The Retirement Of Warren Wolf

In the end even Warren Wolf could not beat “father time” and at age 81 his body more than anything told him it was time. The most successful high school football coach in New Jersey history announced his retirement Monday in a packed cafeteria at Brick Township High School where it all started in 1958. It was a bittersweet event in which the legendary “silver fox” strolled down memory lane about his days in West New York and then coming to Brick after a successful career as an assistant coach under Joe Coviello at Memorial High School. Wolf took the job just two months before the inaugural season and notified Coviello by letter which was not well received. Ironically when Wolf became the winningest coach in state history in 1992 it was Coviello’s record he surpassed.

The Brick icon held his emotions in check yesterday as he looked out and saw faces which helped him build a once small community into a state football power. Sam Riello, Dave Vivino, Bob Auriemma, Ron Signorino, Pete Panuska, Dan Duddy, Tim Osborn, Jack Myers, Dick Roberts and high school Principal Dennis Filippone were among those part of a golden era
that put Brick and shore football on the map. It was a time in which you had to arrive early at a home game if you wanted a seat and they even sold reserved tickets. Keller Memorial Field on a Saturday afternoon was magical and Wolf was the wizard who made things happen which left opponents wondering if he really did have a direct pipeline to the man upstairs.

My first real contact with him came in 1979, my first year at WOBM. His Green Dragons went 9-1-1 and were to receive a trophy as our top team in Ocean County. I was invited by the late Hank Handchen, the longtime Athletic Director to make the presentation at the annual football banquet at the old Kings Grant Inn. It was a Sunday in January and I figured it would not take very long but of course this was my first real experience with Brick football. Wolf spoke personally and passionately about nearly every player on the varsity team and by the time I got up to make my presentation the banquet was about 4 hours old. When I asked Handchen afterwards how come he never told me I would be spending an entire afternoon for a 3-minute presentation he replied, “because you never asked.”

Warren Wolf will be in charge of one more end of season banquet…I’m sure it will be a beauty.