
Honoring Athletes, Coaches and
Benefactors whose outstanding performance has earned them the right to be enshrined in the Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame!
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The Sussex County Sports Hall of Fame
2006 Inductee
GARY
SPARTA

1959 graduate of Hamburg High School;
1963 BS and 1966 MS graduate of East Stroudsburg State; inducted for his
accomplishments as an athlete, coach and athletic director; in high
school, played baseball and basketball; in baseball lettered all four
years, was a member of the County Championship Team in 1957; he had the
best ERA of 1.72, pitching record of 7-2, recorded 83 strikeouts in 65
innings pitched in 1959; he was in the top ten in hitting in his last
three years with averages of .394, .419 and .294; was NJ Herald All
County 2nd Team in 1957 and 1st Team in 1958 and
1959; he was named Outstanding Athlete by the Franklin Kiwanis Club in
1957-1958; he was Newark News 2nd Team in 1957, 3rd
Team in 1958 and 1st Team in 1959; was Newark Star Ledger 2nd
Team in 1959; was named Hamburg High School Best Athlete in 1959; won
varsity basketball letters as a junior and senior
In 1968 was selected by the Vernon Township
Board of Education to be the district’s first Physical Education teacher;
was responsible for developing the Physical Education program for grades 1
through 8 and the intramural program for grades 5 through 8; also coached 7th
and 8th grade basketball
In 1973 was appointed Athletic Director and
baseball coach at Vernon High School; he developed and maintained the
Athletic and Physical Education program; he remained AD until 1995
He was a charter member of the SCIL AD’s
and served as President of the League for three years and Secretary for
three years; helped develop the original SCIL Charter and was the last
remaining Charter Member to retire; he was also a Charter Member of the
Vernon Township Recreation Commission |