. The Hall of Fame started simply because someone wanted to make a change. It has grown into a tradition that has brought together hundreds of athletes over the years.
“Especially the athletes that are at East now, I hope that it gives them something to strive for,” said Bechikoff. “I hope that they read that there is an East Athletic Hall of Fame and think ‘I hope someday to get into there.’”
In the hallways of East, there is a reflection of the students from years past – their successes, hard work, and dedication – now a part of the East legacy. These athletes were once just like any other student at East, and in 10 years, today’s students will be the ones future generations of Eastwill look up to.
The athletes of East today have the same potential to achieve greatness and leave their own lasting legacy as those who came before them.
