Meredith McCourt Wins
William Class Award
Bill Class came to Huntington in 1929 and set a standard of excellence that still lives on today in the Blue Devil athletic program. He retired 47 years ago and passed away in August 1984, but he hasn’t been forgotten in the community or its high school.
A scholarship in his honor was presented to senior Meredith McCourt at the 42nd Huntington High School Senior Athletic Awards Banquet. Ms. McCourt is a hard-nosed competitor who is the consummate team player, according to her coaches.
Coach Class was a titan in both teaching and athletics. He developed an innovative physical education program at a time when few existed and his teams won county championships in both football and baseball. He thought every student should be involved in sports in order to provide them with a well rounded education and to help create school and community spirit.
During the recent awards dinner, Mike Connell, coach Class’ grandson, read a brief biography of the man who helped shape the early development of the Huntington sports program as the district’s athletic director. Mr. Class is a man who is still highly respected by several generations of Blue Devil athletes living in the area and around the country.
The Class scholarship is awarded annually to a college bound male or female athlete who has participated in three varsity sports, demonstrated outstanding athletic achievement, character, leadership and sportsmanship qualities both in the playing arena and the classroom.
Ms. McCourt, who is headed to Fairfield University, is a stand-out scholar and athlete. A member of the Huntington’s National Honor Society chapter, she holds a 94 grade point average and is president of the student government. “While participating in physical education classes, she always gives 100 percent and motivates all of her classmates to fully participate and enjoy what physical education has to offer, both physically and socially,” Mr. Connell said.
Over the course of her Blue Devil athletic career, Ms. McCourt was on the varsity soccer, basketball, track and field and lacrosse teams at one time or another. She earned All-League and New York State Scholar Athlete honors, “while being a huge contributor to the basketball and soccer teams making it to the Suffolk and Long Island championships,” Mr. Connell said. “She will be missed in our classrooms and on our athletic teams.”
Coach Class graduated from Cortland State Teachers College in 1927 and in 1929 came to Huntington where he coached football, basketball and baseball, and started the wrestling program in 1937, coaching that team, too, for two seasons. Serving as the athletic director, Class put together the framework for a modern sports program.
“He won county championships in football in 1946, 1947 and 1948,” Mr. Connell said. “He won seven county championships in baseball from 1929 to 1952.”
In 1954 coach Class turned over his coaching duties to his trusted assistants and became the administrative head of physical education and health, special services and transportation, eventually overseeing the construction of a new Huntington High School. He retired from the district in 1963.
At a testimonial dinner held in his honor, high school principal Robert Cushman said “Coach Class never permitted himself to do less than his best, and he couldn’t tolerate slipshod habits among his boys. Another characteristic was to teach students to play the game and then let them use their own initiative and ingenuity. His methods of training were characterized by refinement, and he never used profanity.”
When asked once how athletics had affected his life, Mr. Class responded, “The opportunity to work with young men to improve their ability and knowledge of the game and to instill the desire and drive to be good in their chosen field has been both challenging and rewarding as a life’s work.”
Ms. McCourt was presented with a handsome plaque and the $750 stipend the scholarship carries. A separate, permanent plaque hangs in the main athletic showcase in the lobby outside Louis D. Giani Gymnasium with the engraved names of all the Class Scholarship winners through the years.
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