If you’re a faithful reader of our op-ed page, the name should be familiar to you.
Frank Witmer was more than just a person who wrote letters to the editor.
In Prospect Park, Witmer was an institution.
His missives routinely turned to sports, specifically football, including youth football and the brand on display at Interboro High. He routinely would deliver halftime pep talks to the Interboro team
Most of the players knew him well. They should. They grew up playing on the team Witmer created, and on the field that now carries his name.
Witmer, an engineer by trade, started the Prospect Park Termites football team in his back yard. He named the team for the pests that had invaded his garage. He noted they displayed the same kind of teamwork that is the trademark of a succesful football team.
The players who toiled in that back yard had another name for it. They called it Witmer’s Blood Pit.
Today the Prospect Park municipal field is known as Frank P. Witmer Field.
It’s a fitting honor for someone who made football, and the kids who played it, his life.
Football season just won’t be the same. Neither will our op-ed pages.
Rest well, Frank.
Frank Witmer was more than just a person who wrote letters to the editor.
In Prospect Park, Witmer was an institution.
His missives routinely turned to sports, specifically football, including youth football and the brand on display at Interboro High. He routinely would deliver halftime pep talks to the Interboro team
Most of the players knew him well. They should. They grew up playing on the team Witmer created, and on the field that now carries his name.
Witmer, an engineer by trade, started the Prospect Park Termites football team in his back yard. He named the team for the pests that had invaded his garage. He noted they displayed the same kind of teamwork that is the trademark of a succesful football team.
The players who toiled in that back yard had another name for it. They called it Witmer’s Blood Pit.
Today the Prospect Park municipal field is known as Frank P. Witmer Field.
It’s a fitting honor for someone who made football, and the kids who played it, his life.
Football season just won’t be the same. Neither will our op-ed pages.
Rest well, Frank.
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