George Monro (2010)

George Monro, a 1939 graduate, is one of the all-time great three-sport athletes in the history of Ridgewood High School. Monro capped his stellar sports career at RHS by receiving the Ridgewood High School Trophy for excellence in athletics, established in 1914 and awarded annually to the member of the graduating class who compiles the best record in various sports. Occasionally referred to by the nickname "Scotty", Monro excelled in football, basketball and baseball, earning six varsity letters. As a fullback on the gridiron for head coach Jack Broomall, he was the Maroons' leading rusher, playing alongside halfbacks Gus Anton, George Bolding, Stew Moore and Eddie Walsh and quarterback Charlie Brown, while running behind a line that featured standout Walt Livingston. One of Monro's top games came on Nov. 5, 1938, when he scored two touchdowns in Ridgewood's 20-6 victory over Leonia. According to the Nov. 6 edition of The Sunday News, the first came when "the husky Scot crashed through the center" of the defense from the 1-yard line. His second trip over the goal line also came from the 1 as he "went through that same hole at center for the touchdown." In the 1938 season, the Ridgewood football team also scored wins against Tenafly (a 26-0 triumph in which Monro ran for one touchdown and threw for another), Park Ridge and Hawthorne, in addition to playing a scoreless tie with Pompton Lakes on Thanksgiving Day. Although the Maroons could not crack the end zone against Pompton Lakes, The Ridgewood Herald noted in its Dec. 1 edition, "Monro was by far the outstanding player on the field, banging out one hard earned gain after another and picking up as much as 5 yards at times, after he had apparently been stopped, with his terrific leg drive." In basketball, Monro played guard and was one of the team's leading scorers. Come spring, he played second and third base and was one of the best hitters for the Maroons. One of Monro's more memorable games came against Pompton Lakes. According to an article in the May 25 edition of The Ridgewood Herald, "George Monro's circuit drive in the final frame drove in the winning tallies and pulled the game out of the fire for Cal Dinkins, as Ridgewood set Pompton Lakes back for the second time in a tight 3 to 2 contest yesterday afternoon at the Lakeside Oval." Monro was popular with his coaches and fellow players, being strictly a "team" player, and was rated highly with the fans throughout his brilliant career. George Monro went on to have a stellar football career at Franklin and Marshall College and was inducted into the F&M sports hall of fame in 2001. He served with the United States Marine Corps in world war two after his graduation from college in 1943.