Unfortunately, many of the pioneers and legendary coaches from the early years are no longer with us. But one of the pioneers remains. Carl Weigner, who has spent over half a century in local high school sports, is widely recognized as the senior spokesperson who represents a wondrous past era of Bridgewater-Raritan High School sports. This author was honored to be able to talk with him about his tenure in athletic administration.
In high school he played all three sports that his high school offered. In football, he was an end - playing both offense and defense. In basketball, he was a center. In baseball, he played outfield, first base, and occasionally pitched. Thus, he stayed after school for practice almost every day for the entire time he was in high school.
The sport he excelled at most was basketball where he became a top scorer and received all-state honors in his senior year. He graduated in 1954.
He also, as a goalkeeper, earned a varsity letter in soccer.
He was a starter in his Junior and Senior year. In one summer league game he played against Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain.
Yearning to teach Physical Education, in fall of 1966, he sought out a job at another school. Bridgewater-Raritan High School West had openings as the school had just split with the establishment of High School “East”. He interviewed with the Athletic Director A. J. Troisi and Carl landed the job as physical education teacher. In addition, Carl became the head track coach, assistant football coach, and assistant basketball coach.
Quickly he learned that as Athletic Director he could not continue to coach as it was not fair to the kids. His after-school routine would be to stop by a few games a day to assure that everything was functioning smoothly. In his time, he has attended thousands of games.
The pinnacle of that rivalry was the Thanksgiving Day Football game between East and West. He simply states it was “incredible”. He remembers that additional stands were brought in to accommodate the thousands who attended. The game that stands out was in 1976, when after eight unsuccessful attempts, West finally beat East 14-13. That day was extra special as it was also Carl’s birthday
was the highlight of the year
Just a couple of his accomplishments include starting the ice hockey program, starting the girl's lacrosse team, and recruiting coach Vaughn Stapleton. Many of the B/R H.S. teams would win State Championships.
As for a player who caused a stir, without hesitation, he says basketball player Glenn Snape.
Anyone ever involved in youth sports knows that the biggest headache is not the kids, but the parents. However, Carl, ever positive in his reflection about his career, says that he always had great parents to work with. He attributes his excellent relationship with the parents to his involvement with the booster clubs.
Carl would remain in a secondary job as President for the Skyland Conference making the schedules for dozens of schools. A position that he still holds to this day.
Also, soon after retirement he was recruited to be the assistant track coach at Somerville High School. He was assistant for ten years and then he became head coach for three more years.
He also had two temporary (a few months) Athletic Director jobs at Bound Brook and New Brunswick High Schools.
He still meets with many of the old gang once a month for breakfast.
His colleague Tim Ortelli, who coached under him, says about Carl:
Carl Weigner embodied Bridgewater-Raritan High School. He is a legendary person in the community - a "hands on" person who always communicated his expectations. Thus, I and others, never wanted to let him down. I always knew I had his total support and loyalty. He has lived a great life supporting his coaches and athletes and has touched many lives.
While he has received many awards over the years, he feels this hall of fame induction is the top honor of his career.