Local historian Chuck Langerman has offered the following information about, and photos of, noteworthy residents from our area. Enjoy…

John McHugh, Cheltenham High School class of 1953

As an 87-pound Thomas Williams Junior High School student, Glenside native John McHugh never pictured himself in the sport of wrestling. In retirement, he could not have pictured his life without it.  

As a wrestler at CHS, he won three District titles, three Regional titles, and in 1953 he won the PIAA state championship at the 103-pound weight class. John is the third and last PIAA state wrestling champion from Cheltenham High School.  The first CHS state champ was Tom Boggs at 98 pounds in 1939, and the second Panther state champion was Joe Tropp at 165 pounds in 1940.  

Upon graduating from CHS, John won a scholarship to the University of Maryland where he became a two-time Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion and made the NCAA tournament three times.  Following his schooling at Maryland, John served in the US Marine Corps as 2nd Lieutenant and served active duty from 1959-1962.  From there it was on to college coaching at Catholic University, American University, and his alma mater the University of Maryland where he was the head coach for 25 years.  

Overall, in his college coaching career, he recorded 287 victories as a head wrestling coach.  At Maryland, John coached seven All-Americans and 23 ACC champions. He was honored by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with their Lifetime Service Award, and for his successes on and off the mat, John goes down into the record books as the most accomplished wrestler to date in CHS history.

In 2002, John was enshrined in the Cheltenham High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame.

Gorham Getchell, Jenkintown High School class of 1939

Circled in the above team picture is Gorham Getchell, a former professional basketball and football athlete, and the answer to the following trivia question: Who is the only high school football coach in New Jersey history to coach at least one full season and never lose a game? 

Gorham grew up in Jenkintown and was a multi-sport athlete at Jenkintown High School from 1936-1939. He matriculated at Temple University where he played both football and basketball. After graduating, he joined the Marines and served his country in World War II.

After the war, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Gorham played professional basketball as a member of the Pittsburgh Ironmen in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) during the 1946-47 season. The BAA and the National Basketball League (NBL) eventually merged to create the NBA in 1949.

Getchell also played pro football with the Baltimore Colts in the NFL during the 1947 season as an offensive end. It was during the 1949 scholastic football season that he coached in New Jersey. Gorham coached Haddonfield High School to their first perfect season in 1949 with a record of 9-0. Haddonfield finished the season outscoring its opponents, 234-75. He coached a few seasons of boys’ basketball at Haddonfield, but only that one season of football.

Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson, Cheltenham High School class of 1964

Pictured on the far right, nursing a broken left arm in this 1960 picture from the Thomas Williams Junior High School yearbook, is 1964 Cheltenham High School graduate and Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie “Mr. October” Jackson.

At the tender age of 14, the youngster from 149 Greenwood Avenue in Wyncote was already being talked about as one of the best baseball players in Cheltenham Township. Reggie earned his nickname “Mr. October” for his clutch hitting in the postseason. Jackson’s crowning achievement came on October 18, 1977 with his three-home-run performance in the World Series-clinching Game Six, blasting each homer on the first pitch off of three different L.A. Dodgers’ pitchers. He was the first player to hit three home runs in a World Series game since Babe Ruth in 1928.

Jackson excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field during his days at Cheltenham High. He was inducted into the Cheltenham High School Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 1981 and the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.

Mary E. Refsynder, Cheltenham High School class of 1908

One of 20 graduates in the CHS class of 1908, Mary made national news, setting a record in Cheltenham Township that cannot be broken. Upon her graduation on June 19, 1908, the Glenside native had not missed a single day of school since she entered 1st grade at the Edge Hill Primary School in 1896.

At graduation, she was awarded a “Certificate of Approbation” by the Cheltenham Township Board of School Directors for perfect attendance from the time of her entrance as a pupil of the Edge Hill Primary School, September 1, 1896 to the day of her graduation from Cheltenham High School on June 19, 1908. In fact, in 12 years of elementary and secondary education in Cheltenham, Mary was never even late to school.

Mary passed in 1987 at the age of 98.

For all the latest news, follow us on Facebook or sign up for Glenside Local’s “Daily Buzz” newsletter here.