It’s in their Genes For the Henriquez family, sports are a way of life Story and photos by Jim Hague
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he multi-talented Henriquez clan has earned the title First Family of Hoboken athletics. Just like the uniform number that the Henriquez men wore, they always wanted to be No. 1. Four members were selected as the Athlete of the Week by the Hudson Reporter Newspapers: Anthony, Sr., twin daughters Jaeda and Alizea, and son Anthony, Jr. And yes, the twins were honored separately. Anthony Henriquez, Sr. grew up in the Hoboken projects, at 320 Jackson Street, with many of the all-time great athletes who went on to star for the Redwings. Of Dominican descent, the elder Henriquez was destined for baseball, not football like the rest of the kids who lived in the projects. His parents, Juan Antonio and Maria Henriquez, were born in the Dominican Republic. “My father always told me to go play baseball,” Henriquez said. “My father didn’t want me to play football.” His parents were adamant. “My mother always said that if I played football that I’d get hurt,” Henriquez said. He lived in the same building with former Penn State quarterback Rashard Casey.
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“We used to play building against building,” Henriquez said. “I said to myself, ‘I can do this.’ I really liked football a little bit more than baseball. Every play, there was something going on. I was able to run all over the field and do something.” He joined the Redwings squad in the early 1990s. “I signed the papers that allowed me to play,” Henriquez said. “I never told my parents. I kept my equipment at my grandmother’s house.” Henriquez became a dominant linebacker on defense and solid blocking fullback on offense, a key member of a team that won an astounding 67 of 68 games in one stretch, and five NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group III championships in a six-year span.
College Bound “I knew that I could become the first person from my family to go to college,” Henriquez said. He earned a scholarship to play linebacker at Kent State University in Ohio, where he was a teammate of NFL Pro Bowlers Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers and James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Henriquez led Kent State in tackles his junior year, collecting 123 in 2001, but was slowed after breaking his foot in the 2002 season opener.
Henriquez returned to Hoboken to live with his wife, the former Jasmin Montalvo, who was also a fine Hoboken High athlete. The couple raised six children. The eldest are the twins Jaeda and Alizea, who excelled in soccer, basketball, and softball for the Redwings. The twins had one goal in life—pleasing their demanding father.
Twin Peaks “He would throw rocks and make us hit the rocks,” Jaeda said. “He would hit the ball hard to make us better fielders. If we missed the ball, he’d hit the ball even harder. But it definitely made us better players. All I wanted was to make my mom and dad proud.” Jaeda played third base. Alizea, like her father, was catcher. “He helped me so much to block balls in the dirt,” Alizea said. “Having a tough father helped me and Jaeda become better all-around athletes. Having a dad teach me the ways of life was a big help. There was a standard to live up to. I think we wanted it more than he wanted it for us.” It also helped having a twin sister to compete with. “Her competitiveness pushed me,” Alizea said. “I wanted to be better than her. And I think we both wanted to be No. 1 in Daddy’s eyes.”
