Gregg Clark of Dallastown sent us the following letter:
Regarding the top 10 from York High (York Daily Record, Jan. 13), I'm a serious candidate that was overlooked.
I made all-county in 1988. I was also voted top 24 in the county, and to date there has never been a kicker in the county that could ever kick as good as me.
I then went to play ball in Europe for two different teams, The Monheim Sharks and the Zoeling Hurricanes.
I also made the York High hall of fame. Now the few you posted in the top 10, some didn't even make the hall of fame. Another that should have made it was Ty Doleman. He went to Pitt-Johnstown, then was a Globetrotter, then played pro ball in China. How about Mike Murray? He's played in the Army for years.
Kia Cooper, Yolanda Atwater, Brad and Harold Sprenkle, Scott Dean, Barry Generett, Chris Sharp ... the list goes on.
I thought the Daily Record looked into things before they wrote it. Apparently not in this matter.
It's just like growing up in the city, the Daily Record always pointed out the bad things that the city kids did, front and back pages. But when the kids stand out, they may get two or three lines.
Good job, Daily Record, keep putting down the York City kids. I bet that your paper will see a lot of letters from a lot of angry York City people that should have made it. Good job.
WOW - get over yourself! A KICKER??!! Now that's just funny... Take a look at the others who DESERVED it: most were multi-sport athletes, but ALL were PROVEN athletes... Your comment that "there has never been a kicker in the county better than me" proves who your biggest fan is: yourself.
Those of you who criticize these "top ten" lists really need to re-examine your priorities... especially you, Mr Clark. Go polish off your "top 24 in the county" trophy or something...
YDR does a FINE job of highlighting student-athletes' accomplishments - even those from York high! Just because they didn't shower you with praise for being the "best kicker around" doesn't mean they didn't do their homework... Apparently, they did!
Best kicker ever hands down...AUSTIN GUNDER, RED LION
I second Gregg Clark’s criticism of your York High Top 10, and also have my own criticisms of your York Catholic Top 10, Honorable Mentions and Notables.
First and foremost, I am a proud 1998 graduate of York Catholic High School. I did not attend York High and have no loyalty to York High. However, I have followed York High sports and York County sports since my youth and still do today (usually through your website), even though I no longer reside in the city.
I am not sure how long the creators of these lists have lived in York, how many players they actually saw in person or how many games they actually attended, but their knowledge of York County sports seems to be extremely biased and poor.
How is it possible that you have a Top 10, Honorable Mention and Other Notable Bearcats list of York High athletes and not one male Deshields makes the list? Out of all the male Deshields who have played and excelled at York High – Marcus, Brandon, Shannon, just to name a few – and not one of them makes your list? To me, this gives your list very little credibility.
I understand that Marcus Deshields has not been a model citizen but does that take away from his accomplishments on the basketball court? You claim that “accomplishments outside the setting of high school varsity sports…were not taken into account,” but were transgressions?
Yes, Mr. Deshields’ career ended on a sad note (striking an opposing player) but he was still one of the best in York High history. The 1995 district championship team was the best York High team I have ever seen, yet no one, NO ONE, on that team makes your list? Inexcusable.
And what about Darrin Bones? Darrin Bones was the glue who held that district championship team together, yet he is absent from your list. I don’t care how many points Scott Doll scored, he couldn’t carry Darrin Bones’ jock.
I also take issue with your selection of Bill Schmidt as York High’s greatest athlete. With all due respect to Mr. Schmidt, but since when did swimming become such a big sport in York County? Yes, he accomplished some things, but who was he competing against? How many other schools in York County fielded swim teams? How many York County schools field swim teams today? I’m guessing not too many. I read your biography of him and he was above average, but great? Not according to my definition. Congrats to him for coaching 31 All-America swimmers, but he’s on your list for swimming, not coaching, right? I thought this was an athletic list, not a coaching list.
In addition, if a simple cold can keep you from competing in the Olympics, I don’t think you can call yourself “great” of any circumstance. I seriously doubt a cold would have stopped Michael Phelps in any of last summer’s historic eight events. Perhaps the series creators and I have different definitions of greatness.
When your York Catholic list came out, I heard grumbles about the lack of African Americans on the list. I disregarded the grumbles at first, hoping you wouldn’t have stooped so low, but upon further review, I have my concerns as well.
I believe the absence of Kahsan Jenkins in your Top 10 makes your entire series a COMPLETE JOKE. Kahsan Jenkins isn’t one of the Top 10 players in York Catholic history? The same Kahsan Jenkins who led York Catholic to three District 3 titles and two state championships? Are you serious? As with Marcus Deshields, I understand that Mr. Jenkins has not been a model citizen but does that take away from his on-the-court accomplishments? Is this a “Greatest Athletes” list or a “Model Citizens” list? I could be mistaken, but didn’t Kennard Dale’s Adam Miller get kicked out of the University of Delaware? You might want to check your sources.
Brian Pearl was a great player but how many state titles did he win without Mr. Jenkins? Your lack of York County sports knowledge leads me to believe you probably don’t know the answer so I’ll answer it for you: Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. Not A Damn One. The great Brian Pearl, the golden child, Mr. Retired Jersey, couldn’t win the big won without Kashan. And neither could Coach Keesey.
In regards to your York Catholic Honorable Mentions, the Iati boys are “Honorable” but Kashan Jenkins and Blaine Claiborne are just “Notable?” No way, no how, not in any way possible. And you wonder why people say York is a racist town.
I also have issue with Mike Keesey making the list as a basketball player. Full disclosure, I played basketball at York Catholic and I believe Coach Keesey is an outstanding coach. He taught me the value of hard work, for which I will forever be grateful. But basketball player-wise, I don’t think he should be on this list. You say he received a basketball scholarship to Georgetown, but how did that work out for him?
Who is more deserving, you ask? Bayi Handy. Mr. Handy graduated from York Catholic in 1998, played Division I college basketball - momentarily for the great Charles “Lefty” Driesell - and has been playing professionally overseas ever since. You claim, “If an athlete earned a college scholarship, that was also factored in” to your decision-making process, but what about playing professionally? How many other York Catholic basketball players have played professionally? What’s John Iati doing these days? How’d Mr. Pearl’s post-Delaware career go?
Since I was little, people outside York have questioned the overall sports talent in York County. I believe the lack of knowledge of its sports writers, which comes across in your writing and publications, is one of the reasons why. Your list is a joke and deserves numerous redactions and corrections. If you care at all about the credibility of your newspaper or York County sports in general, they will be issued promptly.
Sincerely,
Gregory L. Johnson II
York Catholic High School
Class of 1998
gjohnson41@hotmail.com