Our History.
In 1988, Fred Rosenfeld, Overbrook alumnus/teacher/coach (Class of ’63) and then Principal Dr. Diane Scott one day began discussing Overbrook’s rich athletic history. At the end of that discussion, they concluded that creating an Athletic Alumni Association was long overdue and would be greatly beneficial for both students and the alumni. They envisioned many potentially positive outcomes for instituting a strong Alumni Association of which Dr. Scott generously offered seed money of $2,000 to start the project.
Coach Rosenfeld, aka “Mr. Rose”, reached out to former OHS athletes. One of the initial efforts, among many, utilized public service announcements on the radio, but that method proved to be unsatisfactory. A billboard company was contacted; however, the price of one billboard for one month would have wiped out the entire budget. A subsequent effort to the same company’s Public Service Department did the trick. The company provided 10 billboards for over a month and used only a quarter of the budget. Orange and Black colored signs appeared throughout the area requesting former athletes to contact Coach Rosenfeld, and they did.
As Alumni contacted Coach Rosenfeld, they were invited to attend a meeting to be held at St. Joseph’s University that included a free meal provided with the remaining funds. At that meeting, 125 enthusiastic and extremely excited former Overbrook jocks attended what turned out to be a joyous reunion, with smiles, hugs, and tears of joy. At the conclusion of the meeting , “Mr. Rose” addressed the group and shared his hopes and goals for the soon to be formed OHSAAA(Overbrook High School Athletic Alumni Association). Extended applause signaled that there was strong interest by the group, and a significant number stepped up to lend a helping hand to make the OHSAAA a reality.
Subsequently, a very dedicated group met and formed a Board of Directors that formed various committees within the organization. They went to work on what was deemed a “project of love”. The original members included Gene Levin, Jimmy Sadler, Mel Brodsky, Winston Williams, Delores Hamilton-Davis, Stan Channick, John Barber, Paula Hatten, Ed Snyder, Allan Weinberg, Howie Horenstein, Ron Ducket, Steve Kane, Charnel Elliott, and Greg Floyd comprised the initial members.
A major goal was realized in 1991 with the first OHSAAA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. It was held in the jam-packed auditorium at Overbrook H.S. in front of excited students, alumni, and special guests. The great Wilt Chamberlain ’55, who was thrilled with the honor, was the headliner of the group of four: Jackie Moore ’50 (the first African-American Philly NBA player), Ira Davis ’54 (3-time Olympian) and Cliff Calvert ’32 were the other inductees.
As time passed, OHSAAA eventually became Overbrook High School Alumni Association (OHSAA) serving all alumni, not just former athletes. Leadership has changed with founder Fred Rosenfeld ’63, John Barber ’63, Gene Levin ’59, Bobby Wright ’85, MacArthur Littles ’68, and Jamal Montgomery ‘91 all serving in the role as President of the Alumni Association. Janine Gant ’78 was the first female President of OHSAA where she served with much diligence and enthusiasm. Currently, Wayne D. Crawford is serving as OHSAA’s eighth President.
The 2019 Hall of Fame Banquet was the 28th celebration to be held. To date, there have been approximately 90 inductees that have been honored with plaques. These plaques are proudly displayed and grace the 2nd floor marble hallway at “The Brook”. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Hall of Fame Banquet had to be canceled. However, OHSAA is most excited to be approaching a great milestone. Therefore, dependent upon the world’s present situation surrounding the pandemic and the CDC’s guidelines, we hope to celebrate with a grandeur gala event to commemorate this momentous milestone at the end of this year. The Annual Hall of Fame Induction Banquet & The Sam Cozen (former OHS Coach) Golf Tournament, has been an annual fundraising event providing over $75,000 in college scholarships to deserving Overbrook graduates. This fundraiser is still in effect today, and still being organized by one of the initial OHSAAA members, Howie Horenstein. More information about this fundraiser can be found within our website.