On tonight’s front page of NorthJersey.com is the sad announcement of the death of legendary Bergen County
I had the honor and good fortune of knowing Larry for more than 35 years as a coach, a friend, and a student although my personal recollections are not as poignant as those of Mike Miello, Chuck Johnson, Tony Karcich, Bob Carcich and Bill Parcells.
During the heyday of the gone but not forgotten Met League, I saw Coach Ennis (I think everyone but his wife Ida and sometimes his kids called him Coach Ennis) all the time, both as the man who helped my Merchants team play at Emerson High School, as the father of three of my players, Larry Jr., Mickey and Kevin, and as the consummate baseball coach.
I was the General Manager and Owner of the Merchants from 1982-1997 and for most of that tenure, my manager was Jon Vatcher, the winningest pitcher in Upsala College history, who held the state record for collegiate wins until a couple of years ago. To my mind, Jon, who won five titles and reached three other finals in 12 years in the highly competitive baseball league, is the finest manager in that league’s history. So listen to what he said of learning of Larry’s passing.
“Larry Ennis taught me the most baseball I ever learned in the least amount of time. When I was a freshman at Upsala, I had a rough year and I lost confidence in myself. I was still eligible for Connie Mack (17 and 18 year old summer ball) and Larry picked me up for the state tournament. It was such a treat to be around him and in the two weeks I played for him, I learned more than I did in years with other very good coaches.’’
“Then when I started managing in the Met League I realized there were so many little things I didn’t know about the game. I called Larry and he said come on up and let’s talk. So we went in the basement and spoke for hours about the game. I did that a few times and it was awesome. He was a great great guy.’’
Numbers didn’t define Ennis’ impact on baseball and football in Bergen County
Miello said and I heartily agree that Larry had no personal agenda in his professional life. “He had a love and a passion for football and baseball and he was thrilled to pass on his legacy to other coaches.’’
Playing the games of baseball and football the right way were so important to him that the story is told that during his long tenure at Emerson, he gave up the baseball job one year and his successor used a pitcher three days in a row. The next day, Larry had a meeting or two with the appropriate people and the next year, Larry was back as the head coach.
He touched thousands of young men and women in and out of Emerson, touched thousands more adults who never forgot his passion and willingness to teach – he was a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. And he’ll be greatly missed by all of them and all of us.
We lose wonderful people every day – that’s life. But it’s rare that we’re exposed to a legend – Larry Ennis Sr. was clearly that.
Rest in Peace.
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